Three councils are being taken to the High Court today over their decisions to boycott goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements.
Jewish Human Rights Watch (JHRW) argues Leicester, Swansea, and Gwynedd Council are discriminating against the Jewish community by passing motions to boycott settlement products.
They claim the policies contravene the Local Government Act 1988 and the Equality Act 2010.
‘Leicester City Council has taken steps down an anti-Semitic path under the guise of helping community relations in Leicester,’ Jonathan Neumann, the director of JHRW, said.
‘Frankly this amounts to a get-of-out-town order to Leicester Jews.’
The campaign group War on Want defends the councils and claims their policies are legal.
‘It’s shameful that local councils are being attacked for ensuring their policies are in line with international and UK law,’ War on Want’s senior campaigner Ryvka Barnard said.
‘The illegal settlements are a part of the systematic abuses of international law and human rights committed by Israel against the Palestinians.’
The UK Government, according to the campaign group, has repeatedly characterised the settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as illegal and has issued advice to businesses on the risks of investing in them.
‘Local councils following that advice and voting to distance themselves from illegal and human rights abusing settlements should not be standing trial over their decision to act responsibly and morally and in accordance with international law,’ Ryvka Barnard continued.
‘These sham charges undermine the rights of local authorities to act in respect of human rights and to reflect the values of the people who elected them.’
A Swansea Council spokesperson said: ‘The council has never boycotted Israeli goods and has no intention of doing so. For legal reasons, it would be inappropriate to comment further.’
The Government has advised against ‘inappropriate procurement boycotts by public authorities’ and argues they undermine ‘good community relations’ and fuel anti-Semitism.
The court case comes amidst wider accusations of anti-Semitism levelled at pro-Palestinian campaigners and members of the Labour Party.
