UK PM: I’m a ‘huge Zionist,’ want to move embassy to Jerusalem

Speaking at pro-Israel conference, Liz Truss says that the UK and its allies will ‘never allow’ Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

New UK Prime Minister Liz Truss pledged “wholehearted” support for the Jewish State during a speech at the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) conference on Monday.

“I am so pleased to be here for the first time at the CFI event as your prime minister,” Truss was quoted as saying by the Jewish Chronicle.

“As you know I am a huge Zionist, I am a huge supporter of Israel, and I know that we can take the UK-Israel relationship from strength to strength.”

“In this world – where we are facing threats from authoritarian regimes who don’t believe in freedom and democracy – two free democracies, the UK and Israel, need to stand shoulder to shoulder and we will be even closer in the future,” she said.

Truss stressed that her country’s support for Israel is “absolute” and “wholehearted,” while adding that the UK and its allies would ensure that Iran “will never…get a nuclear weapon.”

During a meeting with Prime Minister Yair Lapid last month, Truss mentioned that the UK is weighing moving its embassy – which is currently located in Tel Aviv – to Jerusalem.

Referencing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, Truss vowed to “put a stop” to local councils and public institutions adopting anti-Israel policies.

Other high-ranking UK government officials expressed their approval of the potential embassy move.

Health Minister Robert Jenrick said he was “delighted” by Truss’ proposal that the embassy be relocated to Israel’s capital city.

“We have a site in Jerusalem there waiting to go,” he was quoted by JC as saying.

“It is time we took responsibility and built that Embassy and recognized that the true capital of the State of Israel is obviously Jerusalem.”

British JewsEnglandIsrael-UK relationsLiz Truss