UK Zionist groups support Hotovely as Left group petitions to reject her

Hotovely, who said last week that she accepted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s offer of the ambassadorship, is one of the most ardent advocates of extending sovereignty in the West Bank.

By LAHAV HARKOV
TZIPI HOTOVELY: People should also feel proud to be Jewish. (photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
TZIPI HOTOVELY: People should also feel proud to be Jewish.
(photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
Pro-Israel groups in the United Kingdom defended Israel’s presumptive ambassador in London, Settlements Minister Tzipi Hotovely, as a fringe left-wing group petitioned for her to be declared persona non grata.
Hotovely, who said last week that she accepted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s offer of the ambassadorship, is one of the most ardent advocates of extending sovereignty in the West Bank; the settlements portfolio was created for her. In light of her position and Britain’s vocal opposition to possible annexation, some critics posited the UK may not accept her.
JNF UK chairman Samuel Hayek, who has close connections to Netanyahu, said on Monday night: "The British Jewish community will gladly and respectfully endorse Mrs. Tzipi Hotovely as the new Israeli Ambassador to the UK. She is a leader with many positive attributes and achievements, and we wish her the best of luck in her new position.”
Zionist Federation of the UK and Ireland chairman Paul Charney said that “Hotovely is a talented diplomat and, should she take up the offer, we will wholeheartedly support her in her role as representative in order to help her succeed.”
Charney said he respects Netanyahu’s right, as the democratically elected prime minister of Israel, to appoint an ambassador and that Hotovely’s “personal perspective” does not have any bearing on her appointment, because she is meant to represent the government.
Na'amod (Let Us Stand), a group seeking "to bring British Jewish support for the occupation to an end," is actively campaigning for Hotovely's rejection. The Jewish Chronicle characterized Na'amod as on the "fringe" of British Jewish communal life.
The group's petition garnered 574 signatures out of a goal of 800 as of Tuesday morning. The Board of Deputies of British Jews estimates that there are 284,000 Jews in England and Wales.
The petition, titled "British Jews demand the UK Government rejects Settlements Minister as Israel's New Ambassador," asserts that "Hotovely has an appalling record of racist and inflammatory behavior."
The group cited Hotovely's support for a group discouraging intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews and saying there is a "myth of occupation," as well as her referring to Biblical texts in which God granted the Land of Israel to the Jewish people.
Several Israeli and British diplomatic sources said Hotovely would most likely be accepted, pointing out that the UK very rarely rejects ambassadors and that its current government is very friendly to Israel.


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