CFI has congratulated Liz Truss following her success in the Conservative Party Leadership Election to become the UK’s next Prime Minister.
CFI’s Parliamentary Chairmen Rt. Hon. Stephen Crabb MP (Commons) and Rt. Hon. The Lord Pickles (Lords), and CFI’s Honorary President, Lord Polak CBE said:
“CFI would like to warmly congratulate Liz Truss on becoming the UK’s next Prime Minister.
“The Prime Minister has repeatedly demonstrated her commitment to supporting Israel and tackling antisemitism, from challenging anti-Israel bias at the United Nations to standing side by side with Israel in the fight against terrorism. As International Trade Secretary, she visited Israel to discuss a new free trade deal and during her time as Foreign Secretary, she signed an unprecedented ten-year strategic partnership with Israel.
“Throughout the Leadership Contest, Liz Truss displayed her unwavering support for the Jewish State.
“CFI looks forward to working with Prime Minister Liz Truss and her new Government to take the ever-growing UK-Israel relationship from strength to strength”.
Rt. Hon. Liz Truss MP has been announced as the new leader of the Conservative Party, after winning a leadership race against Rt. Hon. Rishi Sunak MP.
She is due to go to Balmoral within 24 hours and will be sworn in as Prime Minister after Boris Johnson formally resigns.
Liz Truss has described Israel as a “true beacon” of freedom and democracy and previously stated that there is “no closer friend and ally than the State of Israel”.
On several occasions, she has underlined that the UK “cannot allow Iran to gain a nuclear weapon”. She said she was “proud” to have worked closely with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on a bilateral strategic partnership “to deepen our relationship in areas like security, areas like the economy but also working together in areas like science and technology… to solve the problems of the future”.
In a letter to CFI supporters last month, Ms Truss said: “I pledge to renew my commitment to CFI and the UK’s Jewish community… not just because of CFI’s support, but because it is the right thing to do”. She said it “remains important to me that the public is educated on the dangers of antisemitism and the role it plays in driving anti-Zionism and anti-Israel sentiment”.
Ms Truss wrote that she will “ensure that we deliver on our proposed Bill to end local councils bringing in BDS policies that target Israel”, adding that BDS action by public bodies “sow needless division” by “[going] against the stance of this Government”.
She pledged that as Prime Minister she would continue to build on her record of combating anti-Israel bias at the United Nations and other international fora – including the UN’s controversial Commission of Inquiry against Israel. Ms Truss also recognised the “importance and sensitivity of the location of the British Embassy” and vowed to “review a move to ensure we are operating on the strongest footing with Israel”.
Click here to read Ms Truss’s letter in full.
At CFI’s hustings event during the leadership contest, Ms Truss said she “would be absolutely resolute as Prime Minister in continuing to stand up for Israel, continuing to attack antisemitism both here in the UK and around the world”.
She underlined that she had “supported the National Holocaust Memorial project from the beginning and will look at proposed legislation and make sure we get it done” and said that she will continue funding the CST (Community Security Trust).
Ms Truss said that there is a “huge amount the UK can learn from Israel”, listing Israel’s “sheer level of innovation and fantastic technology”.
