British companies operating in the United States will be named and shamed if they comply with Ed Miliband’s sanctions on West Bank settlements, pro-Israel groups have warned.
American activists have set up a whistleblower hotline and urged employees to report UK firms which refuse to work with Israelis or Israel following Labour’s trade ban on goods from settlements in the West Bank.
They warn that compliant companies could face reciprocal sanctions by US states due to American anti-boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) laws, which potentially forbid states from working with companies found to be boycotting Israel or territories controlled by Israel.
On Tuesday, Mr Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, announced the trade ban, accusing “terrorist” settlers of “ethnic cleansing” in the West Bank, marking the lowest point in diplomatic relations between the two nations since Israel’s founding.
It led to retaliatory measures from Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, including the closing of Britain’s consulate in East Jerusalem and a travel ban on 12 pro-Gaza Britons.
On Thursday, the US-based National Jewish Advocacy Centre said it would set up a hotline for “employees, suppliers and customers” to report “British companies that have started cutting off Israeli businesses because of the new measures”.
It plans to report these businesses to states and encourage them to divest funds from the companies.
In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s said it would stop selling ice cream in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in line with the company’s social justice values, a decision which triggered widespread backlash.
Several states, including New York, New Jersey and Illinois, subsequently divested hundreds of millions of dollars from London-based Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s parent company, resulting in a policy about-turn.
Since Mr Miliband’s announcement, several US congressmen have suggested that other British firms complying with UK sanction rules could face similar punishment.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the governor of Arkansas, posted on X: “It’s simple: boycotting the world’s only Jewish state is anti-Semitism.
“Arkansas law makes clear that we won’t do business with any company that deliberately chooses to engage in BDS activities. Period.”
Randy Fine, the Republican representative for Florida, added: “As the British government considers forcing British companies to boycott portions of Israel, it should be aware that a Florida law that I passed as a member of the Legislature would ban any British company forced to comply from doing business with any state or local government in Florida.
“It would also end any British business participating in that boycott from doing any business in Florida if it needed any official interaction with state or local government to operate (permits, tax collection).
“Florida is one of Britain’s largest trading partners. They should understand that their vanity project in support of Muslim terror could cost them billions of dollars.
“And for those who doubt the power of this policy, it was this same law that broke Airbnb’s misguided effort to boycott portions of Israel in 2019.”
Carlos A Gimenez, a Floridian congressman, added: “Countries that boycott our dearest ally, the Jewish state of Israel should also be barred from having consulates in Florida.
“Who are they to think they can just violate our laws, hurt Floridian businesses in Israel, and carry water for pro-Hamas terrorists?”
Mark Goldfeder, director of the National Jewish Advocacy Centre in the US, said: “Britain has ordered its companies into a trap it never mapped.
“Many American states, Texas and Florida among them, bar public contracts with, and force pension divestment from, any company that limits commercial relations with Israelis or Israel.
“The words are in the statutes, and Austin and Tallahassee do not run their lists on Whitehall’s definitions.”
Mr Miliband imposed sanctions after Israel announced plans to build the “long-standing red line” EI project, a development that would strategically isolate East Jerusalem from the rest of Palestinian territory. Some peace advocates said it would frustrate a future two-state solution.