We need to talk about the pro-Israel lobby in the UK
Labour Friends of Israel meeting with Israeli president Isaac Herzog in a ‘solidarity mission’ after October 7
Hamza Ali Shah reports in Mondweiss on 28 April 2024:
Israel’s genocide in Gaza recently exceeded 200 days, more than half a year characterized by remorseless consistency as Israeli forces indiscriminately pound the enclave. Several hospitals have been flattened and put out of service, half of Gaza’s buildings have been destroyed, and there are barely any educational facilities left standing. The man-made starvation in Gaza has caused the death of at least 27 children due to dehydration and malnutrition. Meanwhile, over 19,000 children have been left orphaned. The death toll is close to 40,000.
To date, Israel’s crimes have been met with unstinting support from the political class in Britain. To understand the dynamics of how a country on trial for genocide by the World Court has received unqualified support in these quarters is to understand the scale of the meticulous, multipronged operation to insulate Israel undertaken by the pro-Israel lobby.
Conservative Friends of Israel
In April, the former Conservative minister Sir Alan Duncan provoked outrage when he suggested the lobby group Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) does the bidding of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. The statement represented a rare moment of honesty from Westminster.
Formed in 1974, CFI exists to ensure “that Israel’s case is fairly represented in Parliament.” One prime method in this modus operandi is free trips to Israel, and research shows the group has taken British MPs on 155 free trips over the last decade, more than any other group or government.
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Labour Friends of Israel
But despite ardent Conservative Friends of Israel in name and nature, it’s not a unique level of support that is exclusively confined to one corner of Westminster. Labour Friends of Israel operate on a similar wavelength and the rules of engagement appear to be identical.