By Ian Black
The Guardian
November 16, 2009
Channel 4's film alleges that William Hague faced threats of a withdrawal of funding from CFI after he described a retaliatory attack by Israel on Lebanon in 2006 as 'disproportionate'. Photograph: Martin Godwin
Pro-Israeli organisations in Britain look set to see their influence increase if the Conservatives win the next election, a film scrutinising the activities of a powerful but little-known lobby warns today.
At least half of the shadow cabinet are members of the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), according to a Dispatches programme being screened on Channel 4. The programme-makers describe the CFI as "beyond doubt the most well- connected and probably the best funded of all Westminster lobbying groups".
Inside Britain's Israel Lobby claims that donations to the Conservative party "from all CFI members and their businesses add up to well over £10m over the last eight years". CFI has disputed the figure and called the film "deeply flawed".
The programme also describes how David Cameron allegedly accepted a £15,000 donation from Poju Zabludowicz, a Finnish billionaire who chairs Bicom (the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre). Zabludowizc, the film reveals, has business interests in an illegal West Bank settlement. He also gave £50,000 to Conservative Central Office. Zabludowicz says his contributions "are a matter of public record".
William Hague allegedly accepted personal donations from CFI board members totalling tens of thousands of pounds after being appointed shadow foreign secretary. More than £30,000 from CFI supporters went to the campaign funds of members of Cameron's team who were first elected in 2005, the film claims, using publicly available information.
The programme-makers say that while this is legal, it is not well-known.
The CFI director, Stuart Polak, told the Guardian the figure of more than £10m is not supported by any facts. "It is fictitious, misleading and damaging to the reputation of CFI and its supporters," he said.
"CFI as an organisation has donated only £30,000 since 2005. Each of these donations has been made transparently and publicly registered. In addition to this £30,000, it is undoubtedly the case that some of our supporters have also chosen, separately, to donate to the party as individuals."
Two years ago a controversial study by American academics Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer explored the influence of the Israel lobby over US foreign policy. But Britain's pro-Israel organisations have been subjected to far less scrutiny.
"The pro-Israel lobby … is the most powerful political lobby," Michael Mates, a Conservative MP and privy councillor, told the film-makers. "There's nothing to touch them."
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Just knowing this is enough for me not to vote Tory at the next election. I'm appalled. I had always thought of Hague as a principled man.
ReplyDeleteyou think these politicians don't sell their mothers every day? let me wake you up. They do. They dont care. its the same all over Europe, Australia, new zealand, India turkey to name a few who have sold their souls and their motherlands to the zionist jews sadly.
ReplyDeleteThey have destroyed the world peace and frankly no freinds of jews eighter, who will have to get out of their stolen lands.
Labour are no better, all corrupt to the core and as for our so called intelligence services they are nothing more than employees of Mossad.
ReplyDeleteLondon 7/7 was the very proof of that.
Likud has its own political pressure groups in Holland as well. This is sickening, it reminds me of the 1930's NAZI propaganda movies "The eternal Jew", they are at it again, were the NAZI's right in their day ? I hope not. The jews should realise that if they carry on like this, a new instalment of the holocaust will await them one day in the future. The jews should stop this ratting about in the shadows, it will only bring them short term gains, but only sorrow and despair in the long term.
ReplyDeleteI saw the film it did not go far enough as the main parties are all memebers of thise friend for Israel even Thatcher and many of them are invited to the Bildburg Group that is how they become leaders of the country like Blair instead of Brown its all about money and power and how a hand full can manipulate and control the many. The BBC s Mark Thompson is maried to a Jewess and so is another Mark only his wife is a Rothschild and this family set the gold standard twice a day every day of the week and have done for years and years and are allowed to because the rich sell their sould for the life they have the rest of us do not have that chose we pay for it. The Govenemnt is Mossade run you only have to look at the killing of the Brazilian student and the lies that was spun she there is a God he shows you what evil is now we have to deal with it. Disrali was a jew but became christian to be come PM to Victoria and through that relationship they became rich so our relationship with the chosen ones is long and expensive now we are being subjected to what we can say and what we can not say or question about what the Israelis are doing because if we do we are anti semites ...and.
ReplyDeleteThis programme really frightened me. Foreign lobby groups should be banned from funding parties. I was going to vote Tory, now I'm just going to abstain.
ReplyDeleteIt's as sick as zionism - and NO, I am not anti-semitic, just anti-zionist. The terms have been hijacked to prevent ANY discussion on the subject. Sick.