A local British municipal council has dropped a motion to boycott all products from the State of Israel, UK’s Jewish News reported Thursday – amid a rising trend of British councils, chains, and groups supporting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against the Jewish State.
The Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (DMBC) of West Midlands – near Birmingham in West Midlands [Central England, between Liverpool and London – ed.] – was considering adopting a boycott, days after Leicester city council adopted a similar motion.
Dudley Labor councillor Qadar Zada’s proposal urged the municipality to cease “existing and future procurement of goods and services where there is a direct benefit to the State of Israel, including through the supply chain, subject to legal compliance with all relevant procurement, contractual, legislative and regulatory requirements until such time as the State of Israel complies with international law.”
Announcements that the DMBC was considering the move were met by strong protests from Jewish leaders, Tory (conservative) party members, and UK Independence Party (UKIP) representatives.
Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) head Simon Johnson welcomed the news that the motion had been dropped Thursday night.
“We welcome the decision of Dudley Council to withdraw their proposed boycott motion,” Johnson stated. “We thank the Councillors for taking account of the concerns expressed in the letter from the JLC and BOD.”
“The proposed motion would have been illegal, contrary to the policies of the leaders of all major political parties and contrary to the stated aims of the Palestinian Authority,” he continued. “We hope that such a motion will not be reintroduced in future.”
Support from conservative Tories and UKIP was strong for Jewish leaders’ opposition to the motion. Some seven UKIP councilors were set to vote against the BDS motion, and at least one Tory representative stated that the party would oppose similar motions again if the issue reared its head in the future.
“I believe it will now be kicked into the long grass,” Tory Councillor Patrick Hurley added. “Needless to say if they are stupid enough to bring it back at anytime then the Conservative Group will vote against.”
UKIP representative Paul Brothwood added that the BDS motion was likely “illegal,” given equal opportunities laws in England, and that the left-wing parties’ support for the bills sets dangerous precedents.
“The local Labor party seem to be caring more about the West Bank than the West Midlands,” he said. “They are being narrow and divisive.”
“In reality this motion is unworkable,” he added, “as the council would need to throw out most computers, most modern phones, a quarter of NHS generic drugs and all their latest scanners.”
