UK Chief Rabbi Mirvis warns against purported plans for trade ban with West Bank settlements

UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has warned British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband that an alleged government plan to ban trade with West Bank settlements risks causing greater harm than good to the country’s relations with its Jewish citizens and with Israel.

Last week, British media reported that new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is preparing to announce a complete trade ban on goods from Israeli West Bank settlements in response to Jerusalem’s plan for a major, controversial settlement expansion in the hot-button EI area of the West Bank.

The British Jewish community would view such a measure “with deep dismay at a time when the vilification of Jews, Judaism and the Jewish State has already reached unprecedented levels,” Mirvis wrote on X yesterday.

“The intended policy will not influence Israeli decision-making in the way the Government intends,” he continued. “Instead, it risks inflicting real harm across the region.”

Mirvis warned that there is a “clear danger” that a trade ban could “spiral into a de facto boycott of trade with Israel more broadly, damaging the long-term relationship between our two countries and threatening the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Palestinian workers.”

I welcomed the opportunity on Friday to meet with the Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon. Ed Miliband. While we share fervent hopes for a future of peace and security in the Middle East, I explained why I believe the UK Government’s intended sanctions will be counter-productive and… pic.twitter.com/JlaoHnNdYn

— Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis (@chiefrabbi) August 30, 2026