Why Netanyahu Called Britain the 'Islamic Republic'

Benjamin Netanyahu has never been shy about attacking his critics. But his latest target – the United Kingdom – signals a rupture that goes beyond the usual diplomatic friction.

The Israeli prime minister called Britain the “Islamic Republic of Britain” this week while discussing how British attitudes toward Israel have changed since the 1967 Six-Day War. He invoked a longstanding joke that Britain could become the first Islamist country with nuclear weapons. The remarks came after he praised Winston Churchill's grandson as a “lover of Israel,” then asked: “Just try to find that kind of attitude in Britain now,” before linking the country's trajectory to Israel's confrontation with Iran.

Netanyahu’s style is consistent. Anyone who questions his government’s policies eventually becomes an enemy of Israel. Britain, France, Canada, the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, journalists, humanitarian organizations and even members of the Israeli opposition have all been attacked when they refuse to fall in line. The distinction between supporting Israel’s existence and supporting Netanyahu personally has been deliberately blurred. Criticize Netanyahu, and suddenly you are accused of abandoning Israel and antisemitism.

London supported Israel after October 7, defended its right to self-defense and maintained a relationship that goes back to the very creation of the modern Israeli state. Britain has also confronted antisemitism domestically. It banned Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a national-security threat only last month. Netanyahu nevertheless appears willing to insult the entire country because its government will no longer provide him with unquestioning political support.

The deterioration has been building for years. Britain suspended some arms export licenses to Israel, halted free-trade negotiations and sanctioned Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich over what the British government described as repeated incitement of violence against Palestinian civilians. London joined Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in imposing those sanctions. Britain sanctioned sitting ministers of the Israeli government. That was an extraordinary development.

Then came the Palestinian question. Britain’s movement toward recognizing a Palestinian state infuriated Netanyahu, who accused the British government of rewarding Hamas. The relationship deteriorated further as criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza grew across Europe. By July, Israeli officials were openly describing relations with the new British government as effectively “frozen.”

This is becoming a serious geopolitical problem for Israel that Netanyahu apparently refuses to acknowledge. Israel cannot indefinitely alienate Europe and assume Washington will compensate for every diplomatic relationship it destroys. Netanyahu has even recently rejected a U.S.-backed Gaza peace proposal, although Gaza has been bombed into oblivion and hardly exists. Israel is increasingly behaving as though its allies require Israel more than Israel requires its allies. That is a dangerous assumption for a nation of roughly 10 million people surrounded by a region of hundreds of millions.

Now is a poor time to abandon European allies. Turkey has become increasingly confrontational toward Israel. Ankara sees an enormous opportunity emerging from Israel’s deteriorating relations with Europe. Netanyahu may think he is simply insulting Britain, but geopolitics does not operate according to personal grudges. Every ally you drive away creates an opening for somebody else.

Britain certainly has serious problems with uncontrolled migration, social fragmentation, radical Islam and the political establishment’s refusal to confront any of it. But that makes his statement even more reckless. He is exploiting Britain’s domestic divisions to attack its government over foreign policy. That will not strengthen relations between the two countries. It will poison them further.

Israel once enjoyed extraordinary bipartisan support throughout the West. That consensus is breaking apart, particularly among younger generations. Netanyahu appears to respond to this deterioration by attacking anyone who questions him, which merely accelerates the process. You cannot insult entire countries into supporting you.

Netanyahu should be very careful what he wishes for. Britain helped shape the political order from which the modern state of Israel emerged. Today, an Israeli prime minister is publicly ridiculing Britain while relations with Europe continue to deteriorate. The realignment of the Middle East is rapid. Israel cannot afford to discover too late that Netanyahu succeeded in winning every argument while losing its allies.