OVER a hundred prominent Israelis living in the UK have called on Keir Starmer’s government to issue sanctions against “extremist” Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
The Prime Minister previously said in October that he was mulling sanctions in response to finance minister Smotrich‘s comments that starving civilians in Gaza might be justified and national security minister Ben-Gvir saying that perpetrators of settler violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank were heroes.
But Foreign Secretary David Lammy has since refused to be drawn on whether those sanctions could be forthcoming.
Now, a letter and (ongoing) petition signed by 179 Israelis in the UK has called for Starmer's government to go ahead – describing Ben Gvir as a “convicted criminal” and condemning Smotrich’s comment’s about Palestinians.
Signatories include a number of prominent academics, including Gilat Levy – a professor of economics at the London School of Economics.
Actress Romi Aboulafia has also signed the letter, alongside Hagar Kotef, an author and professor of political theory at Soas, the University of London.
The letter was organised by grassroots UK Israeli group We Democracy, which has previously organised protests in London against Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
A co-founder of the group, Jenny Kananov, told The National that she is “appalled by everything that Ben Gvir and Smotrich have said and done and by what they represent”.
She added: “It was important for me to show that they don’t represent me as well as many other Israelis.”
One of the letter’s authors and backers, Magen Inon – whose parents Bilha and Yakovi were killed by Hamas on October 7 – said it was important to put pressure on Netanyahu's government.
“They don't care about Palestinian lives and they're also willing to sacrifice the hostages on the agenda of resettling Gaza,” he said.
“All of that together is making us very upset. We are Israelis who care very much about Israel and Israel being a liberal democracy like the UK. And we don't want to see Israel as a pariah state governed by a messianic authoritarian regime.”
The letter echoed many of those thoughts.
“Calling for sanctions against government ministers of our native country doesn’t come naturally to many of us," it read.
“We are Israelis who want to see Israel thriving as a democratic state. But that’s exactly why we believe the international community must do all it can to stop these extremists from destroying Israel from within.”
The letter also says that Ben Gvir and Smotrich are “doing all they can” to prevent a hostage and ceasefire deal.
“[They are] instead focusing their entire energies on their messianic aims: annexing the West Bank and settling the Gaza strip.”
The letter added: “Surveys show most Israelis want the war to end and do not support these extremist visions of settlement and the transfer and displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
“Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens. Minister Smotrich himself said that the starvation of Palestinians in Gaza “may be justified and moral” and talked about an “opportunity” to reduce the population of Gaza by 50%.
“These are clear violations of international law. We are appalled that these people claim to speak for us.”
