Miliband Rejects Rabbi's Claim on UK Sanctions as 1,926 Antisemitic Incidents Hit Britain
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Sep 9
Miliband Rejects Rabbi's Claim on UK Sanctions as 1,926 Antisemitic Incidents Hit Britain
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Sep 9
Summary
Ed Miliband said British Jews should not be blamed for Israeli government actions and rejected Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis's warning that new UK sanctions would make them less safe.
The foreign secretary said the measures were driven by the E1 settlement plan and what he called ethnic cleansing in parts of the West Bank, with "settler terrorists" driving Palestinians from their land.
The sanctions target companies and individuals financing or building settlements and will also ban advertising illegal settlements in the UK, though Miliband said implementation could take up to nine months.
1,926 anti-Jewish hate incidents were recorded across the UK in the first half of 2026, up 21% year on year, as Jewish groups split between security fears and support for tougher action on the occupation.
The move has already deepened a diplomatic clash with Israel, which closed the British consulate in East Jerusalem, banned 11 MPs and a campaigner, and is considering wider entry refusals.