Latest News And Analysis
Analysis: LGBT rights thrive in Israel, albeit with further advances needed
Israel is undoubtedly a pioneer in the region of LGBT rights in the region with leading LGBT members of the Knesset such as Labor’s Itzik Shmuli playing a prominent role in public life. Similarly, Tel Aviv pride, which takes place this week, has grown from a few dozen protesters to a quarter of a million[…]
We should have been told about the Hezbollah bomb-making factory
This op-ed first appeared in the Jewish News, click here to view the original. Many of us have never needed convincing about just how dangerous Hezbollah is. That’s why – alongside Jewish communal organisations and colleagues from across the House of Commons – we campaigned to have this antisemitic terror group proscribed in its entirety. Belatedly, and[…]
Joan Ryan writes to the Home Secretary regarding Hezbollah UK bomb factory
Following reports that the UK security services in 2015 foiled an plot by Hezbollah agents in the UK, LFI chair Joan Ryan has written to Home Secretary Sajid Javid expressing concern about the withholding of information about the plot from both the public and parliament. Until February of this year, only Hezbollah’s military wing was[…]
Analysis: Unprecedented stalemate leads to new Israeli poll
Israel will go to the polls on 17 September – less than six months after Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to win April’s general election – following an unprecedented political stalemate. As the midnight deadline to negotiate a new coalition approached last Wednesday, the Knesset voted by 74 to 45 to dissolve itself. The manoeuvre was designed[…]
LFI supports new grassroots initiative
Labour Friends of Israel is launching ‘Speakers for a Two-State Solution,’ a grassroots initiative for l activists to lead discussions in the Labour party and centre-left groups about how to bring a peaceful end to the conflict in the Middle East. LFI is providing training and resources to ensure activists feel confident in making the[…]
Analysis: Is Israel heading for new elections?
Israel appears to be edging towards a general election – less than two months after Benjamin Netanyahu was re-elected on 9 April. With the deadline to form a new coalition government fast approaching on Wednesday night, the prime minister’s effort to secure a Knesset majority appears to have stalled. For several weeks, Netanyahu has been[…]
Analysis: Germany condemns “antisemitic” BDS movement
The German parliament last week passed a motion condemning as antisemitic the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. The motion was the joint initiative of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and centre-left Social Democrat party, and was backed by the Greens and the centrist Free Democrats. Entitled “Resist the BDS Movement – Fighting Antisemitism”,[…]
Analysis: What does Tehran’s terror army in Gaza want?
Israelis and Palestinians have already paid a high price for the mounting tensions between Iran and the United States. According to The Times this week, “a key meeting” was recently held in Beirut between Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s Al-Quds Brigade, and Ziyad al-Nakhalah, leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The apparent result: last weekend’s barrage[…]
Analysis: Fragile ceasefire after renewed Gaza violence
A weekend of violence – in which nearly 700 rockets, missiles and mortars were fired from Gaza towards Israel, purposefully targeting Israeli civilians – has given way this week to a tense ceasefire. Four Israeli civilians were killed and 142 were injured, including four in critical condition. Palestinian medical officials reported 27 deaths since Friday, including[…]
Analysis: The startup nation reaches for the stars
“Small country, big dreams” read the sign affixed to the Israeli spacecraft Beresheet, which last month entered lunar orbit before crashing during its attempted landing. Despite the failure to land on the moon, Israel still became the seventh – and by far the smallest – country in the world to bring a spacecraft into lunar orbit.[…]
What we do
Key Issues
Our weekly update looking at the Middle East peace process, regional developments, domestic Israeli and Palestinian affairs and primary issues affecting UK policy on Israel
In Parliament
We work closely with Labour parliamentarians to strengthen relations between Britain and Israel and to promote a vision of coexistence founded on peace and liberal democracy
Publications
We support constructive and informed discussion within the Labour movement; explaining the intense debate within Israel over the challenges the country faces, including constant security and existential threats.
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We run and promote campaigns to help create a lasting peace in the Middle East with Israel safe, secure and recognised within its borders; living alongside a democratic, independent Palestinian state