Dan Senor: ‘proposed sanctions against West Bank settlements are unworkable’

The message to Hamas, he added, was that the international community was pushing for a Palestinian state even as hostages remained, fighting continued and no ceasefire had been agreed. “It’s this unilateral uni-focus on Israel as though no one else had a role or seat at a table that I find so problematic.”

Senor also argued the sanctions would be practically unenforceable because of the difficulty of imposing a total ban on multinational companies with any links to the settlements. He cited Bank Hapoalim, one of Israel’s major banks asking if it provided services to Jewish residents in suburbs just outside east Jerusalem, “are those considered settlements? Is therefore Bank Hapoalim complicit?”

300 people attended the UJIA dinner[Missing Credit]

Hundreds of multinationals, he noted, maintain large R&D centres in Israel. “What happens if an Israeli employee lives in an area that Amnesty International considers an illegal settlement? … As you begin to understand all this, the whole thing is completely unworkable.”

Senor, co-author of the 2009 bestseller Start-up Nation, was in conversation with former UJS president Edward Isaacs. He also discussed his podcast, Call Me Back, Israel’s defence technology sector and the country’s forthcoming elections.

Despite the challenges facing Israel and the Jewish diaspora, he said one source of hope was the depth of the US-Israel relationship. “Despite what you read in the press … the depth of the US-Israel relationship has never been deeper or stronger, ever. In ways that are so concrete that they cannot be untangled easily.”

He recounted an anecdote from a senior Israeli Air Force intelligence officer who was at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina a month before Operation Epic Fury began in February. In the command room, equal numbers of Americans and Israelis worked side by side throughout the campaign. “I’ve never seen anything like this … It was like we were one cell, one fusion, one unit.”

From the Pentagon’s perspective, Senor said, that interconnection provides the United States “incredible leverage” that cannot be undone overnight.

UJIA is an educational charity that strengthens Jewish identity and connection to Israel among young British Jews. This summer, it helped more than 1,400 young people take part in experiences in Israel, with thousands more attending youth movement camps it supports.

The dinner’s theme was “Trailblazers,” highlighting young people making a positive impact in Israel.

Hilda Worth, UJIA trustee and dinner chair, told guests: “Today’s trailblazers stand in the direct line from the early [Zionist] pioneers … Their spirit of grit, community, and unwavering belief is alive again. This is Zionism 2.0, and we should be loud and proud about it.”

UJIA "trailblazers" spoke at the annual dinner[Missing Credit]

Four trailblazers, Libi Fileman, Yoni Nemko, Yaron Waksman and Rebecca Freeman, also addressed the audience.

The dinner raised nearly £2 million.