Claims have been made that it would be illegal for British citizens to serve in Israeli forces, something rejected by the UK Government.
The latest confirmation came in response to a Written Parliamentary Question.
Afzal Khan Labour MP for Manchester, Gorton, asked:
“To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what guidance his Department issues to British nationals that plan to volunteer to assist the Israeli Defence Forces with the conflict in Gaza.
Andrew Mitchell, Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), responded:
“FCDO travel advice provides British nationals with information on the risks of travelling or living abroad. The FCDO provides advice to British nationals on the risks of travelling to Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories. This guidance can be found on Gov.uk.
The UK recognises the right of British nationals with additional nationalities to serve in the legitimately recognised armed forces of the country of their other nationalities. The Israel Defence Force is a recognised armed force and British nationals are both able to volunteer into the Israel Defence Force and eligible for national service. For Israel, one does not have to be Israeli to serve in the Israel Defence Force.”
Doesn’t that mean, contrary to the headline, that it is legal ONLY if you already have dual UK-Israel nationality?
It’s open on that point. It says it’s legal if you have dual nationality, not that it’s illegal if you don’t.
It is perfectly legal for any UK National to join the Israeli defence force in the same way you can join the US forces or french foreign legion..it only becomes illegal to join a foreign army if that army is at war with a nation the UK is at peace with…as Israel is not at war with a formally recognised nation, it’s not illegal to enlist…but it is actually illegal to enlist in the Ukraine armed forces as they are at war with a nation we are at peace with ( 1870 the foreign enlistment act).
There’s a footnote; “For Israel, one does not have to be Israeli to serve in the Defence Forces”
Off topic: What is going on in Guyana? Britain sent HMS Trent (an OPV, on-board crew about 46 plus a few marines) on a visit to Guyana to conduct exercises with the coast guard; it should have arrived on Friday. Venezuela protested, calling it British hostile provocation and Maduro reportedly sent 5,680 military personnel to conduct defensive exercises also off the coast of Guyana. The numbers come from the Guardian, the Guyana Times and elsewhere, but I doubt the ability of Venezuela to put that many troops on exercise at short notice, despite the support of Iran and Russia, not… Read more »
Its not just a case of HMSTrent being there, Maduro wants to stir the pot and make the UK look bad in front of his own people. The US has also said it supports Guyana, so unless Maduro is going to commit political suicide I think he’s talking out of his backside.
The law on this is actually really old and a bit out of date..the foreign enlistment act of 1870 states that a UK citizen is not allowed to enlist with the armed forces of a foreign nation that it’s at war with a friendly nation…friendly is basically defined as any nation that the UK is not at war with. There is an exclusion in that HMG can provide a license to allow someone to enlist with the forces of a nation at war with another nation the UK is at peace with…. So what does this mean 1) It is… Read more »
Interesting in light of reports a while ago that it might be illegal for British nationals to go abroad to fight ISIS terrorists, by way of comparison. I am not saying there is legal equivalence.
Looking at Jonathan’s post, ISIS is not a nation so fill your boots..
Given RAF Operation Shader, presumably that mission may be open to the professionals too, depending on the threat..
As long as they were jointing a recognised nations army then it’s not illegal.The issue is if they join some random group…so you could sign up to the Iraqi army with no legal issue..joining some random fighters..you will probably fall into terror laws and get arrested.
Thanks Jonathan, I follow that. My point was about the moral cause, not the legal side.
Well in theory both legal and moral should be bound together..what is moral should be legal and what is legal should be moral, with the legal framework bound to a societies moral bedrocks…although you have seen over that last shall we say century or so a gradual drift and separation between what society considers moral and what is legal, this is a purposeful engineering by the legal professions as well as political classes/legislators who are out of touch. That’s put some serious tensions in play to be honest. Classic example is the wealthiest using legal loopholes to avoid tax..its legal… Read more »
Thanks Jonathan for your thoughtful post. I can see the appeal to some young, single Brits to join the Kurdish YPG to rid the world of some ISIS terrorists but they probably don’t weigh up that Turkey has proscribed the YPG.
Oh if I was 30 or 40 years younger I’d be on the next flight. Israel is the only country other than my own, I would consider taking up arms to defend. I’m neither Jewish or religious but I would love to defend that parliamentary democracy from her enemies. This getting old business sucks!
Ditto.
Fighting for any foreign country should lead to removal of UK citizenship.