Israel lobby in the United Kingdom
According to Donald Wagner writing in Sojourners magazine, what came to be known as "Christian Zionism" emerged in England in the early 19th century when Restoration of the Jews to the Holy Land and futuristic interpretation of apocalyptic texts merged.
[citation needed] British journalist Geoffrey Wheatcroft writes that perhaps the "first lobbyist on behalf of the land of Israel" was Theodor Herzl who, after publishing his book The Jewish State in 1896, and organizing the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland in 1897, met Cabinet ministers and other European officials.
[5] In 1917 Weizmann and a small group of Zionists, in what Ahron Bregman called "a brilliant exercise of sustained persuasion, lobbying, and influence", persuaded the British government to publish the Balfour Declaration[6] which supported "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.
Its mission is to work, through its members, to ensure the continuity in the UK, in this and future generations, of a mainstream Jewish Community (that) is, inter alia: confident in its support for Israel.
According to the JLC's website, the Fair Play Campaign Group 'acts as a coordinating hub' and 'keeps an eye out for hostile activity so it can be an early-warning system for pro-Israel organisations in the UK'.
Former Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Tam Dalyell in 2003 stated that former prime minister and party leader Tony Blair was unduly influenced by a "cabal of Jewish advisers" in forming his Middle East policy towards Iraq, Syria and Iran.
Eric Moonman, president of the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland and a former Labour MP, said he was seeking advice on whether there was a case for referral of Dalyell to the Commons' commission for racial equality.
An all-party group of Lords led by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, said her "irresponsible and inappropriate" comments "evoked a classic anti-Jewish conspiracy theory.
"[21] Tonge was reprimanded by the Liberal Party leader Menzies Campbell, who commented "I defend absolutely your right to express your views on the Middle East, including legitimate criticism of the state of Israel.
"[21] In 2006 Chris Davies, a Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament for the northwest of England wrote to a pro-Israel constituent that she "enjoyed wallowing in her own filth".
In a later message to her he complained about Israel's "racist policies of apartheid" and stated "I shall tell them that I intend to speak out against this oppression at every opportunity, and I shall denounce the influence of the Jewish lobby that seems to have far too great a say over the political decision-making process in many countries".
[25] In a December 2007 column, after the 2007 Labour party donation scandal ("Donorgate") broke, Assaf Uni of Haaretz wrote that there was concern in the Jewish community about "conspiracy theories regarding a 'Jewish plot' in the United Kingdom, and the role of the pro-Israel lobby there".
The Daily Telegraph ran a photograph of Abrahams with Israeli former ambassador to Britain, Zvi Heifetz, and "insinuated that Israel was the source of the illegal campaign contributions."
According to an article in Haaretz, several in the media have maintained there was a connection between money donated by Zionist Jews and the pro-Israel policy of British prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
It lists its objectives as supporting Israel, promoting conservatism, fighting terrorism, combating antisemitism and peaceful co-existence in the Middle East.
[39] Iain Dale and Brian Brivati in The Daily Telegraph have described it as "a highly effective lobby group," writing that its director, Stuart Polak, has "done more than most to promote Israel's case to the right of British politics.
It was launched by the Zionist Federation and led by former Labour MP for East Kilbride Michael McCann to build relationships between politicians and grassroots Israel supporters and strengthen ties between the House of Commons and the Knesset.
He also noted their reluctance to address issues he had mentioned in past columns related to Lord Levy, the Labour Party and to the "close business links with Israel" of press magnates Rupert Murdoch and Conrad Black.
[47] Earlier in August, Times journalist, Sam Kiley, resigned from the newspaper as he claimed his work was severely censored by senior executives due to the Zionist sympathies of Rupert Murdoch.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews, Conservative Friends of Israel and the Israeli Embassy expressed "outrage" and, according to Pilger, demanded a "pro-Israel" film.
[52] The London-based Jewish Chronicle reported that Brian Kerner, former chair of Joint Israel Appeal, argued that there was "the need for a body able to orchestrate British Jewry's political and public relations" after the year 2000 outbreak of the Second Intifada.
The day after it began, fifty Jewish leaders met with the Israeli ambassador and "raised an initial £250,000 fund for pro-Israel lobbying and public relations."
[55] In early 2008, The Jewish Chronicle reported that a new, yet unnamed London-based organisation would examine whether Israel received fair media coverage, but that it would not compete with BICOM.
[50] In autumn 2008, a senior Israeli government official shared his opinions on competition between BICOM, which he said wants to maintain its primary role in the UK, and the US-based Israel Project.
"[56] Society, encompassing academia, local government and other fields, has taken on greater importance as Israel and its supporters have sought to counter pro-Palestinian sentiment and activities, such as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
One of the speakers, Ghada Karmi, a Palestinian research fellow at the University of Exeter and vice-chair of CAABU (the Council for Arab-British Understanding), wrote on The Guardian's blog that "the newest and least attractive import from America, following on behind Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Friends, is the pro-Israel lobby."
She states the Oxford Union withdrew its invitation to speak to American Jewish scholar and Israel critic Norman Finkelstein, asserting it was "apparently intimidated by threats from various pro-Israel groups".
[89] After returning from Israel Tour, participants become Madrichimot (leaders) and will spend the year doing Hadracha (leadership) training in preparation for them to take on roles in the summer across a variety of Machanot.
Today we are working to ensure that the people of Israel who live in the underdeveloped south of the country can also share in the Jewish State's success story.is active in every area of Israeli life.
[94] The British Prime Minister, Theresa May, was the guest speaker at a dinner, hosted by UJIA on 17 September 2018, that was held to mark the 70th anniversary of the foundation of Israel.
