Ed Miliband, 56, former Labour Party leader and the party’s candidate for prime minister in 2015, was appointed Monday by PM Andy Burnham as foreign secretary of the United Kingdom. Miliband is the fourth Jew to serve as British foreign secretary. He was preceded in the role by his older brother, David Miliband, who served as foreign secretary under Gordon Brown’s government.
2+Miliband defines himself as a “secular Jew” or “cultural Jew.” He grew up in a completely atheist home as the son of Marxist sociologist Ralph Miliband, but over the years has repeatedly emphasized that his Jewish identity and family roots are an inseparable part of who he is.
Both his parents were Jewish refugees from Poland who fled Nazi terror. His mother survived thanks to Polish Righteous Among the Nations, while his maternal grandfather perished in the Holocaust. According to him, his family’s story shapes his worldview and his sensitivity to antisemitism.
2+In an interview with The Guardian 12 years ago, he said: “I am the child of Jewish immigrants and that is a very important part of my identity. If you try to analyze where I stand politically, it will be very difficult to do so without reference to my roots.”
His relationship with Israel was also influenced by his family background. In a speech to students at Hebrew University in 2014, he said: “For me, Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people. I come here with a deep awareness of my family history and also with a deep sense of gratitude to Israel for what it did for my grandmother. Israel was for her a refuge from indescribable sorrow.”
2+After World War II, his maternal grandmother found refuge in Israel after her husband perished in the concentration camps. Miliband first visited her in Israel when he was seven years old.
The new foreign secretary has extensive family ties in Israel. Among his relatives are first and second cousins living in Judea and Samaria, alongside family members who belong to the Gur and Alexander Hasidic dynasties and live in Bnei Brak and Jerusalem. Additional cousins live on kibbutzim throughout the country.
Politically, Miliband is considered a strong supporter of the two-state solution and a harsh critic of the current Netanyahu government’s policies. He supported recognition of a ‘Palestinian’ state in a British Parliament vote, but at the same time emphasized that he firmly opposes boycotts of Israel (BDS), and believes the path to advancing a settlement between the sides must go through negotiations alone.