British Jews on Tuesday congratulated former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson for his election as the head of the Conservative Party, which ensures his succession of Theresa May as prime minister, JTA reported.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews wrote in a statement, “We wish Boris Johnson every success as Prime Minister at this critical time for our country. We have had a long and positive relationship with Johnson as both Mayor of London and Foreign Secretary and we look forward to this continuing as he enters Downing Street.”
The Liberal Judaism movement of the United Kingdom reacted more coolly to the news about Johnson, tweeting that “looks forward to working with @BorisJohnson, the new Prime Minister, as we have with Prime Ministers over the last decade.”
Johnson earlier on Tuesday defeated his opponent, current Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, by a margin of 66% to 34%, with 92,153 votes to Hunt’s 46,656.
Two weeks ago, he praised Israel in an interview with the UK-based Jewish News website, saying that “wild horses wouldn’t keep me away” from becoming the latest Prime Minister to visit the Jewish state.
Johnson in the interview described himself as a “passionate Zionist” and Israel as “great country” that “I love”.
May, the outgoing Prime Minister, is a strong supporter of Israel and the Jewish community as well and repeatedly denounced anti-Semitism while in office.
During her time in office, the British government formally adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.