And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Genesis 12:3
As part of CUFI’s “For Zion’s Sake” campaign, we have listed 12 principles that we believe the new UK Government should implement, including ensuring Britain strengthens its relationship with Israel pro-Brexit.
- Britain and Israel were the first to agree a pre-Brexit deal
- UK-Israel trade is at record levels
- Israel is also one of Britain’s closest military allies and the second closest in intelligence sharing
It is essential that Britain is on the right side of history concerning Israel. Not only are there important economic and security advantages through the relationship with our closest ally in the Middle East, but there is a Biblical mandate to stand with Israel and the Jewish people.
Covenant
The word ‘Brit” means “covenant” in Hebrew and implies the shedding of blood in the process of ratifying an agreement. The word “Brit” is used throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, used especially for the several covenants made by God with His people, including the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob concerning the Land of Israel. Our prayer is that “Brit-ain” will be guardians and upholders of the promise God made to Israel and be faithful in keeping our own promise in standing with the Jewish people.
Brexit
The UK and Israel became the first partnership to sign a pre-Brexit trade deal, meaning there will be no barrier or tariffs between the two countries when Britain leaves the EU.
Bilateral trade is booming, hitting a record-breaking $10 billion last year. This is partly due to growing tech trade with Israel, however about three-quarters of Israel’s exports to the UK are chemicals and pharmaceuticals. About half of the UK’s exports to Israel are minerals.
Military and intelligence cooperation
The level of UK-Israel military cooperation is often publicly downplayed by the British government because of the anticipated backlash it would cause. But reassuringly Britain and Israel are close and important military allies. The head of the British Army met with his counterpart for a tour of Israel in April during which the IDF tweeted, “The cooperation between Israel and the UK is strong and it’s getting even stronger”.
The UK already uses various Israeli weaponry, whilst Britain’s BAE provides Israel with defensive and aerospace systems. Meanwhile, it is Israel’s battlefield medical technology that saves the lives of British troops that are wounded.
The cooperation is not only militarily, but also in intelligence sharing. Aside from perhaps with the US, the UK enjoys virtually the closest intelligence cooperation with Israel than with any other country in the world. Experts have warned that if the UK-Israel intelligence relationship was to be hindered, it would also seriously damage the UK-US intelligence relationship and risk our shared intelligence sharing and security operations.
Our prayer is Britain’s ties with Israel will continue to flourish and that the UK will reflect the importance of standing with Israel in its policies.
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