12 November 2026
The National Jewish Assembly (NJA) strongly supports UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) in its latest intervention challenging Birmingham City Council’s deeply irresponsible boycott and divestment motion, and commends the organisation for its determined efforts to hold the Council accountable.
The motion, passed on 3 November by 54 votes to 19, represents a staggering failure of priorities by elected representatives entrusted with governing Britain’s largest local authority by population.
Birmingham has endured financial collapse, substantial council tax increases, prolonged disruption to refuse collections and serious pressures on essential public services. Its financial and governance failures have been so serious that the Council remains subject to statutory government intervention, with appointed commissioners overseeing its finances and strategic decision-making.
Yet councillors have found the time and enthusiasm to pursue a politically charged exercise targeting Israel, with potentially substantial costs to the very taxpayers they are supposed to serve.
The spectacle inside the council chamber was particularly disgraceful. Reports of cheering and chants of “Free Palestine” following the vote exposed an extraordinary lack of political judgement and institutional dignity. What should have been a serious consideration of public expenditure, legal responsibilities and community cohesion instead descended into scenes more reminiscent of a political rally than a meeting of a major local authority.
The hypocrisy is breathtaking. Councillors presiding over a city struggling to deliver basic municipal services apparently believe themselves qualified to pronounce upon complex questions of international law, foreign policy and global investment.
The NJA recognises that elected representatives are entitled to express views on international affairs. However, there is a profound difference between expressing political opinions and potentially committing scarce public resources to pursuing them, particularly where serious questions of legality, proportionality and public benefit remain unanswered.
UKLFI has rightly identified the considerable practical and legal difficulties inherent in the motion. Although its amended wording extends beyond Israel, its implications could require extensive investigations into international supply chains, contractors, financial institutions and investment portfolios. Such an undertaking could consume substantial staff time, incur significant professional costs and expose the Council to further legal and financial risks.
The NJA shares UKLFI’s serious concerns regarding the Council’s apparent failure to give proper consideration to its obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty. At a time when British Jews face alarming levels of hostility, elected representatives should be fostering community cohesion, not celebrating measures that risk deepening division and alienating Jewish residents.
The political hypocrisy extends well beyond the Council chamber.
Liberal Democrat councillors supported this motion despite their national leader, Sir Ed Davey, having explicitly condemned the Green Party’s recent declaration that “Zionism is Racism” as antisemitic. Sir Ed has ruled out a national partnership with the Greens over the policy, yet the Liberal Democrats continue to share power with Green councillors in Birmingham who have supported it.
Among those attracting particular criticism is Councillor Kamel Hawwash, the Green Party’s cabinet member for Children and Young Families. His reported statements concerning Hamas, Hezbollah and the 7 October attacks, together with his support for the Green Party’s “Zionism is Racism” motion, have prompted serious allegations of antisemitism and public criticism from Jewish communal representatives and elected politicians. Councillor Hawwash has rejected allegations of antisemitism and denied praising the 7 October attacks.
The NJA calls upon Sir Ed Davey and Birmingham’s Liberal Democrat council leader, Roger Harmer, to demonstrate that their condemnation of antisemitism amounts to more than words. They should bring Birmingham’s coalition with the Greens to an end unless its Green councillors unequivocally repudiate the “Zionism is Racism” policy and commit to seeking its reversal.
At the very least, the NJA calls for the removal from the Council’s executive of Councillor Hawwash and any other cabinet members who refuse to repudiate that policy. In the NJA’s view, councillors who support a position condemned as antisemitic by their own coalition partners should not be entrusted with executive authority over Britain’s largest local authority.
Antisemitism does not become acceptable simply because a coalition agreement makes confronting it politically inconvenient.
Labour councillors also supported the divestment motion, notwithstanding repeated assurances from their national leadership about combating antisemitism and protecting Jewish communities. Their participation raises equally serious questions about the consistency between those assurances and the actions of their elected representatives.
Jewish equality and the Jewish people’s right to self-determination cannot be treated as principles worthy of protection only when politically convenient.
The NJA particularly applauds UKLFI for pursuing a substantive legal and governance response rather than allowing this episode to pass as another example of political grandstanding. Its request that Birmingham’s commissioners scrutinise the motion, require a properly costed workplan and consider whether any public resources should be allocated to its implementation is both proportionate and entirely justified.
We urge the commissioners to examine UKLFI’s representations with the utmost seriousness and to ensure that Birmingham residents are not required to finance an expensive and divisive political exercise whose legality and practical value remain in question.
The National Jewish Assembly stands firmly alongside UK Lawyers for Israel and commends its professionalism, persistence and invaluable work in defending the rule of law, challenging discriminatory treatment of Israel and safeguarding the interests of Britain’s Jewish community.
Birmingham’s residents deserve competent local government, not ideological theatre. Its Jewish residents deserve reassurance and respect, not the spectacle of their elected representatives celebrating a campaign directed against the Jewish state.
The Council’s first responsibility is to the people of Birmingham. It is long past time that its councillors remembered that.
