British Prime Minister Liz Truss described herself as a “huge Zionist” and “huge supporter of Israel” during a meeting with with a pro-Israeli Tory parliamentary group on Sunday.
Truss was a guest of honor at the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) event during the annual Tory Party conference in Birmingham, which she was attending for the first time in her new capacity. Talking to a crowd on the sidelines of the event, she declared her unwavering commitment to the Israeli cause, according to footage of her remarks published on social media.
“As you know I am a huge Zionist, I am a huge supporter of Israel, and I know that we can take the UK-Israel relationship from strength to strength,” she told the cheering attendees.
The CFI itself focused on part of her speech, in which she referred to “threats from authoritarian regimes who don’t believe in freedom and democracy,” against which “two free democracies, the UK and Israel, need to stand shoulder to shoulder.”
Truss’ position on Israel is well known, and she promoted it during her campaign to become the new Conservative leader and prime minister. Among the policy changes that she pledged to effect in office was to review the relocation of her nation’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Former US President Donald Trump did the same thing during his tenure in the White House.
The British PM made the same promise last month, during a meeting with her Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York. Pro-Palestinian groups and the Palestinian leadership have condemned the idea.