The Palestinian president welcomed Britain’s decision, saying it was “an important step towards confronting Israel’s colonial system and its abuses against the Palestinian people.”
The UK Jewish community has had mixed reactions to the sanctions and their possible security implications.
The chief rabbi called the government’s statement “little more than a political flag carrying false anti-Israel rhetoric.”
Sir Ephraim said: “Such policy of gestures fuels an increasingly hostile discourse about Israel, and the cumulative effect of such punitive policies is to further embolden those, at home and abroad, who use hatred as a weapon against Jews.”
Asked about Mirvis’s comments, Miliband said: “I disagree with the chief rabbi, a man… whom I have great respect for.”
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that “anyone who holds British Jews – or even Jews around the world – responsible for the actions of the Israeli government is engaging in pure anti-Semitism.”
Meanwhile, the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) warned that the government’s decision “risks becoming a de facto boycott of Israel” and accused Miliband of “succumbing to pressure from the most extreme elements of British society.”
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the decision to make the announcement ahead of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year holiday that begins on Friday, raised “public safety concerns at the highest level… felt particularly acutely by British Jews.”
He added that deteriorating relations between the UK and Israel could “further exacerbate public tensions here as well” and said he had warned the Israeli government about “intolerable settler violence” that was damaging Israel’s reputation.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) announced on Wednesday that extra resources will be allocated during the Jewish holidays to provide “additional visibility and security” and “ensure everyone can celebrate the time safely”.
Chief Supt Dave Meaney said: “Our officers will continue to work with Jewish communities as we approach this important time for their faith, which we understand is a time of heightened community concern.”
As the backlash against the sanctions continued on Wednesday, Naamod, which describes itself as a movement of British Jews seeking to end the Israeli occupation and support equality between Palestinians and Israelis, welcomed the decision, saying it had been waiting years for the British government to take action.
“There is no single Jewish approach to Israel. We reject the claim that [Tuesday’s] The UK government’s measures will promote anti-Semitism.”
The Movement for Progressive Judaism said that “while the vulnerability of British Jews cannot be ignored”, measures targeting Israeli settlements “are not the same as attacks on Jews”.
“We must take care not to blur the distinction between the two,” the statement said.