Hamza Ali, Progress Center for Policies
Background:
After the British Conservative Party’s disastrous loss in the parliamentary elections last July, where the party lost around six million votes, blame has been attributed to several factors, including the severe economic crisis following the COVID-19 pandemic, the outbreak of the Ukraine war, and the UK’s NATO defense commitments to curb Russian aggression. However, the harshest criticism has been aimed at party leader Rishi Sunak, of minority background, with language against him carrying racial undertones from a party traditionally proud of its predominantly white, English base.
The search for a new party leader has begun—one who will take on the responsibility of restoring the Conservative Party’s standing in British politics and countering the far-right influence of Nigel Farage, who threatens to erode the Conservative base. Former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick emerged as the frontrunner in the first round of the leadership race, securing the support of 28 Conservative MPs, placing him six votes ahead of Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch in second place. Notably, the leading candidates in the race are staunch supporters of Israel, advocating for its policies, even regarding its actions in Gaza.
Former British Foreign Secretary Sir Alan Duncan condemned Conservative leadership contender Robert Jenrick, labeling him “extreme” due to his stance on Israel and Palestine, warning that his leadership “would be disastrous for the party.” The former minister expressed broader concerns about the influence of pro-Israel groups on Conservative policy, noting that foreign policy “is heavily swayed by Conservative Friends of Israel and the donor flows accompanying it.”
Duncan noted that when he entered politics 30 years ago, there were 40,000 settlers in the West Bank compared to nearly 700,000 today, which he claims has made a two-state solution “nearly impossible.” In 2011, as a junior minister responsible for foreign aid, he appeared in a government video asserting that Israel had undertaken “land grabs” in the Palestinian territories. His remarks were met with anger from Conservative Friends of Israel, who rebuked him for it.
The Independent recently reported that Conservative Friends of Israel boasts that 80 percent of Conservative MPs are members and that they regularly host government ministers for meals. Renowned historian and Conservative politician Robert Rhodes James once described the group as “the largest organization in Western Europe dedicated to the cause of the Israeli people.”
Robert Jenrick: Unwavering Support for Israel
At this year’s Conservative Party conference, Robert Jenrick strongly defended the Israeli state and expressed doubts about the potential nature of a future Palestinian state. Addressing the delegates, he said, “Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. I wish to see a world where there is a Palestinian state as democratic, liberal, and free as Israel, which seems a bit unlikely.”
During the conflict in Gaza, Jenrick stated that Hamas’s defeat by Israel “would be a blessing to the world.” At this year’s Conservative conference, he wore a shirt with “Hamas is a terrorist organization” written on it, stating that the Star of David should be displayed at every entry point to the United Kingdom to demonstrate the country’s support for Israel.
Jenrick promised that, if he wins the leadership, the next Conservative manifesto would include “recognition of Jerusalem as the legitimate capital of the State of Israel,” and he would work to move the British embassy from Tel Aviv. “If the Foreign Office doesn’t do it, I’ll push for it myself.”
Jenrick vowed to continue his efforts in parliament to pressure the Labour government to impose a ban on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, expressing frustration with the former Conservative government’s failure to pass such a ban.
The Guardian reported that, during his time as Immigration Minister, Jenrick allegedly intervened to ask the Home Office whether it could cancel the visa of Palestinian student Dana Abu Qamar, who had protested events in Gaza at the University of Manchester.
Recently, British media revealed that Jenrick received donations from a billionaire whose company ships arms to Israel. Specifically, Idan Ofer, the donor, provided Jenrick with about £70,000 in two separate contributions. Ofer’s company, Kenon Holdings, owns a stake in ZIM Shipping, which transports weapons to Israel.
Kemi Badenoch: Second Candidate in the Race and a Strong Supporter of Israel
Jenrick’s rival in the Conservative leadership contest, whose outcome will be announced on November 2, is Kemi Badenoch, born in Wimbledon but raised in the US and Nigeria before returning to the UK at sixteen. Badenoch was an active supporter of the “Leave” campaign in the 2016 Brexit referendum and was elected to parliament in 2017, representing Saffron Walden in Essex. She is also a strong supporter of Israel, stating that, if she were leader, she would have congratulated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for ordering the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. She added, “Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, and the ability to remove its leader as they did would foster greater peace in the Middle East.”
Badenoch criticized the recent Labour government decision to halt 30 out of 350 arms export agreements with Israel, calling it a “political decision” and expressing her shock at “the number of new immigrants to the UK who harbor hatred toward Israel.”
Conclusion:
It’s no surprise that the Conservative Party has a pro-Israel stance, but the shift among prominent leadership contenders toward positions even more extreme than right-wing Jewish religious Zionism in Israel marks a departure. It seems unlikely that liberal Conservatives will be able to curb this rightward shift regarding the Middle East conflict, immigrants, or Muslims. Conservative leaders and strategists are now focused on preserving their party’s conservative and right-wing base in the face of two threats: the Labour Party, which has abandoned its traditional social-democratic platform, and the right-wing nationalist Reform Party, which garnered four million votes from the Conservative base.
