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Ed Miliband: I'd be as good a friend to Israel as Cameron

January 24, 2015 at 12:29 pm

Labour leader Ed Miliband has promised to be as good a friend to Israel as David Cameron, should he be elected in May.

In an interview published in Jewish News this week, the leader of the opposition acknowledged unhappiness among the pro-Israel Jewish community about his party’s Middle East policies, but emphasised “the things that unite us.”

intolerance of those who question the existence of the State of Israel, intolerance of boycotts and total intolerance of anti-Semitism. Those are the strands that unite us and I think those strands are very important.

Miliband said he would be “intolerant of those who question Israel’s right to exist” and “those who attack Israel in various ways”, but declared himself “a great supporter of meaningful negotiations.”

The paper also reported on remarks Miliband made at a recent public meeting in Hendon, where he defended his criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza, saying: “I don’t believe that kind of action enhances the long-term security of Israel.”