Miliband rejects chief rabbi's claim British Jews in greater danger after sanctions move

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has rejected the chief rabbi's warning that British Jews are at greater risk after the UK announced sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Miliband said that as a "proud British Jew" he disagreed with UK Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, who described the move as a "truly dark day" that would "succeed only in bolstering the very extremism they seek to target".

"We all need to do more to tackle antisemitism," Miliband said, "but I believe we can do that and stand up for British values".

The sanctions on trade with illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank come against a backdrop of rising antisemitic incidents across the UK.

The Community Security Trust (CST), an organisation that provides security support to the Jewish community, recorded 1,926 incidents of anti-Jewish hate across the UK in the first six months of 2026, a 21% increase on the same period in 2025.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham defended his government's decision, telling MPs that "Britain has to stand for fairness against injustice".

"Where people are being bullied out of their homes... we will always stand with the underdog," he said.

The Palestinian presidency welcomed the UK's decision, saying it was "an important step towards confronting Israel's colonial system and its violations against the Palestinian people".