New British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on embassy move to occupied Jerusalem

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrQNa9F1HU4

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Britain under Sunak is not going to be a country where anti-Semites will thrive.

Racism is in retreat under Prime Minister Sunak
Jews should welcome the arrival of another PM from a minority community
https://www.thejc.com/news/politics/racism-is-in-retreat-under-prime-minister-sunak-2zkJ6AWeR7PaRfP80S6d9?reloadTime=1666628872781

I'm old enough to have covered the General Election of 1987, when Margaret Thatcher won her third victory (her second landslide). That campaign also saw the election of the first four MPs of colour (all of them Labour) in modern times -  Paul Boateng (who later, under Tony Blair, became the first black Cabinet minster), Diane Abbott, Keith Vaz and Bernie Grant.

At the time, many commentators saw this as a milestone – a sign that Britain, which two decades earlier had witnessed Enoch Powell's notorious "rivers of blood speech" and openly racist by-election campaigns, really was changing.

It may have taken another 35 years. But the unopposed coronation of Rishi Sunak as leader of the Tory Party and our next Prime Minister is also hugely important, especially given the diverse nature of much of the other talent on the Conservative front bench. Of course, he is not the first British PM from a minority background: that honour belongs to the great Benjamin Disraeli in 1868. But the fact the Tories chose Sunak is an event we ought to welcome with just as much enthusiasm as the election of Barack Obama as US president.

Racism – including the antisemitic variety – has not been banished from Britain. But it is in retreat.

Just as significant was the nature of Sunak's victory. By lunchtime today, Monday, it was apparent that the prospects of Penny Mordaunt getting over the 100-nomination threshold to be allowed formally to stand were starting to recede. Over coffee in the atrium at Portcullis House, a senior Tory MP who was part of Sunak's campaign told me: "I'm getting inquiries from MPs who've already nominated her asking how they can withdraw their nomination – it's a complicated business, but it can be done.

"It's just becoming clear that no one wants a contest Rishi is certain to win. We've seen what happens when someone becomes Prime Minister without enough support from the party. That is not an experiment we can risk trying again."

By this time, of course, Boris Johnson had already declared himself out of the running – having dashed back early from his Caribbean vacation to no avail.

And so to committee room 14, where first, at 2pm, Graham Brady, chairman of the backbench 1922 committee, announced that Sunak was the only candidate, and then, a short while later, Sunak himself addressed MPs. Reporters were excluded from the second of these history-making events, but as we sat outside, there was no mistaking the frequent cheers and desk-banging going on inside the room as the new party leader spoke.

The MPs and former ministers emerging after the meeting wore expressions of bliss, relief, and triumph. The daunting nature of the new PM's in-tray is, of course, formidable. But here at last, they said, was the man for the job: as former party leader Sir Iain Duncan-Smith told me, "cometh the hour, cometh the man. We can get back to governing again."

Sunak, he added, had made a speech that emphasised unity, and "getting the job done", claiming that the vicious divisions that have emerged in the past 12 months were all "personal, not ideological", and pointing out that all those present had stood on the 2019 Tory manifesto – with its commitment to "levelling up" and deriving benefit from Brexit.

"My perception is that this is fantastic," former Brexit Secretary David Davis told the JC. "I have never heard such a warm reception for any new leader in my long career." Former chancellor Sajid Javid repeated this observation in almost identical terms – adding that Sunak's victory showed "the Tories are not, as some have claimed, ungovernable".

Even Therese Coffey, appointed Health Secretary and deputy leader by the hapless Liz Truss, was effusive. "It's very clear that the party is behind Rishi," she told me. "Of course I'm sad about what's happened to my friend Liz but we are now behind him, and I will do whatever it takes to support him."

A cynic might observe that they would say that, wouldn't they: with Labour currently polling over 50%, the Tories really have no choice. They must unite or die. But to me, it seemed that the choice of Sunak was attracting genuine warmth, and, more importantly, deep respect for his intellect: no bad thing given the challenges he must face.

It's early days, but from this, I think, we can draw some conclusions. First and foremost, a senior member of Sunak's campaign told me that the new PM is "absolutely determined" to resist the growing pressure for an early general election. Given their new-found confidence, it does not now seem likely that many Conservatives are going to object, and that may well mean that Labour will not get its chance until well into 2024, or even later – the last possible date is January 2025. I suspect there will be far fewer Tory rebellions from here on in.

Second, I doubt there will be any big departures from the foreign policy set under Boris Johnson, and indeed, Liz Truss: the UK will remain a staunch friend of Israel, determined to do all it can to curb Iranian regional aggression and its acquisition of nukes, and an ally of Ukraine.

And finally, Jews should welcome the arrival of another PM from a minority community, even if, with Dizzy, we got there first. Britain under Sunak is not going to be a country where anti-Semites will thrive.




What does Prime Minister Rishi Sunak mean for British Jews?
The first Hindu Prime Minister's views on Jews, Israel and antisemitism
https://www.thejc.com/news/politics/what-does-prime-minister-rishi-sunak-mean-for-british-jews-1nl8CK1metfSp1hNfKaGuf

As Rishi Sunak is poised to take office as the United Kingdom's first-ever Hindu Prime Minister, we take a look at his track record with Britain's Jewish community.

The ex-hedge fund manager has a strong relationship with Britain's Jewish community.

