• Source: Labour Friends of Israel

Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) is a group in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that advocates a strong bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Israel, and seeks to strengthen ties between the British Labour Party and the Israeli Labor Party. LFI says it supports a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, with Israel recognised and secure within its borders, and the establishment of a viable Palestinian state. As of July 2020, it comprises around one quarter of the Parliamentary Labour Party and one third of the Shadow Cabinet.




History


LFI was founded at the 1957 Labour Party Conference. Its membership is organised into local branches. Seeking to strengthen the bond between the Labour Party and the Israeli Labor Party, it organises meetings of senior figures in both the UK and Israel.




= 2000–2015

=
In 2003, LFI described itself as "a Westminster based lobby group working within the British Labour Party to promote the State of Israel".
It has been described as "less unquestioning in its support of the Israeli government than the Conservative Friends of Israel". Between 2001 and 2009, LFI sponsored more than 60 MPs to visit Israel, more than any other group.
In 2010, Jennifer Gerber, previously director of Progress and before that, special advisor to Andy Burnham, was appointed director.
In 2011, LFI adopted a new strategy of becoming a wider membership organisation and of operating under the slogan "Working Towards a Two-State Solution".
In 2011, John Woodcock was appointed chair, followed in May 2013 by Dame Anne McGuire and, in 2015, Joan Ryan.
In 2014, Adrian Cohen, a corporate lawyer, the chair of the London Jewish Forum, a trustee of the Jewish Leadership Council and a deputy of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, was appointed Lay Chair.




= 2016 onwards

=
With the ascent to the leadership of the Labour Party, in September 2015, of Jeremy Corbyn, who has a history of support for Palestinians, the relationship between the LFI and the party leadership deteriorated.
LFI had been depleted of Parliamentary supporters who had lost their seats at the 2015 general election. In 2016, LFI announced it had trebled its number of Parliamentary supporters, stating that 65 MPs had pledged to back the group, at a time when many MPs rebelled against the leadership of the party. LFI re-branded itself as "Labour Friends of Israel: For Israel, For Palestine, For Peace", created a Young LFI group, and stated it would support the Alliance for Middle East Peace's international fund.
In early 2017, Al Jazeera released a four-part documentary entitled The Lobby, which investigated aspects of the Israel lobby in the United Kingdom, particularly relating to the Labour Party. A member of Israeli embassy staff, Shai Masot, was recorded "plotting" to take down British MPs who favour recognition of a Palestinian state; links to the Labour Friends of Israel were put under the spotlight, including a reference to the availability of £1m from the Israeli government.
In March 2018, supporters of LFI, along with the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council, took part in a protest critical of the Corbyn leadership, stating that antisemitism was present in the Labour Party.
In February 2019, after having lost a vote of no confidence by her local constituency Labour Party, Joan Ryan resigned from the Labour Party to join the recently formed The Independent Group but retained her position as Chair of LFI. She became Honorary President in August 2019 and Dame Louise Ellman succeeded her as Parliamentary Chair. In October 2019, Ellman resigned from the Labour Party. Neither stood for reelection in the 2019 general election. However, despite resigning from the Labour Party, they remained members of LFI.
As of July 2020, around a quarter of the Parliamentary Labour Party and a third of the shadow cabinet were members of the group. In September 2020, Jennifer Gerber stepped down as director and was replaced by Michael Rubin. In September 2020, LFI doubled its number of vice-chairs to 11, with the addition of: Rosie Cooper, Chris Evans, Dame Diana Johnson, Peter Kyle, Conor McGinn and Catherine McKinnell.




= Related groups

=
The Yigal Allon Educational Trust, founded in 1985 by former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, Ian Mikardo MP, Lord Glenamara and others, has supported Labour Friends of Israel.




Parliamentary supporters of LFI


As of February 2022, the Officers, sitting MPs, Lords and former members who were supporters of LFI are set out below.




= Officers

=
Labour (unless otherwise stated)

Jon Pearce: Chair
Rosie Cooper
Chris Evans
Sharon Hodgson
Diana Johnson
Peter Kyle
Pat McFadden
Conor McGinn
Catherine McKinnell
Rachel Reeves
John Spellar
Meta Ramsay, Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale
Jonathan Reynolds




= Sitting MPs

=

Labour (unless otherwise stated)

