Former Justice Secretary Rt. Hon. Michael Gove MP asserted that “anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism” at a Henry Jackson Society panel event on the Balfour Declaration this week in the House of Commons.
Chairing the event, titled ‘Refuting Balfour’s Detractors’, Mr Gove said: “Let’s be clear, anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. We must fight anti-Semitism whether we find it”.
He added that “anti-Semitism is the desire to destroy the Jewish people’s right to self-determination”.
Joining Mr Gove on the panel was Ambassador of Israel, H.E. Mark Regev, Ambassador Dore Gold, former Director General at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Alan Baker, former Israeli Ambassador to Canada, Yair Hirschfeld, Middle East peace negotiator, and Professor Andrew Roberts, historian and journalist.
Ambassador Regev said that the Balfour Declaration was a “crucial milestone” in moving forward the development of a Jewish state, and stated “I firmly believe that Britain should be proud of the Balfour Declaration”.
