British Home Secretary Theresa May is seen as a strong supporter of Israel and the Jewish community. Photo: UK Home Office.

JNS.org – British Home Secretary Theresa May, who is slated to become the country’s next prime minister, is seen as a strong supporter of Israel and the Jewish community.

May emerged as the likely candidate to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron, who announced his resignation following the UK’s decision to leave the European Union (EU) in a referendum last month. She will become the UK’s second female prime minister after Margaret Thatcher and will be responsible for guiding the country through a potentially chaotic exit from the EU.

In her capacity as home secretary, a position responsible for the internal affairs of England and Wales, May has promised to defend the country’s Jewish community and wipe out antisemitism.

“I never thought I would see the day when members of the Jewish community in the United Kingdom would say they were fearful of remaining here in the United Kingdom,” May said in a speech to Jewish leaders in January 2015 in the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket. “And that means we must all redouble our efforts to wipe out antisemitism here in the United Kingdom.”

May has also spoken of her strong support for Israel, saying that “the modern state of Israel is the fulfillment of many generations of struggle” during a speech for Israeli Independence Day in April 2015.

In 2014, May visited Israel, where she met with experts on cyber-security and modern slavery, saying those are “two challenges which both Israel and the UK are confronting with great determination.”