Israel Thanks PM May, Welcomes PM Johnson

YERUSHALAYIM
boris johnson
Boris Johnson speaking after being announced as the new leader of the Conservative Party, Tuesday in London. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Britain’s outgoing prime minister Theresa May received a word of thanks from Israel on Tuesday for her steadfast friendship toward Israel during her term of office.

“I want to thank Prime Minister Theresa May for the amazing and tireless work that she did to strengthen ties between our two countries,” Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz wrote on Twitter.

“Bilateral trade is up, tourism is up, and security cooperation is saving lives. Thank you to a true friend.”

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu meanwhile welcomed the incoming prime minister:

“Heartfelt congratulations from Jerusalem to Boris Johnson. Looking forward to working closely together, both in facing our common challenges and seizing the opportunities ahead,” he wrote on Twitter.

Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz chimed in as well:

“The U.K. and Israel share a longstanding tradition of cooperation, common interests, and shared values,” Gantz said in a statement. “The government that I’ll lead will strengthen the economic and bilateral relations between our two states and promote the essential fight against BDS and against anti-Semitism.”

As world attention focused on Johnson, who enters 10 Downing Street on Wednesday, it came to light that he did a stint on a kibbutz in his youth.

As a volunteer at Kibbutz Kfar Hanassi, north of Lake Teverya, in the 1980s, he “even worked in the fields,” according to the secretary general of the umbrella body of the Kibbutz movement, Nir Meir.

Saying Johnson is a “true friend of Israel,” Meir plans to invite him to the organization’s annual conference.

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