Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated a racist joke first made by JD Vance that Britain might be the first ‘truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon.’
As the US government faces accusations of meddling in British democracy with half a million dollars in “public education” grants aimed at exporting MAGA propaganda to the UK, Netanyahu is doing exactly what Washington is trying to do as well – spreading a destabilising Islamophobic narrative in the UK.
The MAGA “civilisational” narrative frames Europe as under threat from mass migration, falling birth rates, and what it calls “civilisational erasure.” Netanyahu’s “Islamic Republic of Britain” rant plays directly into this same racist fearmongering.
According to Clash Report, the remarks were made during an appearance on the Melech Blitzer Haim podcast hosted by Avi Harush. The Israeli premier spoke about meeting Winston Churchill’s grandson, also named Winston, describing him as a “nice man” and “lover of Israel” who viewed the Six-Day War favorably.
Netanyahu then contrasted that era with contemporary British politics, implying the UK doesn’t have the Churchillian spirit anymore, saying:
Just try to find that kind of attitude in Britain now, or in what’s known as ‘The Islamic Republic of Britain.’ You won’t find it.
Netanyahu on Britain:
You might call Britain the “Islamic Republic of Britain.”
Someone said that the first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons will be the Islamic Republic of Britain.
We’re making sure there won’t be another one—you know, in Iran. pic.twitter.com/EmLpSvYtxu
— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 13, 2026
Send Netanyahu to the Hague
William Dalrymple, the historian, tweeted simply: “Time to send this Islamophobic racist war criminal to the Hague,” a sentiment echoed across social media platforms.
Time to send this Islamophobic racist war criminal to the Hague
“Netanyahu brands UK the ‘Islamic Republic of Britain’”https://t.co/AOGgX3Xy3b— William Dalrymple (@DalrympleWill) August 13, 2026
Journalist Mehdi Hasan called out Netanyahu’s hypocrisy, writing:
Just brazen Islamophobia and bigotry from the leader of the self-styled Jewish state. ‘Antisemitism bad! Islamophobia good!’
Philip Proudfoot, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, highlighted the hypocrisy of Netanyahu’s comments given Britain’s complicity in Israel’s genocide.
Britain trashed its legal system so as to arrest grandmothers for writing signs opposing his genocidal war on Gaza. Britain provided intelligence flights from Cyprus, giving direct military intelligence that aided Israel’s genocide.
Netanyahu: “Islamic republic of Britain lol” https://t.co/G6QAn1fsPI
— Philip Proudfoot (@PhilipProudfoot) August 13, 2026
Far-right hate
The US State Department is offering grants of up to $3 million for European groups that combat “censorship” and develop “civilisational bonds” between the US and the continent, the FT reported recently.
New: The State Department is offering grants of up to $3 million to Maga-aligned groups in Europe that combat “censorship” and develop “civilisational bonds” between the US and the continent.https://t.co/DHhOL35LVf
— Amy Mackinnon (@ak_mack) July 14, 2026
It said:
During President Donald Trump’s second term US officials have accused the UK and EU of stifling freedom of speech as they seek to regulate hate speech online and of attempting to neuter expressions of national sovereignty. The grants represent one of the Trump administration’s first steps to turn its escalating rhetoric against Europe into policy after struggling to produce concrete results.
In the UK, specifically, the Guardian reported recently that the US embassy is offering up to $500,000 for educational initiatives that promote “limited government” and “freedom of speech” language associated with the MAGA movement.
The scheme invites organisations to apply under a programme labelled “Liberty Under Law: The Shared Anglo-American Tradition.”
The funding is separate from $12 million reportedly intended for groups founded by Conservatives Jacob Rees-Mogg and Toby Young.
Trump, Netanyahu, and Rees-Mogg are all hyping up Islamophobia as usual.
Featured image via screengrab
By The Canary
