British Defense Chief Praises Israel as ‘Beacon of Light and Hope’ in Middle East
by Algemeiner Staff
The United Kingdom “will always be Israel’s friend,” British Secretary of State for Defense Gavin Williamson pledged on Tuesday at a London gathering.
Speaking at the Conservative Friends of Israel’s Annual Parliamentary Reception, Williamson — the 41-year-old MP for South Staffordshire — hailed Israel as a “beacon of light and hope, in a region where there is so much hatred and hurt.”
“We shouldn’t underestimate how difficult it is to keep that light bright and burning” he went on to say.
Williamson asked: “If we are not there to stand up for a country, whose views and ideals are so close, or are simply our own, what are we as a nation? What are we in politics, if we cannot accept and celebrate the wonderful blooming of democracy that is Israel, but instead always turn to a narrative of spite, envy?”
Britain and Israel, Williamson noted, have “a strong and firm relationship of working together. It’s a relationship of partners…It’s a partnership of equals, a partnership of friends.”