MILIBAND INVOKED HIS 60 RELATIVES MURDERED IN THE HOLOCAUST, THEN
ANNOUNCED SANCTIONS ON ISRAEL
MILIBAND INVOKED HIS 60 RELATIVES MURDERED IN THE HOLOCAUST, THEN
ANNOUNCED SANCTIONS ON ISRAEL
Britain's Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband speaks at the House of Commons
in London (photo credit: House of Commons/Handout via REUTERS)
ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF [1] SEPTEMBER 8, 2026 21:08 Updated: SEPTEMBER 9,
2026 16:18
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband invoked his family's Holocaust [2]
history and his childhood memories of Israel on Tuesday as he delivered
one of the UK government's harshest speeches on Israeli policy and
announced a ban on imports from West Bank settlements.
Opening his statement to the House of Commons, Miliband described
himself as a "proud British Jew" and said he felt deep gratitude toward
Israel for providing a home to his grandmother after the Nazis murdered
her husband, Miliband's grandfather, and 60 other members of their
family.
Miliband recalled visiting his grandmother in Tel Aviv during the 1970s
and spending time on the kibbutz where his cousins lived. He said his
family's experience was one reason he rejected attempts to challenge
Israel's existence as the homeland of the Jewish people, describing such
efforts as an "erasure of Israel."
The foreign secretary then addressed the (sic) October 7 Hamas
massacre [3], saying the attack demonstrated the grave threats facing
Israel and affirming its right to defend itself. He also identified Iran
as a threat to Israel and Jews around the world and said Britain would
continue security cooperation with Israel on shared national-security
interests.
Miliband announced sanctions against Hezbollah's financial arm, Al-Qard
Al-Hassan [4], and said Britain was reimposing major economic sanctions
on Iran and would join allies in referring Tehran's nuclear violations
to the UN Security Council.
MILIBAND: BRITISH ANTISEMITISM A 'SCOURGE AND EVIL'
Miliband also devoted a significant part of the speech to antisemitism
in Britain.
He contrasted his own experience attending school without fear in the
1980s with that of Jewish children today who require security guards
outside their schools. He cited recent antisemitic attacks [5] and
announced that Britain was investing an additional £250 million in
security for Jewish communities.
He called antisemitism a "scourge and an evil" and said Britain would
host representatives of the J7, a grouping of countries with large
Jewish populations, in October to discuss combating antisemitism,
including online hate.
Miliband also drew a sharp distinction between criticism of Israel and
attacks on British Jews, saying that holding British Jews responsible
for decisions made by the Israeli government constituted antisemitism.
He said he remained unwavering in his support for Israel while also
supporting Palestinian statehood, presenting the two-state solution as
the central principle of Britain's policy.
MILIBAND CITES PERSONAL FAMILY HISTORY AS HE BANS TRADE WITH WEST BANK
The tone of the speech shifted sharply as Miliband turned to Gaza and
the West Bank.
He said he felt "a deep sense of shame" over Palestinian suffering
during the past three years and described events in Gaza as a stain on
the conscience of the international community.
In the West Bank, Miliband accused violent settlers of carrying out
ethnic cleansing in some Palestinian communities and said the British
government believed Israeli authorities had too often failed to prevent
forced displacement. He formally declared that Britain considered
Israel's occupation of the West Bank unlawful.
Miliband announced that Britain would ban imports from Israeli
settlements, prohibit advertising for settlement property in the UK and
impose sanctions on companies and individuals involved in financing,
construction, infrastructure and other activity supporting settlement
expansion. The legislation is expected to take effect within six to nine
months.
He stressed that the measures targeted settlements rather than Israel
within the Green Line and said Britain would continue what he described
as important trade with Israel. He also said he opposed the broader
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
Turning to Gaza, Miliband said there was growing evidence that war
crimes may have been committed and backed international legal
proceedings examining Israeli conduct. He stopped short of determining
that genocide had occurred, saying Britain would await the conclusions
of competent courts.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-907997?utm_source=activetrail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=September92026
--
Dr abraheim Weizfeld
Ph.D. UQÀM, M.A. York U., B.Sc. UdeW
[email protected]
514-235-7187
Montréal
Links:
------
[1] https://www.jpost.com/author/jerusalem-post-staff
[2] https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-906831
[3] https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-907896
[4] https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-895607
[5] https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-907354
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