THE UK Government is “encouraging antisemitism” and stifling freedom of speech by pushing through legislation to ban public bodies from boycotting Israel, one of the UK’s most senior Jewish MPs has said.
The Conservatives are facing strong criticism for pressing ahead with plans to block councils and other public bodies from backing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, amid rising levels of antisemitism and Islamophobia because of the war between Israel and Hamas.
The Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill passed its latest stage of parliamentary scrutiny on Wednesday evening, despite a Tory backbench bid to dilute key parts of the bill.
Labour MP Margaret Hodge, who was born to Jewish refugee parents and is generally against the BDS movement, said pushing through the bill would inflame tensions, and in particular anti-Jewish hate.
'Encouraging antisemitism'
She said: “I speak as a proud Jew. I speak as a strong supporter of Israel and a committed Zionist and I speak as somebody who opposes the BDS movement and believes that its intent is to try and destroy the state of Israel.
“But I don’t speak on my own, I know that I speak in the name of thousands of Jews in Britain […] I would simply ask the minister and [Michael Gove] please, please withdraw this nasty bill and come back in the autumn with a properly considered proposal that can be accepted by us all at this time.”
Hodge added: “The Government believe they have set a trap for us in the opposition. If we speak against the bill, they will paint us as antisemites.
“But I say to the Government, if they pass this bill, in its current form, it is they who will be encouraging antisemitism by fuelling hatred.”
Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell accused the Government of an assault on freedom of speech and argued the bill was “unconservative” as it would restrict people’s rights to decide what to do with their private property because it would stop members of local government pension schemes from divesting in Israel.
Chris Stephens, the SNP’s justice spokesperson, claimed the Government was “playing party-political games at a time when the Middle East is in crisis and the rest of the world fears the start of an even broader conflict”.
He added: “That’s a very real fear… that this is not the occasion on which to push forward this legislation. Polarisation is a game that’s long been played by the Government but this is not a game, such cynicism has no place in it.”
Supporters on the Government benches argued the BDS movement was inherently antisemitic and said the official campaign had links with Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, both of which the UK Government considers terrorist groups.
Former minister Michael Ellis also claimed bodies such as local councils and their members were not equipped to understand the “nuances” of foreign policy.
Labour backbencher Zarah Sultana, said the policy would have made impossible the campaign by councils across Britain to boycott apartheid South Africa.
Failed Tory rebel amendment
Kit Malthouse, who put forward an unsuccessful amendment to remove a part of the bill which would have gold-plated protections for Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories from boycott, said ministers risk “playing into the antisemitism” that has increased in the UK in recent weeks.
He said: “In carving out Israel, the West Bank and the occupied Golan Heights in the legislation, the Secretary of State (Michael Gove) is, I’m afraid, playing into the antisemitism that we’ve seen rise in this country over the last few weeks.
“It was Jonathan Freedland who wrote in the Jewish Chronicle: ‘What is a favourite refrain of the antisemites? That Israel is the one country you’re not ‘allowed’ to criticise. This bill takes a canard and, in the case of boycotts, turns it into the law of the land’.”
Malthouse added: “There is no requirement in law for this carve out to exist. Were amendment seven to be passed, the impact of the bill would be precisely the same on a daily basis, Israel would merely be treated as all other countries in the world would be treated for the purposes of our legislation.”
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner earlier welcomed Malthouse’s amendment, saying: “We have serious reservations about how this bill will effectively rewrite UK foreign policy by explicitly equating Israel with the occupied Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights.
“This is an unprecedented step that to my knowledge has never been taken in British statute before and is unique in any British legislation.
“An essential cornerstone of British policy supported across this house and indeed at the UN is support for a two-state solution as a viable long-term solution to give Israelis and Palestinians the recognition and security that they deserve.
“Not only does the wording of this bill call into question the long-standing position of the UK in supporting a two-state solution, it runs counter to the UN resolutions.”
Gove defended the bill against accusations it would curtail people’s freedom of speech, saying: “The bill doesn’t prevent any individual from articulating their support for the BDS campaign, or indeed any particular policy that the BDS campaign puts forward.
“It simply prevents public bodies being used and public money being used to advance that case.”
