Jewish leaders ‘appalled’ after UK ‘abandons principle’ on anti-Israel UN agenda

In a joint statement, the bodies accused the government of reneging on a clear and principled position.

“In the week that the UK’s Jewish community is still reeling from an antisemitic attack in Golders Green, the government’s abandonment of principle on antisemitism is inexcusable,” they said.

Item 7 has long been a source of controversy as it is the only standing agenda item at the council dedicated to a single country. 

Many in the Jewish community and Israel itself believe the item unfairly targets the Jewish State, while other states with widely documented human rights abuses do not face equivalent scrutiny.

Communal leaders stressed that, while Israel should be held accountable for its human rights record, this should take place via mechanisms which apply to all countries.

“Israel, like all countries, should be held accountable for its human rights record. There is another item, Item 4, which provides for the opportunity to consider human rights in all contexts,” read the statement.

“The notorious Item 7 makes Israel the only country in the world to have its own standing item at the UNHRC. For context, flagrant human rights abusers like Russia, North Korea, China and Iran do not have their own agenda items.

“The fact that the world's only Jewish state has its own standing agenda item is a feature of the UN's institutional antisemitism, and it undermines the credibility of what should be a crucial institution. Importantly, systemic bias in the UN has undermined progressive forces in the Middle East who wish to pursue a secure peace,” it continued.

Successive UK governments had recognised these concerns, maintaining a policy of voting against all Item 7 resolutions while considering similar texts under Item 4.

“We have supported this stance,” the Jewish groups said, adding: “For the Jewish community to have any confidence in the Government's resolve on this issue, the policy of voting against all Item 7 resolutions must be maintained.”

Responding to the criticism, a government spokesperson said the UK would continue to oppose Item 7 and work towards its removal, and claimed abstention would be used to allow for “constructive engagement”.

Officials also argued that the previous approach had led to the UK voting against resolutions addressing issues such as Palestinian self-determination, even when this aligned with UK policy.

The new position is said to bring Britain closer into line with European allies.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: “The UK's longstanding and principled objection to Item 7 remains unchanged. Our position is that the existence of Item 7 unfairly and uniquely singles out the State of Israel in comparison to other countries, and that there are a number of other non-country specific agenda items where relevant issues could and should be discussed instead.

"The UK has just been re-elected as a voting member of the Human Rights Council after a gap of 2 years. As such, we will continue to lead the charge for the removal of Item 7 and to push for issues related to Israel-Palestine to be discussed under alternative agenda items.

“Where issues are instead tabled under Item 7, in line with the UK approach taken before 2019, we would expect to engage in constructive dialogue to influence discussions and other HRC members, and to ensure consistency in our policy positions.

"However we will seek to avoid votes and abstain to reflect our continued objection to the unfair mechanism by which these legitimate issues are raised.

"The last government’s position saw the UK vote ‘no’ by default on resolutions on serious issues like settlement expansion, settler violence or Palestinian self-determination, even when that contradicted UK policy and where conditions on the ground worsened.”