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…
German foreign minister Heiko Maas said on Monday that he was confident of reaching a deal to save the 2015 Iran nuclear accord “in the coming weeks”. “We think (the talks) can reach their goal”, he told reporters in Madrid after a gathering of the Stockholm Initiative, a group of Read more…
Israel’s health ministry recorded 501 new coronavirus cases on Monday, representing a 50 percent increase from the previous day. The figure is the highest since 30 March, when 571 tested positive for the virus. Out of the new infections, 42 percent had been vaccinated. This comes amid concern over the Read more…
Israel will send South Korea some 700,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine that are due to expire shortly in a deal signed between the two nations on Tuesday. The deal was announced by Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett, who called the deal a “win-win” situation for both countries. The deal Read more…
Join us for the launch of LFI’s new publication The New Middle East: A Progressive Approach a selection of essays discussing the changing political landscape in the region. This new essay collection seeks to challenge assumptions about the Middle East and broaden the debate on the left, which is too often disproportionately focussed on Israel. From demographic changes to diplomatic revolutions, Read more…
The political bureau chief of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, has met with Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, in the Lebanese capital Beirut this week. The two reportedly discussed the recent 11-day bout of fighting between Israel and Gaza-based terror groups led by Hamas, and how they might build on the experience Read more…
US president Joe Biden assured his outgoing Israeli counterpart, Reuven Rivlin, that he would not tolerate a nuclear Iran as the two met on Monday. The meeting came amid growing apprehension regarding the Biden administration’s efforts to re-enter the Iran nuclear deal. “What I can say to you is that Read more…
Israel’s foreign minister, Yair Lapid, officially dedicated Israel’s first ever embassy in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday. The ceremony in Abu Dhabi was part of the historic first visit by an Israeli minister to the Gulf monarchy since Israeli-Emirati diplomatic relations were established last year. “Israel wants peace with Read more…