The UK’s parliament is expected to debate the need for an inquiry into Israeli influence on British politics on Monday.
This debate, which will be broadcast on the parliament YouTube channel, was triggered after a petition gathered more than 118,000 signatures.
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Launched on January 28 this year, the petition raises concerns “about reported Israeli state-linked and pro-Israel lobbying activity in UK politics. We believe it is important to determine the scope and impact of any such influence campaigns”.
It adds: “We feel that the horrific devastation in Gaza, the ongoing suppression of Palestinians in the West Bank, and the UK’s political response underline the urgent need to scrutinise how pro-Israel organisations, networks, and lobbying efforts may shape government decisions, party policy, and public debate.”
The petition has gained 118,306 signatures so far. Petitions which gain more than 100,000 signatures are automatically put forward for parliamentary debate.
The country’s Labour government has said it does not support the petition. It stated on April 17: “There is an existing framework for transparency around lobbying of the UK government and Parliament.”
Are pro-Israeli government lobbies trying to influence British politics? Why do UK members of parliament want to debate the issue of Israeli influence on politics?
Here’s what we know:
Who has put forward this petition and why?
A member of the public, Andy Kalil, started the petition in January.
Kalil told The New Arab publication in March: “I launched the petition after seeing a parliamentary petition about Russian influence in UK politics. Many of the comments underneath were asking, ‘What about Zionist influence?’ So, I thought I’d write the petition. I was a bit surprised that no one had got there before me.”
“The response has been remarkable and very much a collective effort. I’m extremely grateful to everyone who’s signed or shared it,” he said.
Kalil said he had attempted two previous petitions. One which called for aid flotillas to be dispatched to Gaza was unsuccessful, and the other calling on the British government to recognise Israel’s war on Gaza as a genocide was blocked.
What are some of the known pro-Israeli lobby groups in the UK?
According to the watchdog Track Israel Lobby UK and British media organisation Declassified UK, some of the Israeli lobbies, most of which advocate for a two-state solution for Palestine, include:
Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), which dedicates itself to strengthening ties between the former ruling Conservative Party and the State of Israel.
Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), which focuses on strengthening ties between the ruling Labour Party and Israel.
Liberal Democrats Friends of Israel, which is an affiliated grassroots organisation within the UK Liberal Democrat Party.
Northern Ireland Friends of Israel which focuses on improving relations between Northern Ireland and the State of Israel.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which directly funds and organises trips to Israel and programmes for foreign politicians, including UK MPs, as part of Israel’s public diplomacy efforts.
Elnet UK, which operates across Europe and aims to strengthen relations between European countries and Israel through educational programmes, parliamentary delegations and policy engagement.
Australia-Israel Cultural Exchange (AICE), which was co-founded by former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Australian businessman Albert Dadon. While primarily focused on Australia, it has expanded to include UK politicians in its programmes.
Yachad, which means “together” in Hebrew, is a UK-based charity which says it is “pro-Israel” and “pro-peace”.
European Jewish Association, a Brussels-based organisation describing itself as “the Jewish voice of Europe”, representing more than 650 Jewish communities across the continent. Founded by Rabbi Menachem Margolin, it operates at the European institutional level while also funding trips and events for UK parliamentarians.
Individual donors include business leaders, community members who support Israel and have donated to UK MPs.
Have pro-Israeli lobbies funded British politicians?
Yes. In July 2024, Declassified UK revealed that some pro-Israeli lobby groups have funded current and former members of the UK’s Labour Party.
The total value of funds donated amounts to more than 300,000 pounds ($397,000).
Some of the funds were provided by Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), and seven members of UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet have accepted LFI funds to visit Israel, the report said. Starmer has not accepted funding but has spoken at events organised by the lobby group.
The report added that Trevor Chinn, a British multi-millionaire who is also a pro-Israeli lobbyist, was among the funders of Starmer’s team. He also supported Starmer’s campaign to become the leader of the Labour Party in 2020 by donating 50,000 pounds ($66,000) to his campaign.
Besides Labour leaders, pro-Israel lobby groups and individuals have also supported other British politicians financially in their campaigns, as well as funded trips to Israel.
In 2021, UK media reported that then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was funded by the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) party to visit Israel in November 2004. Johnson did not declare this trip until 2008, the reports added. According to a May 2021 Declassified UK report, 23 members of Johnson’s cabinet were also funded by Israel lobby groups to visit Israel or Washington DC while members of parliament. Funds totalled at least 14,000 pounds ($18,489).
Have British politicians been affected by lobby influence?
Besides funding and supporting British politicians, the lobbies have also played a role in ousting politicians from their parties or the government if they made statements against Israel.
