Israel turmoil dogs Netanyahu's UK trip

As Benjamin Netanyahu walked the length of Downing Street towards a warm welcome from Rishi Sunak, the sounds of anguished protest will have been ringing in his ears.

It's nothing he hasn't seen and heard, on a vastly bigger scale, on the streets of his own country in recent weeks.

But it will have served as a reminder that Israel's domestic woes are now following the embattled prime minister wherever he goes.

There is no obvious sign that it's causing difficulties in relations with the UK, though.

In a joint document signed by the British and Israeli foreign ministers on Tuesday, the two sides said their bilateral relationship "has never been stronger".

"As freedom-loving, innovative and thriving democracies," the document known as the 2030 Roadmap went on, "Israel and the UK are proud of our deep and historic partnership. We are firm friends and natural allies."

A Downing Street readout of Friday morning's meeting hints at some mild criticism from Rishi Sunak of Mr Netanyahu's proposed legal reforms.

"The prime minister stressed the importance of upholding the democratic values that underpin our relationship," a spokesperson said, "including in the proposed judicial reforms in Israel."

The fact that cameras were not allowed into Number 10, and the absence of customary statements or a news conference, hinted at an air of embarrassment surrounding Mr Netanyahu's visit.

But outside, in Whitehall, Mr Netanyahu's British critics were rather more direct.

"For the first time in a really long time, British Jews are really taking a stand," Sharon Shochat, one of the organisers of today's protest, told the BBC.

"We don't want anything to do with what we're seeing in Israel. The racism, the extremism, the deterioration from democracy and liberal values."

Neither Ms Shochat nor the tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrating on the streets of Israel for the past two months can necessarily claim to represent a majority opinion, but this is a moment of doubt and anxiety for the Jewish state's supporters abroad, as they watch Israelis coming to blows.

Britain's Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, was sufficiently alarmed to issue a plea for Jewish unity, while urging Israel to "hold fast to the principles upon which it was founded".

Of more concern, for Israel, are signs that the US administration is losing patience with its traditional ally.

Last week the Biden administration took the highly unusual step of calling the Israeli ambassador to the state department to explain why his government was planning to undo part of a 2005 law on settlements withdrawal, which could see Jewish settlers returning to highly contentious sites in the occupied West Bank.

And it's notable that Joe Biden, long regarded as a firm friend of Israel, has yet to invite Mr Netanyahu to the White House.