New government, same pressure

Posted: 20th August 2026

The pro-Israel lobby is wasting zero time.

Two organisations intrinsically linked to the UK’s pro-Israel lobby network held a meeting with the new foreign secretary Ed Miliband recently.

The Board of Deputies (BOD) and the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) described it as an “early opportunity” to engage with the new foreign secretary and “outline foreign policy concerns”, on a range of matters including “the delegitimisation of Israel”.

Perhaps less front-facing than the BOD, the JLC is nevertheless woven into the lobbying infrastructure.

Its vice-president, Sir Trevor Chinn, is a case in point.Declassified recently revealed that the millionaire megadonor and leading pro-Israel lobbyist not only secretly met with the Foreign Office to discuss arms exports to Israel, but subsequently won an Israeli medal of honour for his “dedication” to and “love” for Israel.

And a quick look at the track record of the respective organisations makes clear where their priorities are.

When Britain symbolically recognised a Palestinian state last September, both organisations wrote to then prime minister Keir Starmer expressing their “deep disappointment”.

Help us reach 5,000 monthly donors

Regular monthly donations keep us independent, and fearless.

After Andy Burnham apologised last month for the Labour Parrty’s initial response to Israel’s assault on Gaza, a joint statement by them conveyed “significant concerns” over his remarks.

Meanwhile, the BOD and the JLC backed the government’s proscription of Palestine Action, and welcomed the government’s appeal after the High Court had ruled the ban unlawful.

So, when they describe foreign policy concerns, there is no subtlety about what is actually meant.

Around the same time Ed Miliband was meeting with them, Labour Friends of Israel released a new policy briefing containing recommendations for the new government.

They argued Britain must take a “careful and calibrated” approach to address the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The report suggests that Britain should encourage the next Israeli government to remove illegal settlement outposts and cease settlement expansion outside the major “settlement blocs” - effectively legitimising and whitewashing the land theft it leaves untouched.

Yet all Israeli settlements, without any exception, are illegal under international law, and states are obligated to take measures to end the occupation, as the International Court of Justice affirmed in its 2024 ruling.

But LFI, predictably, don’t appear interested in accountability: their report also discouraged a cessation of all trade with settlements, describing it as practically and politically impossible and amounting to a de facto boycott of Israel.

Beyond a rhetorical shift, the Burnham government’s posture on Israel has remained milquetoast, staying close to prime ministerial precedent.

Yet even that appears irreconcilable, as the pro-Israel lobby is already working diligently to ensure policy remains as diluted and inconsequential as possible. Business as usual, then.

Hamza Yusuf

Regular Contributor
Declassified UK