Britain Criticises Netanyahu over 'Islamic Republic of Britain' Comment

Britain has reacted strongly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who sarcastically referred to the country as the ‘Islamic Republic of Britain’ in an interview. Authorities in London condemned the comment as ‘completely unacceptable’.

The remarks, which drew criticism, were made in a military radio podcast interview on Thursday (13/8) local time, in which Netanyahu criticised Britain’s stance towards Israel. The statement reflects the rhetoric of far-right politicians and commentators in the Western world, who often make baseless claims that parts of Britain have submitted to Islamic law due to immigration — a narrative that has prompted accusations of Islamophobia.

‘These comments are completely unacceptable, and we have conveyed that to the Israeli government,’ a British government spokesperson said in a statement on Friday (14/8).

In the podcast interview, Netanyahu recounted how the grandson of former British prime minister Winston Churchill, who shares his grandfather’s name, voiced support for Israel during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. ‘Do you encounter anything like that now?’ Netanyahu asked. ‘Someone once said that the first Islamic republic to possess nuclear weapons is the Islamic Republic of Britain,’ the Israeli prime minister said with a smile. ‘We are making sure there will be no more Islamic republics of that kind here, in Iran,’ he stressed.

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer, in an interview with BBC radio on Friday (14/8), sought to ease tensions arising from Netanyahu’s comment. ‘He was quoting someone else,’ Mencer said, noting that US Vice President JD Vance had previously ‘made that comment’. ‘He was just quoting what the Vice President had said,’ he added.

The Vance comment in question was made at the Munich Security Conference in 2024, when he said Britain could become ‘the first truly Islamist country to have nuclear weapons’. The remark drew criticism from senior British politicians at the time.

Britain is one of several European countries that recognised the state of Palestine last year, a move that angered Israel. Recently, new British prime minister Andy Burnham said his predecessor, Keir Starmer, had not applied strong enough pressure on Israel to halt its military offensive in the Gaza Strip.