Official Israel has been unusually silent on one of the most important events affecting its international affairs: the forthcoming referendum on the future of the United Kingdom’s membership in the European Union. The Netanyahu government’s uncharacteristic reticence — formally justified as an unwillingness to interfere in the domestic affairs of another country — can hardly explain the lack of Israeli public interest in this extraordinary plebiscite. Brexit’s consequences for Israel are immense.

Several days after the horrendous assassination of pro-EU activist and Labour Party MP Jo Cox and just before Britons go to the polls — it is high time for Israelis to weigh in. For them, a UK withdrawal from Europe would be nothing short of earthshattering. Broad Israeli interests on all sides of the political spectrum militate strongly for Britain’s continued membership in the European body.

Four key considerations inform such a stance. The first, and most obvious, is economic. Pundits commenting on the referendum in the financial pages of the Hebrew-language press have been virtually unanimous in highlighting the detrimental economic ramifications for Israel of a British exit — given that the UK is Israel’s second largest trading partner by country after the United States. On the most immediate level, such a move would depreciate the value of the pound sterling (estimates lie somewhere between 15% and 30%), making Israeli products far more expensive and consequently adversely affecting exports to the UK. It would also block the accessibility of Israeli companies registered in London (and currently benefiting from the “single passport” policy) to European markets.

Read the full report at Times of Israel.