UK outraged after Netanyahu calls Britain an ‘Islamic republic’

Israel’s premier pokes fun at Britain’s declining support for the Jewish state and the increasing influence of Islamic in British politics, drawing sharp rebuke from London.

By World Israel News Staff

The British government has formally protested remarks by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing the United Kingdom as the “Islamic Republic of Britain.”

“These comments are completely unacceptable and we have raised them with the Israeli government,” a UK government spokesman said after Netanyahu’s remarks drew attention in Britain.

Netanyahu made the comments during an interview with Galei Tzahal which was published on Thursday, while discussing Britain’s historically stronger attitudes toward Israel.

The prime minister recalled favorable reporting on Israel by members of former British prime minister Winston Churchill’s family around the time of the 1967 Six-Day War before contrasting that period with the present.

“Try and find that now, in what is called the Islamic republic of Britain,” Netanyahu said.

When host Avi Harush suggested the same could be said of Europe more broadly, Netanyahu agreed before referring to a previous joke about Britain becoming an Islamic nuclear power.

“Yes, but someone said, ‘the first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons will be the Islamic republic of Great Britain,’” Netanyahu said, before adding: “So, we’ll make sure there isn’t a second one here in Iran.”

The remark was an apparent reference to comments made in 2024 by JD Vance, then an Ohio senator and now US vice president.

Vance said at the National Conservatism Conference that Britain could become “the first truly Islamist country with nuclear weapons,” though he also acknowledged Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer sought to play down Netanyahu’s comments during a BBC radio appearance before London issued its rebuke.

“He was quoting what the vice president had said,” Mencer said, arguing that Netanyahu was repeating Vance rather than introducing the description himself.

The episode comes as relations between Israel and Britain have deteriorated markedly over the past year.

Britain formally recognized a Palestinian state in September 2025, saying the decision was intended to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution.

The change of leadership in London has added another element to the tensions.

Andy Burnham became British prime minister on July 20 after succeeding Keir Starmer as Labour leader.

Burnham has indicated that Britain should place greater pressure on Israel over the war in Gaza and has discussed measures including possible restrictions on trade involving Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.