Last Thursday morning, British Foreign Secretary William Hague sat down with Science Minister Yaacov Peri to sign a memorandum of understanding on science cooperation, with new funding for British and Israeli researchers to work together in fields including regenerative medicine. This came on the same day that a British delegation of leading retailers, led by a senior aide to Prime Minister David Cameron, concluded a three day tour of potential Israeli hi-tech business partners. These will have been demoralizing sights for the small but vocal movement in the UK promoting boycotts and divestment towards Israel.

It was unfortunate therefore, that just as Hague was about to cross the Allenby bridge into Israel, the Daily Telegraph published an interview with minister Yuval Steinitz which questioned whether Britain was a friend of Israel, pointing to the ‘disguised anti-Semitism’ of the boycott movement, and suggesting that greater hostility to Israel in Britain than other Western countries might be affecting UK policy.

It goes without saying that this was not the most diplomatic of welcomes for the British foreign secretary. Steinitzsubsequently apologised, saying that his comments were taken out of context. But whatever he meant, his reported remarks reflected a growing impression in Israel, also conveyed by a recent Channel 2 documentary, that Britain is seeing a surge of anti-Semitism.

This impression is fueled by the small but high profile movement to boycott Israel, which recently persuaded Stephen Hawking to cancel a visit, and which has seen boycott motions in trade unions and a small number of student bodies, the disruption of Israeli cultural performances, and attempts to have Israelis arrested for war crimes.

This movement, driven by marginal groups on the far left, has had some success in Britain, where anti-Zionism has come to be seen in significant sections of the left as a liberal cause. As a series of recent essays published in BICOM’s Fathom journal explores, this campaign is to some extent antisemitic in its effects, and sometimes in itsmotivations and expression. It also feeds on widespread misinformation circulating about Israel, including in sections of the British media.

But this campaign does not have mainstream political support, and is not a key driver behind UK government policy. As in any country, Britain’s foreign policy is determined by complex factors, with the perceived national interest playing a central role, and worldviews of individual leaders, as well as the wider political culture, shaping how leaders calculate those interests.

Read this article in full at Times of Israel.