BICOM

What happened: The Labour party conference voted overwhelmingly yesterday to boycott Israeli goods and subject any future trade agreement with Israel to an ‘ethical policy’.

• The Labour Party, at its annual conference in Brighton, voted to adopt “an ethical policy on all UK’s trade with Israel, in particular by applying international law on settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and stopping any arms trade with Israel that is used in violation of the human rights of Palestinians”
• The motion was passed following a debate on foreign policy, which was dominated by discussion on Labour’s stance on Brexit. It is the second consecutive year in which Labour’s foreign policy discussions at conference focused heavily on Israel. During the debate, one member of the ‘Jewish Voice For Labour’ group was loudly cheered as she claimed she was speaking for thousands of Jews who had never experienced antisemitism in Labour.
• In her keynote speech, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “trying to turn Israel into an apartheid state”.
• BICOM CEO James Sorene told the Times of Israel that the Labour Party had opted for “shallow and malicious rabble rousing because that plays well with the crowd”. He added: “If the Labour party wants to try and help bring about a two-state solution, it should develop some coherent policies, build strong relationships on both sides, deal with its anti-Semitism crisis and do the hard work on the ground to make a difference.”
• Luke Akehurst, director of We Believe In Israel and a conference delegate, told the paper that the anti-Israel motion was “another salami slice radicalisation of Labour’s position on Israel and provides policy cover for a settlement boycott … it also [gave] another excuse for the conference floor to become a hostile environment for delegates who take a balanced view on Israel.”
• Labour Friends of Israel Chief Executive Jennifer Gerber called “another dark day in the history of the Labour party.” Adding “Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party is the home for anti-Jewish racists and Israel haters.”

Context: The Labour Party has faced widespread claims of antisemitism within the party since 2016 and is now being investigated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

• A survey published last Sunday revealed that 23 per cent of Labour members believe the party has a serious problem with antisemitism. More than half of members said it was political opponents trying to “undermine” Corbyn or blamed the “mainstream media” for the antisemitism crisis. Twenty-nine per cent said a “small minority of Labour members with antisemitic views” were responsible, whilst 13 per cent said the leadership was at fault.
• Professor Alan Johnson, editor of Fathom Journal, published a report earlier this year which analysed more than 130 cases of antisemitism in the party.
• The Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) has accused Labour of ignoring calls from the Jewish community to make the disciplinary process of antisemitism cases independent from the party. JLM also strongly criticised changes to the party’s disciplinary rules which were passed on Saturday, saying that giving more powers to the NEC was “giving control to those who have engaged in or are complicit in antisemitism”.

Looking ahead: The motions passed yesterday provide a platform for the Labour Party to adopt new policies that amount to a boycott of Israeli settlement goods and services and a boycott of all Israeli companies and institutions that have dealings with settlements. The provisions on trade will also subject any new trade deals to a vague ethical test that could be used to block any future trade agreements.

• If the Labour party were to form the next UK Government it would likely downgrade UK-Israel ties. James Sorene said that: “Will have a chilling effect, not just on trade, but also on vital defence and intelligence partnerships that protect our country.