LFI vice chair Cat McKinnell MP today pushed Middle East Minister James Cleverly about why the UK government isn’t showing more initiative to support the creation of the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace, as envisioned by ALLMEP. Her question came following a written parliamentary question, in which the FCDO claimed Read more…
Iran’s deputy foreign minister said at the weekend that ongoing negotiations in Vienna to restore the 2015 nuclear deal will not resume until president-elect Ebrahim Raisi is sworn in next month. “We’re in a transition period as a democratic transfer of power is underway in our capital”, Abbas Araghchi tweeted. Read more…
Palestinian Authority security forces arrested a Palestinian singer for performing in the Israeli settlement of Ariel on Monday. The singer, a resident of Kafr ad-Dik, will be tried on charges of “promoting normalisation with Israel”, sources told the Jerusalem Post. The singer was invited to perform at a party hosted by Read more…
The new Israeli coalition government, led by prime minister Naftali Bennett, voted against a bill which would have annexed the West Bank in the Ministerial Committee on Legislation on Monday. Likud MK Miki Zohar dared Bennett’s right-wing Yamina party and their New Hope coalition partners, to support the legislation, despite Read more…
LFI last week launched a major new publication examining the changing shape of the Middle East. From the growing threat posed by Iranian expansionism to diplomatic shifting sands and demographic changes, The New Middle East: A Progressive Approach is an important contribution to Labour’s foreign policy development. Launch event The pamphlet was Read more…
Labour Friends of Israel chair, Steve McCabe MP, has written the below article for the Jewish Chronicle. Click here to read the original. The obsession with Israel-Palestine means my party has neglected other vital issues The past decade has seen a series of momentous events sweep the Middle East: the Arab Spring, Read more…
The Palestinian Authority minister of labour, Nasri Abu Jaish, has been expelled by his party after refusing to resign in protest at the death of anti-corruption activist Nizar Banat last month. The left-wing Palestinian People’s Party (PPP) announced two weeks ago that it would withdraw from the PA government following Read more…
Isaac Herzog was sworn in as Israel’s eleventh president on Wednesday, with a promise to “lower the flames, to calm things down”. Herzog, a former leader of Israel’s Labor party and former chairman of the Jewish Agency, told members of the Knesset that he took his vow to act as a Read more…
Israel announced a series of relief measures for the Gaza Strip yesterday, including expanding the enclave’s fishing zone and the approval of additional imports and exports in the wake of relative calm along the Israel-Gaza border. The move followed international calls for humanitarian assistance for Gaza, which has been governed Read more…
LFI this week launches a major new publication on the changing shape of the Middle East. From demographic changes to diplomatic revolutions, and the growing threat posed by an expansionist Iran, The New Middle East: A Progressive Approach is designed to contribute to the evolution of Labour’s foreign policy development. What’s in it The Read more…
Labour Friends of Israel Lords chair, Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale, has written the below article for Jewish News. Click here to read the original. Joe Biden’s campaign for the presidency, and his approach since taking office, demonstrate a progressive, pro-Israel agenda which Labour should study carefully as it seeks to Read more…
Click here for a PDF copy of our new pamphlet: The New Middle East Labour Friends of Israel is proud to publish The New Middle East: A Progressive Approach, a collection of essays exploring the dramatic changes in the Middle East in the last decade, and asking how Labour foreign policy should Read more…