Israel Wishes Boris Johnson a Mazal Tov on Becoming UK’s Prime Minister

By: Arye Green

Israel congratulated Boris Johnson on Tuesday after he won the Conservative party leadership race to become Britain’s next prime minister.

Johnson beat Jeremy Hunt with a substantial majority, getting 66% of the votes.

Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz congratulated Johnson and wished him a “Mazal Tov. ”

“Mazal Tov to Boris Johnson on becoming UK Prime Minister. I look forward to working with Prime Minister Johnson and his team to build on the existing strong relationship between the UK and Israel,” he tweeted.

He also thanked outgoing Prime Minister Teresa May “for the amazing and tireless work that she did to strengthen ties between our two countries.”

“Bilateral trade is up, tourism is up and security cooperation is saving lives. Thank you to a true friend,” he added.

President Reuven Rivlin also congratulated Johnson, tweeting “I am confident that under your leadership the excellent bilateral relations between our two countries will go from strength to strength. I hope to see you back here in Israel soon.”

President Donald Trump congratulated Johnson saying “he will be great!”

“We are going to unite this amazing country and we are going to take it forward,” Johnson told party members after he was announced as the winner.

He pledged to deliver Britain’s exit from the European Union on October 31 and to unite and energize the country with efforts to improve education, infrastructure and police.

The Brexit process was meant to be concluded in late March, but while EU officials have indicated no interest in renegotiating the divorce terms that Britain’s parliament has rejected three times so far, they did agree to push the deadline to October 31.

Johnson, a populist former foreign secretary under May and mayor of London, has expressed a willingness to withdraw Britain from the EU at that time with or without an agreement in place. Many members of parliament oppose a no-deal Brexit, saying such a move would be economically chaotic.

Johnson will officially replace Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday as she steps down following repeated failures to deliver Britain’s exit from the European Union.

He thanked May in his address for “extraordinary service” to the party and the country.

Johnson is considered a friend of Israel by many and has been to Israel numerous times in the past. Johnson, former mayor of London, signed the city up to the International Mayors United Against Antisemitism initiative. He has also confronted the anti-Israel BDS movement on several occasions.

As prime minister, Johnson is expected to be hawkish, particularly regarding the recent events in the Persian Gulf and Iran. The Iranian army forces ceased a British tanker only days ago.

(TPS)