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UK Survey Shows Increased Support for Israel, Opposition to Boycotts

by TheTower.org Staff |

The number of British people who believe that Israel is a “key ally” of the United Kingdom has grown in the last year, as has the number that oppose boycotts of the Jewish state, a new survey from the Britain Israel Communications & Research Centre (BICOM) revealed.

BICOM also found an increase in support for other propositions that are favorable to Israel, including agreement with the Balfour Declaration, the 1917 British document that supported the creation of a Jewish homeland.

The British public’s support for Israel as an ally grew from 52 to 57 percent in the past year. That figure is stronger than the British public’s support for any other Middle Eastern country.

Fifty-one percent of respondents stated that they don’t boycott goods from Israel and “find it difficult to understand why others would single out Israel to boycott given everything else that’s going in the world.” That figure grew by eighter percent in the past year. Fifty-six percent of those polled believe that boycotts of Israel hurt both Israelis and Palestinians.

Forty-three percent of respondents agreed that the British government was correct to issue the Balfour Declaration in 1917, more than twice as many as the 18 percent who disagreed. Those viewing the Balfour Declaration favorably increased by three percent since last year.

Forty-eight percent believed that it was anti-Semitic to hate Israel and question its right to exist, more than double the 20 percent who disagreed.

“Our poll show a very significant shift against the idea of boycotting Israel,” said BICOM CEO James Sorene. “The majority opposing it has increased by as much as eight per cent over the past year. The British sense of fair play is a clear theme in the poll as time and again respondents reject singling out Israel, given everything else going on in the world. In a year where we have seen several public figures attempt to explain their hatred of Israel as a political position, the judgement of the British people is stark. They clearly understand that hating Israel and questioning its right to exist is antisemitism, pure and simple.”

[ Photo: UK in Israel / Flickr ]

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