Mike Amesbury
Fleur Anderson
Hilary Benn
Nick Brown
Chris Bryant
Liam Byrne
Neil Coyle
Feryal Clark
Yvette Cooper
Jon Cruddas
Janet Daby
Wayne David
Angela Eagle
Maria Eagle
Chris Elmore
Florence Eshalomi
Barry Gardiner
Preet Gill
Mary Glindon
Lilian Greenwood
Nia Griffith
Andrew Gwynne
Carolyn Harris
Fabian Hamilton
Margaret Hodge
George Howarth
Dan Jarvis
Darren Jones
Kevan Jones
Mike Kane
Liz Kendall
David Lammy
Kim Leadbeater
Chris Matheson
Siobhain McDonagh
Stephen Morgan
Alex Norris
Taiwo Owatemi
Toby Perkins
Jess Phillips
Bridget Phillipson
Lucy Powell
Virendra Sharma
Barry Sheerman
Jeff Smith
Karin Smyth
Keir Starmer
Wes Streeting
Graham Stringer
Gareth Thomas
Emily Thornberry
Karl Turner
Derek Twigg
Christian Wakeford
Rosie Winterton




= Sitting Lords

=
Labour (unless otherwise stated)

Donald Anderson, Baron Anderson of Swansea
Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top
Jeremy Beecham, Baron Beecham
Lord Blunkett
Lord Boateng
Lord Clarke of Hampstead
Lord Collins of Highbury
Baroness Crawley
Lord Desai
Lord Donoughue
Lord Foulkes of Cumnock
Baroness Gale
Lord Grantchester
Lord Hain
Lord Harrison
Lord Haskel
Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town
Lord Hughes of Woodside
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
Baroness Kennedy of Cradley
Lord Kennedy of Southwark
Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead
Lord Levy
Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke
Lord Livermore
John Maxton
Paul Murphy, Baron Murphy of Torfaen
Lord Rooker
Lord Stone of Blackheath
Lord Tomlinson
Lord Touhig
Lord Turnberg (Independent)
Lord Watts
Lord Winston
Lord Wood of Anfield
Lord Young of Norwood Green




= Former members

=
David Abrahams, former Treasurer
Lord Archer of Sandwell
Sir Stuart Bell
Luciana Berger, former Director of LFI
Tony Blair, former Prime Minister
Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister
Stephen Byers, former Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
Andrew Dismore
Michael Dugher
Derek Foster
Anthony Greenwood, first Chair of LFI (1957)
Baroness Hayman
Joan Humble
Barbara Keeley
Jane Kennedy, Chair of LFI (2007)
Ivan Lewis, former vice-chair of LFI
Lord Macdonald of Tradeston
Denis MacShane
Steve McCabe, former Parliamentary chair (from 2020 to 2024)
Michael McCann, Vice-chair of LFI
Anne McGuire, Chair of LFI (2013)
Jonathan Mendelsohn, former Chair of LFI (2002)
Alun Michael, former Leader of the Welsh Labour Party
Andrew Miller
Jim Murphy, former Chair of LFI (2001), former Secretary of State for Scotland
Dan Norris
Nick Palmer
James Purnell, former Chair of LFI, former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
John Reid, former Home Secretary (2007)
Terry Rooney
Dari Taylor
Gary Titley
Glenis Willmott, Vice Chair of LFI
Lord Winston
John Woodcock
Iain Wright, former Chair of LFI (2006)
Lord Young of Norwood Green




See also


Conservative Friends of Israel
European Friends of Israel
Friends of Israel Initiative
Israel lobby in the United Kingdom
Israel lobby in the United States
Jewish Labour Movement
Jewish Voice for Labour
Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East
Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel
Northern Ireland Friends of Israel




References






External links


Official website
"General Election – 1 May 1997". Labour Friends of Israel. 1997. Archived from the original on 29 January 1999.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw (2 November 2005). "United Kingdom and Israel Share the Same Democratic Values". Labour Friends of Israel event speech. Archived from the original on 28 December 2005.
Blair, Tony (26 September 2006). "Speech by PM Tony Blair to LFI Annual Reception". Labour Friends of Israel. Archived from the original on 11 July 2007.
Speech by Gordon Brown to the LFI Annual Reception, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, 25 September 2007

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Telem (partai politik 2019)
• Kritik terhadap Israel
• J.K. Rowling
• Kate Winslet
• Daftar penerima Nobel
• Ismail al-Faruqi
• Anti-Sunni
• Jomo Kenyatta
• Daftar dukungan kampanye presiden Kamala Harris 2024
• Bantuan kemanusiaan untuk korban gempa bumi Samudra Hindia 2004
• Labour Friends of Israel
• Conservative Friends of Israel
• Rachel Reeves
• Friends of Israel
• Meta Ramsay, Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale
• Michael Shanks (politician)
• Joan Ryan (politician)
• Keir Starmer
• Louise Ellman
• Israel lobby in the United Kingdom