Will the new PM recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital?

The race to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative leader and Prime Minister has been marked by acrimony. Rishi Sunak has established himself as the candidate of the centre and his rival Liz Truss the figurehead of the right. On one issue, however, they are on the same platform.

Last night, Sunak spoke to Conservative Friends of Israel, a campaign group within the Conservative party that is popular with both MPs and grassroots activists. During the Q&A session, the former Chancellor was asked his position on moving the British embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, an issue that has sprung from relative obscurity in British politics to become a mainstream proposition.

According to Jewish Chronicle reporter Ben Bloch, who covered Monday night’s event, Sunak told the audience he considered Jerusalem ‘the undisputed capital’ of Israel and said there was ‘a very strong case for it to be recognised’. He cautioned that he had never been Foreign Secretary and so wasn’t fully up-to-speed on the ‘sensitivities’ of the issue but reiterated that the case was ‘very strong’.