In 2009, an investigative documentary called “Dispatches: Inside Britain’s Israel Lobby,” broadcast on the UK’s Channel 4, found that Lord Kalm, a CFI member and significant donor to the Conservatives, had threatened to remove British politician William Hague’s funding after he said that Israel had used “disproportionate” force during its war in Lebanon in 2006. David Cameron, the Conservative leader at the time, later promised not to repeat such statements.
In 2017, another Al Jazeera Investigation titled The Lobby found that members, activists and at least one MP from Britain’s then-opposition Labour Party were described as “anti-Semitic” after they questioned pro-Israel policies. Al Jazeera had placed an undercover reporter within an influential group of politicians, activists and Israeli embassy officials working to drum up support for Israel, as part of a six-month-long investigation.
The investigation also revealed how Jackie Walker, a black British Jew and Labour activist, was labelled an anti-Semite after attempting to debate the issues of Zionism and the inclusion of several global tragedies on Holocaust Day, in addition to the genocide during World War II. She was later suspended from the party pending investigation.
Then in 2020, Labour suspended its former leader, Jeremy Corbyn, after the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found serious failings in how the party had dealt with allegations of anti-Semitism within its ranks.
Corbyn said then: “Anyone claiming there is no anti-Semitism in the Labour Party is wrong … Jewish members of our party and the wider community were right to expect us to deal with it, and I regret that it took longer to deliver that change than it should.
“My sincere hope is that relations with Jewish communities can be rebuilt and those fears overcome. While I do not accept all of its (the report’s) findings, I trust its recommendations will be swiftly implemented to help move on from this period.”
While it is not clear if an Israeli lobby was involved in his suspension, in 2018, the lobby group, LFI, had cut ties with Corbyn. “It is my responsibility to acknowledge the hostility you have shown to the Jewish community and the anti-Semitic statements and actions you have allowed as leader of the Labour party UK,” Israeli Labor Party leader Avi Gabbay wrote in a letter to Corbyn, according to April 2018 media reports.
What is the UK government’s approach to the issue of Palestine?
Under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the UK officially recognised Palestine as a state in September last year.
So far, however, Labour has sidestepped the issue of whether Israel’s war on Gaza constitutes a genocide by arguing that this should be determined by international courts rather than by politicians, despite members of the Labour Party voting to recognise genocide in September 2025.
Last week, the UK’s Court of Appeal ruled that the British government was right to proscribe the Palestine Action activist group as a “terrorist” organisation last year, placing it into the ranks of ISIS and Al Qaeda even though it has carried out acts of vandalism and property destruction only.
Palestine Action is a British protest group which was founded six years ago and describes itself as a movement “committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime”.
Some critics believe pro-Israel lobby groups have shaped British national media’s narratives.
The BBC has been accused by more than 100 of its staff of giving Israel favourable coverage in its reporting of the war on Gaza and criticised for its lack of “accurate evidence-based journalism”.
In November 2023, more than a month after Israel began its war in Gaza, eight UK-based journalists employed by the BBC wrote a letter to Al Jazeera stating that the BBC is guilty of a “double standard in how civilians are seen”, given that it is “unflinching” in its reporting of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
“This organisation doesn’t represent us,” one of the co-writers told Al Jazeera.
“For me, and definitely for other people of colour, we can see blatantly that certain civilian lives are considered more worthy than others – that there is some sort of hierarchy at play.”
While there is no concrete evidence of Israeli lobby groups influencing UK media coverage, an April 2026 Declassified UK analysis revealed that British media like the BBC fail to mention the existence and influence of the Israeli lobby in the country despite holding meetings with the groups.
“The BBC held nine meetings with Jewish groups strongly sympathetic to Israel in the first year of the Gaza genocide,” the report said.
What could happen after Monday’s parliamentary debate?
Amid concerns about the lobbies’ influence, British MPs are set to hold a debate on whether to launch an inquiry into the matter.
According to Christopher Featherstone, associate lecturer at the Department of Politics, University of York, there are several issues that may arise after the debate.
“Keir Starmer is a weak prime minister at the moment after Andy Burnham’s victory in Makerfield, and could feel pressured to respond. However, the idea of opening up an inquiry into lobbying in Parliament has the potential to open a can of political worms, and so Starmer would likely be reluctant to initiate any inquiry,” he said.
On Monday, Starmer announced that he was stepping down as Prime Minister.
Featherstone noted that in terms of UK foreign policy, the potential launch of an inquiry into Israeli lobbying in UK politics could bring significant US attention, drawing more condemnation from Trump.
“However, Trump has been very critical of Netanyahu in recent weeks, so this US condemnation isn’t guaranteed,” he said.
“Any inquiry would naturally be condemned by Israel, and could lead to accusations of anti-Semitism. Given the Labour Party’s history with accusations of anti-Semitism under Corbyn, Starmer would likely be even more reluctant to initiate an inquiry,” he added.
