{"id":1002355,"date":"2026-08-15T12:30:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T12:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1002355\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T12:30:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T12:30:30","slug":"completely-unacceptable-uk-slams-netanyahu-for-islamic-republic-comment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1002355\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Completely unacceptable’: UK slams Netanyahu for \u2018Islamic republic\u2019 comment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Britain on Friday hit back at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he called the country an \u201cIslamic republic,\u201d<\/a> branding the remarks as \u201ccompletely unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The UK additionally said it has \u201craised\u201d the matter with Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese comments are completely unacceptable and we have raised them with the Israeli government,\u201d a UK government spokesman said.<\/p>\n

The diplomatic dispute came after the prime minister made the reference in an Army Radio podcast interview, in which he also swiped at the UK\u2019s stance on Israel.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu, who has long shown his admiration for Winston Churchill, noted on the podcast that the son and grandson of the World War II-era British leader were journalists who produced pro-Israel reporting on the June 1967 Six-Day War.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey came here and covered the Six Day War in a way that was very positive for us,\u201d Netanyahu said on the bereavement-themed \u201cMelech B\u2019leyatzer Chayim\u201d (King at Creating Life) podcast. \u201cTry finding that in Britain today. What\u2019s called \u2018the Islamic republic of Britain\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in an episode of an Army Radio podcast released on August 13, 2026. (Screen capture: Army Radio\/Youtube)<\/p>\n

After Netanyahu called Britain an \u201cIslamic republic,\u201d podcast host Avi Harush, whose 20-year-old son Reef<\/a> was killed fighting in Gaza in April 2024, asked whether \u201call of Europe isn\u2019t already like that,\u201d referring to the growth of Muslim communities across the continent.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu said yes, and continued: \u201cSomeone said that the first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons will be the Islamic Republic of Britain\u2026 so we\u2019re making sure there won\u2019t be another one in Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Netanyahu on Britain:<\/p>\n

You might call Britain the “Islamic Republic of Britain.”<\/p>\n

Someone said that the first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons will be the Islamic Republic of Britain.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re making sure there won\u2019t be another one\u2014you know, in Iran. pic.twitter.com\/EmLpSvYtxu<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Clash Report (@clashreport) August 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a BBC radio interview on Friday, prior to the British statement, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer appeared to downplay Netanyahu\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Netanyahu] was making a quote that someone else had given,\u201d Mencer said, noting US Vice President JD Vance had \u201cmade those comments\u201d previously.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was quoting what the vice president had said.\u201d<\/p>\n

US Vice President JD Vance made a similar comment about the UK at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington in July 2024, days before being tapped as Donald Trump\u2019s running mate.<\/p>\n

Vance, then a US senator for Ohio, said that the UK was poised to become \u201cthe first truly Islamist country with nuclear weapons\u201d after Britain\u2019s Labour party took power earlier that month, adding that \u201cPakistan already kind of counts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vance has since emerged as a critic of Israel within the Trump administration, and as a skeptic<\/a> of the US-Israeli war against Iran.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tUS Vice President JD Vance speaks during a congressional roundtable on anti-fraud initiatives in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, on August 5, 2026. (Mandel NGAN\/AFP)<\/p>\n

Like the Republican White House, Netanyahu has claimed Europe is being taken over by Muslim immigrants.<\/p>\n

He has argued<\/a> that large Muslim populations were turning European nations against Israel, amid growing criticism from European nations \u2014 including<\/a> some led by immigration skeptics \u2014 of Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza since the Hamas onslaught on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.<\/p>\n

Britain was one of several European countries that recognized Palestinian statehood last year, infuriating Israel.<\/p>\n

More recently, its new leader, Prime Minister Andy Burnham, has said that his predecessor Keir Starmer did not put enough pressure on Israel to halt its offensive in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tBritain\u2019s Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks to the media after chairing a COBR meeting at Downing Street on the UK\u2019s ongoing response to extreme heat, wildfires and drought in London, August 12, 2026. (AP Photo\/Kin Cheung, Pool)<\/p>\n

In an interview with The Guardian shortly before taking office, Burnham also said that Britain would consider banning trade in goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.<\/p>\n

Britain, usually closely aligned with Washington, has additionally kept its distance from the US-Israeli war launched in February against Iran, although Starmer allowed <\/a>the US to use UK bases to launch \u201cdefensive\u201d strikes aimed at destroying Iranian missiles and their launchers.<\/p>\n


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