UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson addresses a Board of Deputies of British Jews parliamentary reception in London on Monday night to celebrate the centenary of the Balfour Declaration.. (photo credit: GARY PERLMUTTER)
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The top contenders to replace outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May, who announced her resignation on Friday, are viewed as pro-Israel friends of the Jews and are likely to continue the strong ties between the Jewish state and Great Britain.
May quit over her failure to deliver Brexit, raising the prospect of a leader who could seek a more divisive split with the EU which could lead to confrontation with the bloc or a possible parliamentary election. She will be replaced by a member of her Conservative party, based on the results of a party election.
So far five conservative contenders have announced their intention to run. Health minister Matt Hancock became the latest figure to join the contest to replace May, following former foreign minister Boris Johnson, current foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, International Development Secretary Rory Stewart, and former work and pensions minister Esther McVey.
About a dozen contenders in total are thought to be considering a tilt at the leadership, with trade minister Liam Fox and former junior Brexit minister Steve Baker not ruling out a challenge when asked on Saturday.
The top contender, Johnson, is particularly strong on Israel. In 2015, when he was mayor of London, he visited Israel and prayed at the Western Wall.
At the time, The Jerusalem Post reported that he told Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz that he had Jewish ancestry.
“Yes, I have Jews in my family from Moscow, some of them rabbis,” Johnson said. “That’s on my mother’s side.”
Johnson, who is a member of the Anglican faith, wrote in the Western Wall guest book, “It is a great privilege to come to this Wall for the first time in my life, and I join the prayers for peace in Jerusalem.”
The face of the official campaign to leave the European Union, Johnson resigned as foreign minister in July in protest at May’s handling of the exit negotiations.
Johnson set out his pitch to the membership in a speech at the party’s annual conference in October. Some members queued for hours to get a seat. He called on the party to return to its traditional values of low tax and strong policing.
Last week the BBC reported he had told the British Insurance Brokers Association: “Of course I’m going to go for it.”
On Brexit, Johnson used a newspaper column in April to argue for a “standstill arrangement – a managed no deal – that would give us time to negotiate an FTA (Free Trade Arrangement) and to solve the issues raised in Northern Ireland.”
He is the bookmakers’ favorite to succeed May.
Hunt has spoken out sharply against anti-Israel boycotts. When the German parliament approved a motion earlier this month equating the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement with antisemitism, Hunt tweeted his support for the gesture.
“Tremors, turbulence & terror in Mid East remind us of urgent need for peace: two-state solution. But the foundations for peace are respect & coexistence. Boycotting Israel – the world’s only Jewish state – is antisemitic. I salute Germany for taking stand,” Hunt wrote.
On the larger issue of Brexit, he has urged the Conservative membership to set aside their differences and unite against a common foe – the EU. Hunt served six years as Britain’s health minister, a role that has made him unpopular with many voters who work in or rely on the state-run, financially stretched National Health Service.
On Brexit, he said: “I would always prefer to leave with a deal because I think there will be disruption without a deal… It would potentially be very significant and that is something I think anyone sensible would wish to avoid.”
But he added: “If there was a binary choice between no deal or no Brexit, I would choose no deal because I think the democratic risk of no Brexit ultimately is higher than the economic risk of no deal.”
Other contenders are also strong on Israel. Esther McVey, 51, has spoken in the past of the importance of combating antisemitism and the need for strong Israeli-British ties. McVey has stood up for religious protection in the workplace for Jews, and in 2015 spoke at a fundraiser in London for the Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO).
The pro-Brexit former television presenter, who resigned as work and pensions minister in November in protest at May’s exit deal with the EU, has said she plans to run.
McVey told Talkradio: “I have always said quite clearly that if I got enough support from my colleagues, yes I would (run). Now people have come forward and I have got that support, so I will be going forward.”
Health minister Matt Hancock, 40, a former economist at the Bank of England, was first elected to parliament in 2010, He has held several ministerial roles. He has visited Israel and spoken against anti-Israel bias.
A former diplomat Rory Stewart once walked 6,000 miles across Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal, Stewart was promoted to International Development Secretary this month.
Educated at the exclusive Eton College, Stewart was first elected to parliament in 2010 and backed remaining in the EU in the 2016 referendum. He opposes a ‘no deal’ exit and has been a vocal advocate of May’s deal with Brussels.
“I do want to bring this country together … I accept Brexit, I am a Brexiteer, but I want to reach out to ‘Remain’ voters as well,” he told the BBC.
Steve Linde and Reuters contributed to this report.
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