The Israeli Labor party and Meretz have announced a joint run in March’s general election. The deal agreed on Monday marks a landmark coming together of the Israeli left – although one driven by fear that they risked being shut out of the Knesset unless they teamed up. The move had been fiercely resisted by[…]
Less than one in five Britons support boycotts of Israel and most view the Jewish state as the UK’s most important Middle Eastern ally in the fight against terrorism, according to polling released last week by BICOM. The annual poll also found an increase in the number of people who view Iran as a significant[…]
LFI’s chair, Louise Ellman, and her predecessor, Joan Ryan, both left the House of Commons this week when parliament was dissolved. Neither will be seeking re-election in the general election on 12 December. Ms Ryan – who will continue to work with LFI in her new role as our honorary president – became chair after[…]
Following Dame Louise Ellman’s decision to resign her membership of the Labour Party, LFI have released the following statement: Jennifer Gerber, director of LFI, said: “Louise Ellman has taken a characteristically brave and principled decision today. It highlights once again the institutional antisemitism which continues to shame the Labour Party and Jeremy Corbyn’s responsibility for[…]
Dame Louise Ellman has launched a strong attack on antisemitism in the Labour party. In her first major speech since becoming chair of Labour Friends of Israel, she said she understood and shared the fear of many Jews about Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister. Speaking at the LFI annual reception at the Labour party conference,[…]
Dame Louise Ellman is to become the new chair of Labour Friends of Israel, replacing Joan Ryan, who will assume the role of honorary president – a position once held by Harold Wilson, a similarly staunch supporter of Israel and ally of the Jewish community in Britain. Ms Ryan has deservedly built an international reputation[…]
Labour Friends of Israel is launching ‘Speakers for a Two-State Solution’, a grassroots initiative for 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 case[…]
LFI chair, Joan Ryan MP, has today resigned from the Labour Party. Please see a below statement from LFI and from Joan Ryan MP: A statement from Labour Friends of Israel: “LFI respects the very difficult decision taken by MPs this week to leave the Labour Party, including that of our brave and principled Parliamentary[…]
LFI’s chair Joan Ryan vowed to lead the fight against antisemitism in the Labour party “whatever the personal cost” in her speech to our annual lunch on Tuesday. In a strongly worded address, Ms Ryan also pledged to stand up to “the politics of hatred and division” and defend “the values of equality, respect and[…]
*** CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY *** Rt Hon Joan Ryan MP Labour Friends of Israel Annual Lunch 2018 Chief Rabbi, Ambassador Regev, friends Thank you to all of you for being here today. In particular, I want to thank Sir David Garrard and Isaac Kaye, our long-standing lunch sponsors. I also want to thank all of my parliamentary colleagues who[…]