In 2014, the British city of Leicester decided to boycott some Israeli products; the city council of Lancaster adopted a similar resolution in 2021. On Monday, the House of Commons voted in favor of advancing a bill that would stop such actions by local governments. The vote followed the bill’s second reading, which means those who object to its particulars could have voted for it, and then sought to have it amended before it is considered for passage. Nonetheless, the entire Labor party and 84 Tories abstained, while 70 MPs voted against it. Melanie Phillips comments:
The opposition to the bill is deeply disingenuous. Critics say that it’s so wide-ranging, it will prevent boycotts of places like China or Russia. Yet exemptions would permit boycotts of those countries. . . . Not once . . . did any of these critics acknowledge the malevolent use of libelous falsehoods against Israel, nor the BDS strategy of annihilation.
No less stomach-turning was the handwringing concern that the bill would promote anti-Semitism. Dame Margaret Hodge, known for her unremitting attacks on Israeli policies but who declared herself to be a “proud Zionist,” said the bill “plays into the hands of anti-Semites” by singling out Israel “as the one place that can never be boycotted.” This was beyond perverse, [as well as inaccurate].
The claim that the bill will foment anti-Semitism echoes those in the Jewish community who say any robust defense of Israel foments anti-Semitism. What Hodge and her ilk are actually doing is weaponizing anti-Semitism against Israel.
The number of Tories opposed to it is dismaying. As for Labor, Britain’s Jewish community leadership seems to think it’s safe to support the party once again because its inner viper of Israel-bashing Jew-hatred has been decapitated. Such a judgment would appear to be distinctly premature.
Read more on Jewish Chronicle: https://www.thejc.com/lets-talk/all/there-are-no-good-reasons-to-oppose-the-boycott-bill-BDhjmzggcVibh7LOjSnZO