Board of Deputies of British Jews President Marie van der Zyl said: “We are very pleased to see many firm friends of the community taking their places on the front bench.We had a good relationship with Theresa May’s team, and look forward to continuing to advance the interests of the community with our many longstanding friends in Boris Johnson’s new government.”
LONDON—‘’There are many friends among members of the Cabinet of new Prime Minister Boris Johnson,’’ said the Board of Deputies, the representative body of British Jews, as it welcomed the annoucement of the new ministers.
Johnson, a former London Mayor and former Foreign Secretary (Minister), has been elected the new Conservative Party leader, as he easily beatihis rival former Foreign Ministr Jeremy Hunt, and as such succeeded Theresa May at 10 Downing street.
Board of Deputies of British Jews President Marie van der Zyl said: “We are very pleased to see many firm friends of the community taking their places on the front bench.We had a good relationship with Theresa May’s team, and look forward to continuing to advance the interests of the community with our many longstanding friends in Boris Johnson’s new government.”
The new cabinet includes former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab as Foreign Minister. A 45-year-old graduate of both Oxford and Cambridge, Raab is the son of a Jewish Czech father who fled the Nazis, Raab reportedly spent the summer of 1998 at a university near Ramallah and became involved early on in the Arab-Israeli conflict, working with a former Palestinian negotiator of the Oslo peace process in the West Bank.
During his bid for the Tory leadership, he produced a video telling his father’s story, in which he said of Labour’s antisemitism crisis: “Every one of us in politics must always stand against antisemitism in all its forms. It’s not just political. For some of us, it’s personal.”
Priti Patel, who resigned as Aid Minister in 2017 over unauthorized meetings with senior Israeli officials, was named as Home Secretary (Interior Minister). Patel quit in November 2017 after it emerged that she held a series of meeting with Israeli leaders — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — about allocating aid to the Israeli army’s Syrian relief efforts, without properly informing the government.
Patel had apologized for holding 12 separate meetings during a family holiday to Israel in August of that year without notifying the Foreign Office or Downing Street in advance.
Outgoing Interior Minister Sajid Javid was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, responsible for spending and economic policy.
Javid made a three-day trip to Israel and the West Bank earlier this month, including a rare visit to Jerusalem’s Western Wall and Temple Mount.
The minister, who comes from a Muslim family, donned a traditional Jewish skullcap as he toured the Western Wall holy site in Jerusalem and placed a note between the stones of the ancient retaining wall.
He recalled that his father believed deeply in Jewish-Muslim coexistence. “We love Jewish heritage very much and appreciate it,” the then-home secretary said during the private visit.
Grant Shapps replaced Chris Grayling as Transport Minister. In an interview with the Jewish Chronicle in 2010, Shapps said: “I feel totally Jewish; I am totally Jewish. I don’t eat pork, we only buy kosher meat and we don’t mix meat and milk.
“I like being Jewish and I married a Jewish girl. It’s like a way of life and it’s good to be able to instil some of that sense of being in your kids.
“All of that makes me seem as though I am quite observant but actually the flipside of this is I don’t know if there is a God or not.
“But one thing I am absolutely certain of is that God wouldn’t care if you were Jewish or Christian or Muslim.”
Israel congratulates Johnson, thanks May for friendship
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Israel Katz congratulated Boris Johnson. “Looking forward to working closely together, both in facing our common challenges and seizing the opportunities ahead,” said Netanyahu.
“Mazal Tov to Boris Johnson on becoming UK Prime Minister,” Katz tweeted. “I look forward to working with Prime Minister Johnson and his team to build on the existing strong relationship between the UK and Israel.”
Katz also thanked May for “the amazing and tireless work that she did to strengthen ties between our two countries. Bilateral trade is up, tourism is up and security cooperation is saving lives. Thank you to a true friend.”
Israeli political leaders from across the political spectrum were quick to congratulate Johnson, describing him a “friend,” both personally and to the country.
Johnson visited Israel in March 2017 when he was serving as Foreign Minister.
Johnson’s record on Israel has featured both statements of kinship and harsh criticism. In 2014, he called Israel’s attack on Hamas in Gaza “disproportionate,” and “ugly and tragic,” adding: “it will not do Israel any good in the long run.” In 2019, he also said that “it’s totally unacceptable that innocent Israeli civilians should face the threat of rocket fire and bombardment from Gaza.”
Earlier this month, he said in an interview with the London-based Jewish News that he is a “passionate Zionist” who “loves the great country” of Israel.
“The UK and Israel share a longstanding tradition of cooperation, common interests, and shared values,” Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz tweeted.
His No. 2, Yair Lapid, posted a photo of himself with Johnson and wrote: “Good luck to my good friend Boris Johnson. I’m sure that as Prime Minister you will continue to strengthen the relationship between our two countries.”
Isaac Herzog, head of the Jewish Agency for Israel, tweeted: “Best wishes to Boris Johnson, a true friend of Israel. I trust you will continue working to make the Jewish community feel safe in the UK in these challenging times. Look forward to your ongoing commitment to fostering ties between UK & Israel.”