Yesterday, LFI chair Jon Pearce secured an adjournment debate in Parliament to mark the first anniversary of Hamas’ barbaric attacks into Israel on October 7th. A number of Labour MPs attended the emotional debate and reiterated their calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the 101 remaining hostages. Jon Read more…
Today, the Prime Minister delivered a statement to the house on the anniversary of 7 October Hamas attacks. He opened the statement noting that October 7 “was the bloodiest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust”. The anniversary marked “a day of sorrow, a day of grief” in which Read more…
On Tuesday night, the eve of the Jewish new year, nearly ten million Israelis ran forbomb shelters as sirens blared across the country following the launch of 181 ballisticmissiles towards the country by Iran, marking the largest-ever single ballistic missileattack. This is the second time that Iran has launched direct Read more…
The deaths and displacement of innocent civilians – whether in Israel, Palestine or Lebanon – are heartbreaking, and an agreement is urgently needed to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. We join the UK government, and Israel’s other allies, in calling for restraint and de-escalation. The decision of Read more…
Visiting hostage family members met with a number of Labour parliamentarians and party figures during their time in Liverpool as guests of LFI and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum UK. In these meetings, a number of parliamentarians – many elected for the first time in July – heard harrowing testimony Read more…
I’d like to begin tonight by paying tribute and offering thanks to my three predecessors: Steve McCabe stepped down as chair at the general election after taking the helm in 2020. As a parliamentary candidate, I was lucky enough to travel to Israel on an LFI delegation led by Steve. Read more…
Labour Friends of Israel’s annual conference reception was addressed by several senior members of the Cabinet last night, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Chancellor. Attendees and speakers also heard from two Israeli hostage family members, Noam Safir and Sharone Lifschitz, whose respective grandfather and father have been held hostage Read more…
At Labour party conference we were delighted to be joined by Yair Golan, leader of Labour’s sister party – newly renamed the Democrats – for two days at conference this year as LFI’s guest. During his time in Liverpool, Golan met with senior ministers, Labour parliamentarians and Labour Party officials, Read more…
On the Sunday at conference, LFI hosted a packed fringe event at Labour conference in which delegates heard testimony from relatives of Israeli hostages who have been held in Gaza by Hamas for almost a year now. In a session chaired by LFI vice-chair Sharon Hodgson MP, delegates heard poignant Read more…
Today, LFI publishes a new paper: Labour, Israel & Palestine: Lessons from the Blair-Brown years. Authored by Dr Toby Greene, the paper analyses the context and approach taken by the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and outlines the lessons that can be learnt for our new Labour government. The Read more…
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Community Security Trust’s (CST) annual business lunch that she will use the “full force of the law” against those “who use conflict in the Middle East as a pretext to attack communities here in Britain” yesterday. Cooper stressed “there is no place for the glorification of terrorism Read more…
The newly elected MP for High Peak, Jon Pearce, is to become the new parliamentary chair of Labour Friends of Israel. Pearce succeeds Steve McCabe, who stood down from parliament at July’s general election. LFI’s new parliamentary chair takes the helm as the group outlines plans to focus its work Read more…