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 Read more…
“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 Read more…
LFI officers have written to the secretary of state for international development, Penny Mordaunt, to urge the UK government to urgently make funds available to support coexistence group MEET, Middle East Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow. MEET plays an essential role in bringing young Israelis and Palestinians together to foster peaceful dialogue. Read more…
With the dust settling on Israel’s fractious and tumultuous election for the 21st Knesset, albeit with the horse-trading of coalition building still in progress, it is valuable to examine the structure of the election and see how it influenced the result. The Israeli electorate are given the choice of a Read more…
Benjamin Netanyahu’s hopes of entering the history books and becoming Israel’s longest serving prime minister appear close to realisation after yesterday’s general election. Netanyahu’s Likud party and Benny Gantz’s centrist Blue and White alliance each emerged from the closely fought contest with 35 seats. But, with counting almost complete, the Read more…
Shortly before he was inaugurated as president in January 2017, Donald Trump said of Jared Kushner: “If you can’t produce peace in the Middle East, nobody can.” Pulling off the “deal of the century” – peace between Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab world – would have been a large task for Read more…
Israel’s closely fought general election campaign is entering its final stretch with Benjamin Netanyahu’s hopes of re-election hanging in the balance. Polls show that the prime minister and his centrist challenger, Benny Gantz, are locked in a tight race as voters prepare to render their verdict in less than two Read more…
Hamas’ twin-track strategy – to bring calm to Gaza while stoking terror in the West Bank – has been on graphic display over the past week. Leaders of the terror group, which rules the coastal enclave, were in talks with senior Egyptian intelligence officials on Thursday evening when two rockets Read more…
Transport policy is not usually a central policy concern of Israeli elections. However, this year’s election is set to be extremely close and dysfunction and strikes among Israel’s railways has the potential to be a decisive factor in determining the election’s outcome. Israel’s state comptroller recently released a damning report Read more…
Benjamin Netanyahu’s apparent effort to make the fear of Arab-Israelis a central part of his re-election campaign came under heavy attack from the country’s president this week. Reuven Rivlin did not name the prime minister, but few would have been unaware of the target of his remarks made at a Read more…
Britain’s ban on Hezbollah came into force last Friday. It means that being a member or supporter of the antisemitic terror group is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The government’s move followed several years of campaigning by LFI and Jewish groups. Previously, only Hezbollah’s military wing was banned Read more…
Labour Friends of Israel was delighted to welcome Anshel Pfeffer to Parliament, to speak about the upcoming Israeli elections. Anshel Pfeffer is a leading Israeli Journalist, and currently writes for the Israeli daily Haaretz, the Economist and the Jewish Chronicle. He has also written for the Guardian and is often Read more…