Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to Britain as the 'Islamic Republic of Britain' during an interview on the Army Radio podcast King of Creating Life published last week, accusing the country of abandoning the kind of support for Israel that British journalists Winston Churchill and his father Randolph Churchill showed during the Six-Day War.
Netanyahu calls Britain 'Islamic Republic of Britain' in radio podcast interview
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to Britain as the 'Islamic Republic of Britain' during an interview on the Army Radio podcast King of Creating Life published last week, accusing the country of abandoning the kind of support for Israel that British journalists Winston Churchill and his father Randolph Churchill showed during the Six-Day War.
On the podcast, Netanyahu recalled that Winston Churchill and his father Randolph — described as Winston Churchill's son — covered the Six-Day War 'in a way that was very favorable toward us,' and said such coverage could not be found 'in what is called the Islamic Republic of Britain' today.
Netanyahu also cited a phrase, attributed to an unidentified person, that 'the first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons will be the Islamic Republic of Britain,' adding: 'We're making sure there won't be another one, you know, in Iran.' The Jerusalem Post noted that Pakistan has had an active nuclear program since 1972 and is a self-described Islamic republic.
Relations between Israel and Britain have grown strained in recent months, according to the Post, and have worsened since Andy Burnham became British Prime Minister, succeeding Keir Starmer.
Last week's Arbaeen Procession in London — an annual march commemorating Imam Hussain ibn Ali, martyred in Karbala, Iraq, in 680 CE — featured what the Jerusalem Post described, based on its review of hundreds of videos and photos, as at least dozens of posters and flags of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and hundreds of Islamic regime flags. One poster, produced by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, showed Khamenei's image with the words 'Choose the right side of history.' The IHRC has been under investigation by the UK's Charity Commission since 2017 over alleged ties to the Iranian regime.
Footage from the procession also showed a man wearing a keffiyeh bearing images of three Islamic Republic supreme leaders: Ruhollah Khomeini, Ali Khamenei, and current Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. The Post noted the displays occurred shortly after the UK introduced the National Security (State Threats) Act 2026.
- The source does not state when exactly the podcast was recorded, only that it was published last week.
- The source does not include any response or comment from the British government or Prime Minister Andy Burnham regarding Netanyahu's remarks.
- The source does not identify who originally said the phrase about Britain becoming 'the first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons' that Netanyahu quoted.
- The source does not state the current status or findings of the Charity Commission's investigation into the Islamic Human Rights Commission.
- The source does not state the current status or specific provisions of the National Security (State Threats) Act 2026 beyond naming it.
- The source does not establish whether the podcast interview was conducted in Hebrew or English, or whether the quotes are translated.
Read the original at The Jerusalem Post