Ed Miliband, the U.K.'s New Foreign Secretary – and His History With Israel

The former Labour leader's appointment drew criticism from both left and right over his positions on the Middle East. Calling his relationship with his Jewish identity 'complex,' he visited Israel in 2014, meeting Netanyahu and declining to say whether he was a Zionist

July 21st, 15PM July 21st, 15PM

Ed Miliband, a former Labour leader, was appointed Britain's new foreign secretary on Monday by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has signaled that his government is likely to take a tougher stance toward Israel over its policies toward the Palestinians.

The appointment of Miliband, 56, who is Jewish, as the U.K.'s top diplomat from his previous post as energy secretary comes amid a sweeping ministerial reshuffle as Burnham takes power following Keir Starmer's resignation as both prime minister and Labour leader.

Miliband replaces Yvette Cooper, who listed the U.K.'s recognition of Palestine among her main achievements during her 10 months as foreign secretary.

Before taking office, Burnham apologized for his party's initial response to Israel's war in Gaza, saying Labour "didn't get it right" and needed to "do better" under his leadership. As mayor of Greater Manchester, he had adopted positions on Israel and the Gaza war to the left of Starmer and his government.

Miliband, in a statement accepting his new post, said that the U.K. would be "working tirelessly to seek a sustainable peace in Palestine and Israel, including an end to the terrible suffering of the people of Gaza and security for the people of Israel."

Miliband added that the U.K. government would also work to see the war in Iran come to an end, with the Strait of Hormuz opened without any restrictions.

First elected to Parliament in 2005, Miliband became the first Jewish person to lead the Labour Party when he was elected leader in 2010, following Gordon Brown's general election defeat. He led the party into the 2015 election, in which David Cameron's Conservatives defeated Labour, and resigned afterward. Miliband then returned to the backbenches before taking posts in Starmer's shadow cabinet and, following Labour's 2024 election victory, in government.

In his statement, Miliband emphasized how his parents came to the U.K. as Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis. "To them, Britain was both a sanctuary and a beacon of hope in the global fight against fascism. I will carry my parents' faith in that spirit of Britain to my role representing our country," he pledged.

Writing for the New Statesman magazine in 2012, Miliband described how his Jewish roots are an inherent part of his identity, but not part of his political views. "I am not religious. But I am Jewish. My relationship with my Jewishness is complex. But whose isn't?" he wrote at the time.

Miliband recalled meeting with a Jewish charity, during which he was asked whether his views on Israel, the Palestinians and the Middle East at large were more complex due to his religion. "My answer was an emphatic 'no.' I support a two-state solution because I long for the peace that both Palestinians and Israelis need so badly," he wrote.

As Labour leader, Miliband visited Israel in April 2014, meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and addressing students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

According to The Guardian, Miliband recalled his first visit to Israel at the age of seven and spoke of his gratitude to the country for providing refuge to his grandmother after her husband died in the camps.

The report said Miliband declined to say whether he considered himself a Zionist, despite being asked three times during an hour-long question-and-answer session.

In June of that year, Miliband addressed the Labour Friends of Israel parliamentary group, where he reiterated his support for a two-state solution, harshly criticizing those who called to abandon it in the wake of ongoing violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

"After all, what is the alternative? So we should step up, not abandon, our support for a two-state solution," he told the LFI after a visit he conducted to Israel. "We know that compromises in key areas must be made on both sides. We must also do nothing that will get in the way of peace," Miliband added.

He also seemingly rejected the possibility of boycotting Israel in a bid to exert pressure on the government, calling the threat of boycotts "the wrong response."

"We do, and we will resolutely oppose the isolation of Israel. And my party does so. No one in my party either should question Israel's right to exist," Miliband said in 2014.

Weeks after Miliband's speech, Israel and Hamas engaged in a 50-day war known in Israel as Operation Protective Edge, during which he slammed Cameron for not being more critical of Israel's offensive in Gaza.

"Hamas is a terrorist organization and I utterly condemn their rocket attacks on Israel and the murder of Israeli soldiers, but that cannot excuse the scale of the loss of life of innocent Palestinian civilians, including children, that we are seeing," he said at the time. The Cameron government, Miliband added, "needs to send a message to both sides that these actions are wrong and that there needs to be an immediate cease-fire and a long-term solution to this tragic conflict."

Miliband continued to voice his support for a two-state solution that very year, when he and 273 additional MPs voted in favor of the United Kingdom recognizing a Palestinian state alongside Israel – though the resolution was non-binding and mostly symbolic in nature.

More than a decade later, in September 2025, the Starmer government followed through and formally recognized a Palestinian state, despite facing fierce opposition from both Israel and the United States. That came months after Starmer pledged to do so unless Israel agreed to a cease-fire in Gaza, allowed for United Nations aid to enter the embattled territory and took additional steps that would secure long-term peace.

Miliband's appointment has been met with criticism from both the left and the right. Green Party leader Zack Polanski said of Miliband, "How can we hope he has a serious plan for ending 'the terrible suffering of people in Gaza' when he can't even bring himself to name Israel as the genocidal aggressor causing the suffering?"

From the right, The Daily Telegraph ran a column arguing that, when Miliband led Labour, he was responsible for what it described as "one of the most calamitous foreign policy blunders in recent times" – the 2013 decision not to respond after then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime used nerve gas, killing more than 1,400 civilians. Although the Conservatives were in office at the time, Labour's opposition helped defeat the motion by 285 votes to 272, leaving Assad in power for another 11 years.

Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson described Miliband's appointment as foreign secretary as "an appalling choice" for the role. "The failure to stand up to [Assad] – for which Miliband bears much guilt – led directly to Putin's first invasion of Ukraine," he wrote. "The Kremlin will be delighted," he added.