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UK Conservatives Working with DUP Will Be Good News for Israel

(Jewish News-UK) Steven Jaffe - Northern Ireland's DUP MPs are among the staunchest supporters of Israel in the House of Commons. When in 2014 the issue of recognizing Palestine came up in Parliament, 5 of the 12 MPs that opposed it were from the DUP. DUP MPs also spoke in the debate earlier this year on the Balfour centenary and have been outspoken in condemning Palestinian incitement and funding for terrorist prisoners. There are fewer than 80 members of the Jewish community in Northern Ireland. So it seems hard to reconcile DUP interest in Israel with electoral self-interest. But Northern Ireland is the UK's "Bible belt" and Christian Zionism is a potent force amongst Ulster's church-going Protestant community. But their support for Israel is also secular. They draw parallels between Northern Ireland's experience of terrorism and Israel's and feel that both Ulster unionists and Israeli Jews get an unfair hearing in the world's press. Belfast-born Steven Jaffe is a consultant to the Board of Deputies of British Jews.
2017-06-12 00:00:00
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