UK’s Sunak taps Jewish minister Grant Shapps to serve as next defense secretary
Shapps, who visited Israel last year as transport secretary, has said that ‘for all Israel’s faults, and goodness knows there are many,’ he remains a firm supporter
Grant Shapps was appointed on Thursday as the new UK defense secretary, succeeding Ben Wallace who formally stepped down after playing a key role in shaping the country’s military backing for Ukraine against Russia.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office announced Shapps’s appointment, around an hour after he was seen entering 10 Downing Street.
According to the London-based Jewish Chronicle, Shapps is the first Jewish defense secretary in the UK since Malcolm Rifkin, who held the role from 1992-1995.
Shapps wrote on social media that he was “honored” to be appointed, saying Wallace had made an “enormous contribution” to UK defense and global security.
“I am looking forward to working with the brave men and women of our armed forces who defend our nation’s security,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter. “And continuing the UK’s support for Ukraine in their fight against Putin’s barbaric invasion.”
Shapps, 54, who has no military experience, briefly served as home secretary last October in Liz Truss’s short-lived government and before that as transport secretary under Boris Johnson. He was also business secretary under Sunak before taking over as minister responsible for energy security and net zero.
Last week, he visited Kyiv to pledge UK support to fuel Ukrainian power plants through the winter. He also toured a kindergarten attended by the young son of a Ukrainian family he has hosted at his home since Russia’s invasion.
Shapps grew up in Hertfordshire, just north of London, in a Jewish family. He is a cancer survivor who is married with three children.
In an interview earlier this year with the UK-based Jewish News, Shapps said he is a firm supporter of the State of Israel, though not always its policies.
“The point I would really make is that I think there’s always a big difference between supporting a nation and supporting a government,” he said. “You know, there are times when Brits won’t support the government in this country but they still feel Britain is a good product, a great country. I feel the same about Israel.”
But he appeared to draw a clear distinction between his Conservative Party and the Labor Party, which under Jeremy Corbyn was harshly critical of Israel and accused of antisemitism.
His membership of the party, he said, has left him feeling “really comfortable” because “we are always the ones that recognize that for all Israel’s faults, and goodness knows there are many, there is only one [Jewish state] in the Middle East.”
As transportation secretary, Shapps visited Israel last year and signed a deal with then-transport secretary Merav Michaeli to share expertise on rail projects.
In a 2010 interview with The Jewish Chronicle, Shapps said that he is a member of the Potters Bar and Brookmans Park Synagogue just north of London, and that being Jewish is an important part of his heritage, though he views himself as agnostic.
“I feel totally Jewish; I am totally Jewish. I don’t eat pork, we only buy kosher meat and we don’t mix meat and milk. I like being Jewish and I married a Jewish girl. It’s like a way of life and it’s good to be able to instill some of that sense of being in your kids.
“All of that makes me seem as though I am quite observant but actually the flipside of this is I don’t know if there is a God or not. But one thing I am absolutely certain of is that God wouldn’t care if you were Jewish or Christian or Muslim.”
Shapps opposed Brexit in the 2016 referendum, which saw Britain leave the European Union, citing potential turmoil for business.
After Johnson was forced out as premier, Shapps threw his own hat into the ring in the Conservative leadership contest, promising tax cuts and competent government. He was widely seen as an effective communicator and campaigner, although a long shot as Conservative leader.
