A Reform government would “undo the damage done” to the UK-Israel relationship under Labour, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
Farage spoke to the Post following a phone call with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Wednesday – a conversation Farage described as “very productive.”
Farage told the Post that he had reaffirmed his “strong support for Israel” and reiterated the importance of strengthening the partnership between the United Kingdom and Israel, particularly in the fields of trade, security, technology and innovation.
“I made clear that a Reform government would undo the damage done to this important relationship under Labour and rebuild it on the basis of shared interests and mutual respect,” Farage also told the Post.
Farage, Sa'ar discuss Falkland Islands
Sa’ar and the Reform leader also discussed the Falkland Islands.
Farage said he had stressed the importance of Israel maintaining a position that respects British sovereignty and security interests. Earlier this month, Argentina threatened economic sanctions against international energy companies exploring for oil near the Falkland Islands.
“For the United Kingdom, the safety and security of the Falkland Islanders and the defense of our sovereign territory are paramount,” he told the Post.
While Farage declined to speak more about policy or sanctions at this time, the Post received exclusive clips from the Reform party conference last Saturday, where its leader said that support for the State of Israel is “fundamental to our party” and that Reform will “defend its right to exist till the end.”
Additionally, the Post spoke to Reform deputy leader Richard Tice, who said the sanctions are putting “British Jews on British streets in danger as the antisemites in the United Kingdom are emboldened because they see this as a free license to carry out attacks.”
Tice: Sanctions damage security relationship between UK, US
Tice also said the sanctions damage the security relationship between the UK and the United States and the passing of intelligence between all three nations [US, UK and Israel].
“These tit-for-tat sanctions set everything in the wrong direction; and it achieves nothing,” Tice told the Post.
He also echoed the concerns of many British Jews that Labour’s sanctions stem mainly from a domestic political bid.
“I’m afraid it’s just an excuse by this hard socialist government to kowtow to their Islamist voters, some of whom are still in the Labour Party and some of whom drifted off to the Green Party. I mean, that’s the bottom line,” Tice said.