Britain and Israel celebrated the 70th anniversary of formal diplomatic ties between the two states on Monday, as diplomat and politicians reflected on the ups and downs of the relationship.
The anniversary marked the opening of the first British Embassy on Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Street on 28 April 1950, and the establishment of formal ties between the UK and Israel.
James Cleverly, the Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa, who oversees Britain’s relationship with Israel, wrote in the Jerusalem Post that he was “optimistic” about the future of relations.
Mr Cleverly wrote that Israel and Britain were cooperating closely in the fight against coronavirus and reflected on the development of scientific and business ties, as well as diplomatic visits between Israel and Britain. He also noted the British government’s continued support for a two-state solution.
Mr Cleverly wrote that while many things had changed in 70 years, “some things do not”.
He wrote that Britain would continue to “cherish our friendship with Israel, stand united in the struggle against the insidious forces of hate and antisemitism and work towards an even brighter and better future for us all.”
Mark Regev, the Israeli Ambassador to Israel, wrote in The Times that British ties with Israel “give us hope even in these exceptional time,” continuing that “just as our counterterrorism co-operation is saving lives, so too are our globally renounced scientists working to defeat coronavirus.”
Mr Regev did, however, touch on the rocky beginning of the relationship, noting that “our shared story has not always been so positive”.
The end of the British mandate in Palestine in 1948 and the armed campaign against British targets waged by Zionist organisations marked a nadir for British-Israeli relations.
This legacy of hostility, and the mistrust of British intentions by the new Israeli leadership, left an ambivalence in Anglo-Israeli relationship that has taken time to heal. Britain itself recognised Israel formally only in 1950, two years after the birth of the Jewish state.
Britain and Israel have had a relationship defined by its ups and downs. However, over the past two decades Anglo-Israeli relations have become closer than ever, and – as a sign of the times – in 2019 Israeli and British fighter jets trained together for the first time.
Since 2018, the annual value of trade ties between Britain and Israel has grown by 25 per cent to some £9bn, while Britain is now Israel’s third largest export market.
Neil Wigan, the current occupant of the office of the British Ambassador in Tel Aviv, said that relations had “never been closer”.
Conservative Friends of Israel also marked the occasion, celebrating “record levels of trade and a flourishing science & tech partnership”.
Labour Friends of Israel posted a photo of Yitzakh Rabin and Harold Wilson and said: “Today is the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the UK and Israel. This historic decision was taken by the Labour government of Clement Attlee and led to decades of friendship between our two countries.”
