Britain’s West Bank Trade Ban Is a De Facto Israel Boycott

Today, in a joint statement signed by twelve countries, Britain announced a national ban on trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. The ban covers goods and services such as financing and advertising. It comes three days before Rosh Hashanah, on the same day the Commons debates the safety of British Jews, in a year when the Community Security Trust logged nearly 2,000 antisemitic incidents in six months and a record number of assaults. The Chief Rabbi told Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband to his face that the measure will disproportionately harm British Jews and will spiral into a de facto boycott of Israel. The government scheduled it anyway.

The Foreign Office already keeps a list of settlement postcodes whose goods are denied preferential tariffs. It was last updated in August 2025, and under the heading “East Jerusalem,” it includes the range 9378301 to 9378399. The United States Embassy is at 14 David Flusser Street, Jerusalem 9378322. On Britain’s map, the American embassy is a settlement.

MG

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Mark Goldfeder

Mark Goldfeder is CEO of the National Jewish Advocacy Center and a law professor at Touro Law School.

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Today, in a joint statement signed by twelve countries, Britain announced a national ban on trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. The ban covers goods and services such as financing and advertising. It comes three days before Rosh Hashanah, on the same day the Commons debates the safety of British Jews, in a year when the Community Security Trust logged nearly 2,000 antisemitic incidents in six months and a record number of assaults. The Chief Rabbi told Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband to his face that the measure will disproportionately harm British Jews and will spiral into a de facto boycott of Israel. The government scheduled it anyway.

The Foreign Office already keeps a list of settlement postcodes whose goods are denied preferential tariffs. It was last updated in August 2025, and under the heading “East Jerusalem,” it includes the range 9378301 to 9378399. The United States Embassy is at 14 David Flusser Street, Jerusalem 9378322. On Britain’s map, the American embassy is a settlement.