During his first leadership campaign this summer, Sunak told the Conservative Friends of Israel hustings that he recognised Jerusalem as Israel's "historic capital". He agreed with Ms Truss there was a "very strong case" for relocating the British embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The Richmond MP also told the audience that he was committed to the construction of the controversial Westminster Holocaust memorial in Victoria Embankment Gardens, and vowed to get BDS restrictions on the legislative agenda.

He said at the event: "We should make sure that we support the CST, and it goes back to making sure that we get the memorial built because the best way to stop this is by educating people, and the more we can spread awareness and education at every part of our society and every generation, the closer we will be to eradicating this awful, awful thing."

In an August interview with the JC, he described Israel as a "shining beacon of hope". He also promised to increase spending on Jewish security organisations such as the Community Security Trust, expressing how he felt "horrified" by the need for security outside Jewish faith schools.

During his summer leadership bid, Mr Sunak made a campaign stop during his first leadership bid to St John's Wood synagogue in North London.

Michael Howard, the grandson of Holocaust survivors who led the Conservative Party from November 2003 to 2005, backed Mr Sunak's October leadership bid, writing in the Daily Mail newspaper that the ex-chancellor can "rescue the Tories like Harold Macmillan after Suez".

Mr Sunak has also spoken up about the threat of Iran, warning in August that the attack on author Salman Rushdie must function as a "wake-up call for the West", and urged "maximum pressure" sanctions on the Islamic Republic before considering any plans to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement.

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New British PM has called Jerusalem Israel's 'historic capital,' vowed to fight BDS
Rishi Sunak has also hailed the Jewish state as a 'shining beacon of hope,' expressed determination to eliminate 'scourge' of antisemitism
https://www.timesofisrael.com/new-british-pm-has-called-jerusalem-israels-historic-capital-vowed-to-fight-bds/

Rishi Sunak, who will be the new British new prime minister after becoming Conservative party leader on Monday, is considered a strong supporter of Israel and a friend of the UK's Jewish community.

At a Conservative Friends of Israel event in August, Sunak declared Jerusalem is "indisputably the historic capital" of Israel and that there was a "very strong case" for moving the UK embassy from its current location in Tel Aviv.

"It's something I'd like to do," he said.

But Sunak, a former Treasury chief, also acknowledged "sensitivities" over the issue.

"If it was that easy, it would have been done by now," he said.

The incoming premier made those remarks during his failed leadership bid against Liz Truss, whose resignation as prime minister last week after a tumultuous six-week stint in office paved the way for Sunak's elevation to leader, after his lone challenger for the post bowed out of the race on Monday.

Truss told Prime Minister Yair Lapid last month that she was reviewing the UK embassy's potential relocation to Jerusalem, but did not end up acting on the matter during her record short term in office.

Also over the summer, Sunak hailed Israel as a "shining beacon of hope" in an interview with the Jewish Chronicle. And when writing for the UK Jewish News, a partner of The Times of Israel, he stated his opposition to the boycott movement.

"I will continue to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Bill, that will prevent public bodies engaging in boycotts that undermine community cohesion," he wrote in July.

"The Jewish community is right to call out those who seek to damage the only Jewish state in the world," he added.

Sunak voiced concern over a rise in antisemitic incidents in the first half of 2021.

"This is not an issue to be equivocal about: everyone across parliament and the country must take a robust position on eliminating antisemitism and I am determined to ensure this scourge on our society is eradicated," he said.

Sunak, who is expected to take office on Tuesday, will be the first British prime minister of color and its first Hindu leader — a milestone for a country with an extensive colonial past, and one that is still contested.

The challenges facing Sunak, the UK's third prime minister this year, are enormous: he must try to shore up an economy sliding toward recession and reeling after his predecessor's brief, disastrous experiment in libertarian economics, while also attempting to unite a demoralized and divided party that trails far behind the opposition in opinion polls.

In his first public statement, Sunak said, "The United Kingdom is a great country, but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge."

"We now need stability and unity, and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together," said Sunak, who at 42 is Britain's youngest prime minister in 200 years.

Victory was a vindication for Sunak, after he lost out to Truss in the Conservative election to replace former prime minister Boris Johnson, when party members chose her tax-cutting boosterism over his warnings that inflation must be tamed.

Truss conceded last week that she could not deliver on her plans — but only after her attempts triggered market chaos and worsened inflation at a time when millions of Britons were already struggling with soaring borrowing costs and rising energy and food prices.

The party is now desperate for someone to right the ship after months of chaos — both during Truss's short term and at the end of Johnson's time as prime minister.

As finance minister, Sunak steered the economy through the coronavirus pandemic, winning praise for his financial support for laid-off workers and shuttered businesses.

He now faces the huge challenge of calming markets and trying to tame inflation at a time of weakened government finances, a worsening economic outlook and a wave of strikes. Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt, appointed by Truss 10 days ago, is due to make an emergency budget statement October 31 — if Sunak keeps him in the job.

Britain also faces broader economic problems stemming from the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the country's exit from the European Union in 2020. Sunak was a firm supporter of Brexit.

Sunak was cheered wildly by Conservative lawmakers during a packed private meeting in Parliament minutes after he won the contest on Monday.

But Sunak still faces resentment from supporters of Johnson for quitting the government in July, a move that helped topple the then-leader. His background as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and his wife's vast wealth — she is the daughter of an Indian billionaire — also fuel a sense that he is out of touch with the struggles of ordinary people.