The British government has barred Israel Defense Forces officers from attending one of the kingdom’s most prestigious military academies, citing the Israeli government’s escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
IDF officers will not be invited to attend the Royal College of Defense Studies, the British government confirmed to The Telegraph on Sunday. There “must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of hostages, and a surge in humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” it said.
Founded in 1927 by Winston Churchill as the Imperial Defense College, the Royal College prepares senior officers of the colonel or brigadier general rank for positions in the British military or government. The National Defense University in Washington is the closest U.S. equivalent.
Members from nearly 50 countries around the world attend the Royal College of Defense Studies. Retired Maj. Gen. Amir Baram, director general of Israel’s Defense Ministry, studied at the Royal College and slammed the decision to bar Israelis from attending.
“These discriminatory actions amount to a disgraceful break with Britain’s proud tradition of tolerance — and plain decency,” Mr. Baram wrote in a letter that was shared with the Jerusalem Post. “I feel compelled to state plainly: Israel’s exclusion is a profoundly dishonorable act of disloyalty to an ally at war.”
He said Israel is defending international shipping from Houthi aggression, preventing nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of an Islamist regime in Iran that chants “Death to England,” and is fighting to bring home 48 hostages from Hamas captivity.
“The establishment’s response is to silence Israeli voices. It is excluding those who have sacrificed greatly in the pursuit of our shared values and contributed greatly to the common defense,” Mr. Baram wrote, calling the decision “an act of self-sabotage of British security.”
He accused the government of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer of bending under political pressure and turning its back on other democracies in favor of adversaries who seek its downfall.
“I trust that wiser counsels will prevail and these decisions will be overturned before lasting damage is done to the British establishment’s standing among its friends and partners,” Mr. Baram wrote. “R.C.D.S. was founded to build bridges, not burn them.”
