Jewish News: Halting arms sales to Israel is a gesture, but a potentially damaging one nonetheless – Joan Ryan
Nobody doubts our government’s sincere desire to see an end to the terrible conflict in Gaza. We all share it. Sadly, its decision this week to stop some arms sales to Israel won’t help achieve that goal. Nor will it help hasten the end of the torment of the hostages and their families, or the suffering of thousands of other innocent Israeli and Palestinians caught up in the war – a war which was triggered by Hamas’ butchery on 7 October.
Israel – a vital strategic partnership for the UK and Europe
Ahead of the anniversary of the Abraham Accords ELNET UK has produced a pamphlet which highlights the vital strategic, military and economic partnership between the UK and Israel; it looks ahead to the Abraham Accords post Israel-Hamas conflict and includes information on some of Israel’s most innovative companies.
OPINION: What a Labour government means for Israel
In his four years as Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer has abandoned the noxious anti-Zionist worldview of his predecessor, explicitly rejecting the “Manichean view” of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which animates the hard-left.
ELNET UK presents the latest in our Explainer series: Hezbollah.
ELNET UK presents the latest in our Explainer series: Hezbollah. This briefing outlines the history of the organisation – the largest and most powerful of Iran’s proxies – and its role in Lebanon, regional and international terrorism, the global drugs trade, and the extensive threat it poses to Israel who it is committed to destroying.
ELNET UK Interview Series: Shai Davidai (Columbia University), Raising Awareness about Antisemitism – interview with Eli Hassell
In the first in a series of deep-dive interviews on issues arising from the Israel-Hamas conflict we look at the story of campus antisemitism through the lens of Israeli Assistant Professor at Columbia, Shai Davidai.
4th Europe-Middle East Forum – June 6, 2024
Growing up embedded into a strong Jewish community, just outside of London, I previously believed that antisemitism had largely been discredited due to increased awareness and enlightenment like other forms of abhorrent discrimination such as racism, homophobia and sexism.
Podcast with Lt Col (Res.) Jonathan Conricus: Jonny Gould’s Jewish State
Lt Col Jonathan Conricus is the former international spokesperson for the IDF and now Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Jewish News: “We can’t forget the hostages,” former Israeli ambassador tells guests at JW3
The former Israeli ambassador to France last night urged a capacity auditorium at the north London community hub JW3 not to forget the hostages.
“Women’s Safety Now!”, A Special Mission of European Women to Israel
This women-only delegation to Israel brought 20 influential politicians, journalists, activists and community leaders, from all over Europe, to learn first-hand about the horrors of the sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas on and after October 7; and to create an international platform for cooperation in providing security for women and girls regardless of their nationality, religion, or age.
The State of a Nation: Reading the Room in London
As we approach eight months of war in the Middle East and mark Israel’s 76th Independence Day, our many personal screens are replete with the evidence of unprecedented polarisation.
Explainer: Palestinian Politics
ELNET UK presents the latest in our Explainer series: Palestinian Politics.
Given the recent ceasefire negotiations have included the rumoured release of Marwan Barghouti (at the behest of Hamas, but allegedly opposed by the Palestinian Authority), our briefing gives insight into the institutions of Palestinian politics; political parties inside and outside of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organisation); and the key political figures.
Campus Protests: Societal Silence in the Face of Radical Extremism and Rising Antisemitism
The near-weekly demonstrations against the Hamas-Israel war on the streets of London and the protests currently roiling America’s campuses are not pro-peace but anti-Israel. And many bear the undeniable stain of gross antisemitism.
Explainer: Iran
ELNET UK presents the latest in our Explainer series: Iran. Our briefing gives insight into the politics of the regime, the machinery of the state and the threat the regime poses to us in the UK.
International Aid into Gaza
The situation in Gaza remains subject of immense international scrutiny. This briefing outlines the history of international aid flows from Israel to Gaza, the performance and problems of UNRWA, and the other competing players involved in delivering aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Our Activities & Impacts Report
ELNET UK has had an exceptionally busy start to life. In recent years we have undertaken some of the largest-ever UK Parliamentary delegations to Israel, held the first-ever Israel-E3-NATO Strategic Dialogue in London, and generated media coverage across a broad swathe of outlets and mediums. For more highlights of our recent work, please see our 2022/2023 Impact Report.
Explainer: The Houthis
Our briefing gives a short history of the Houthis alongside information regarding their stated aims and relationship with Iran. Officially known as Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), the Houthis are a Yemen-based, Shiite military and political movement.
Cameron in Israel, what is or isn’t on the agenda?
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron last visited Israel in November 2023, and though the conflict is no longer the top news agenda item in the Western media, the context could not be more kinetic and volatile. The agenda for discussions with Israel will be marked not by what Lord Cameron sets out to achieve but by what the UK (and US) seek to avoid; in broad terms that is escalation into an all-out regional conflict (dragging in the US and UK) including direct confrontation with Iran, and a potential humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
REFLECTIONS ON 7TH OCTOBER 2023, Lord Parry Mitchell
I have just returned from Israel. It was never going to be an easy trip, but I felt well prepared. In fact it turned out to be both more depressing and more uplifting than I had anticipated.
A war to end all wars – will 2024 bring peace?
As we look back in sorrow on 2023, a year overshadowed by Hamas’s 7th October attacks on Israel and the ensuring conflict, we should take a moment to reflect that for those in the Jewish community it was also the start to a terrible Rosh Hashanah (with the attacks coming barely a month afterwards, on the eve of Simchat Torah which celebrates the beginning of a new cycle in the Jewish calendar).
This Hanukkah, looking for the light in darkness
Today marks the start of Hanukkah – a time when Jewish families gather together to celebrate the miracle at the heart of the “Festival of Light.”