Representing Israel in the UK is not a job for the faint-hearted. Tzipi Hotovely must have suspected as much when she was offered the post of ambassador to Britain by then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in July 2020. Antisemitism was peaking across the Western world, while the domestic policies of Israel’s Likud government – in power for 11 years – were not to the taste of a large segment of the Anglo-Jewish community. No wonder she took a few weeks to think things over before allowing her name to go forward for confirmation by the Cabinet.
Politically, Hotovely is a Likudnik, described as “the ideological voice” of the Likud party. But Israeli politics are full of nuances. Although uncompromising on the issue of Judea and Samaria, Hotovely is very liberal on issues such as women’s rights. In December 2011 she hit the headlines when she insisted on sitting in the front seat of a public bus usually patronized by haredi Orthodox passengers, where women are expected to sit in the rear. Her stance was subsequently endorsed by Israel’s Supreme Court.
She is equally liberal in her views on Zionism and immigration. She welcomes the aliyah of Jews of any degree of Orthodoxy, or none.
Regarded by left-wing opinion in the UK as “a hardline supporter of the annexation of Palestinian land,” a storm broke out the moment her appointment was announced.
“Ambassador-designate Hotovely has views as a politician that are in very strong contrast to the views of Reform Judaism,” declared then-senior rabbi of the Reform Movement, Laura Janner-Klausner. “I assume she will be putting those views firmly to one side as an ambassador.”
Sir Mick Davis, one of Anglo-Jewry’s leading philanthropists, offered her a lecture: “I hope the incoming ambassador will recognize that the role requires equal respect and consideration for every part of our community, including the non-Orthodox and the secular, who contribute hugely to the rich tapestry of Jewish life and to keeping the flame of Zionism alive.”
“I hope the incoming ambassador will recognize that the role requires equal respect and consideration for every part of our community, including the non-Orthodox and the secular, who contribute hugely to the rich tapestry of Jewish life and to keeping the flame of Zionism alive.”
Sir Mick Davis
One hard-left British-Jewish organization helped organize a petition calling on the British government to reject Hotovely as the next Israeli ambassador.
The fears were all misplaced.
Hotovely has worked harmoniously with all sectors of the UK Jewish community, sustaining and supporting them in their efforts to counter the constant pressure from pro-Palestinian voices to delegitimize Israel.
She arrived in the UK in August 2020, with the corona pandemic at its height. The tight rules on social gatherings precluded her from presenting her credentials to Queen Elizabeth in person, so she did it remotely by way of Zoom. She also used Zoom to engage with Jewish communities across Britain. In April 2021 she took part in an online conversation with the Scottish Jewish community, an event hosted by the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities and the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council.
As the pandemic restrictions lifted, she engaged in more direct speaking engagements such as the Holocaust Memorial Day event in January with Britain’s foreign secretary, Liz Truss. Wherever she went she was accompanied by anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protesters, intent on disrupting her program, and sometimes positively threatening her safety.
On November 9, 2021, following a debate at the London School of Economics organized by the student union, she had to be evacuated under heavy security amid a large protest by pro-Palestinian activists. Ahead of the event a Twitter account had posted: “Whoever smashes the Ambassador car window gets pints. Let’s f***king frighten her.”
Afterward Hotovely pledged: “We will not give in to thuggery and violence. The State of Israel will send its representatives to every stage.” And so she has done.
On February 8, she spoke in the Cambridge Union, an independent debating society founded to 1815 and loosely associated with Cambridge University. Crowds of student protesters outside the building hurled abuse as she arrived, maintained it while she spoke, and pursued her as she left. Her talk and the subsequent discussion was videoed and is available on YouTube.
Totally undeterred by the violence of the anti-Israel protesters, Hotovely agreed to address the prestigious Oxford Union in June. Despite its title, and like its Cambridge twin, the Oxford Union has no connection with the Trades Union movement or the university’s Student Union. Founded in 1823 as a debating society, it exists independently of the university, and has served as a training ground for some of the UK’s most eminent politicians. Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, was president of the Union during his time at Oxford University.
Hotovely arrived at the Union Building on the evening of June 16 to the usual crowds of objectors, waving Palestinian flags, holding pro-Palestinian banners aloft, and chanting slogans like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” This they maintained throughout the time Hotovely was in the building.
Hotovely’s address was titled “A New Middle East,” and she outlined for her audience the effect of the Abraham Accords, and how the Arab world is accepting Israel as an important economic and political partner: “Increasingly,” she said, “countries in the Middle East are realizing that without having serious cooperation with Israel, the challenges of today cannot be addressed.”
She went on to discuss Israel-Palestinian relations. As the chanting from outside the building persisted, she said: “One of the reasons there is no peace between Israelis and Palestinians is because of the words that are being chanted outside. It’s okay to demonstrate but listen to the words: they are saying, ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.’ Does that leave any space for Israel to exist? The meaning of what they are chanting out there is ‘Israel shouldn’t exist.’ They’re not promoting peace. They’re actually distancing peace.”
She continued: “In the last month, 19 Israelis were brutally killed by Palestinian terrorists that were incited by those kinds of things.”
Responding to questions from both the Union and the audience, Hotovely emphasized the threat to peace in the Middle East posed by Iran; maintained that Israeli settlements were not a barrier to peace; and that Hamas was responsible for Palestinian suffering.
A student questioned whether it was hypocritical of Israel’s government to criticize Hamas: “You mentioned that Hamas regularly kills Israeli civilians. Israel regularly fires into Gaza. So what’s the difference between a terror organization and a government?”
Hotovely responded: “Terrorism is when you use your force in order to intimidate innocent people. Israel never targets innocent people. We never target civilians.”
This event too was videoed, and is available in full on YouTube. Anyone viewing it can see instantly that Tzipi Hotovely, who was born in Rehovot and schooled in Israel, has completely mastered the English language. She is more than fluent in English, she is eloquent. Speaking with the merest trace of an Israeli accent, she is clearly capable of mounting a formidable defense against Israel’s detractors and those who seek to delegitimize it.
With Tzipi Hotovely as its ambassador in the UK, Israel has a powerful champion. The incoming coalition government was wise indeed to maintain her in the post, and it would be equally wise of the government coming into office after the November election to allow her to serve out her full term. She is a genuine Israeli asset. ■