The Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) is a UK-based organisation which acts to promote awareness of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. BICOM publishes materials such as briefings and a journal, ''Fathom'', covering the

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

and

politics of Israel Politics in Israel are dominated by Zionist parties. They traditionally fall into three camps, the first two being the largest: Labor Zionism, Revisionist Zionism and Religious Zionism. There are also several non-Zionist Orthodox religiou ...

, Middle East peace plans,

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

in the Middle East, UK-Israel relations and foreign policy.

History

BICOM was founded in 2002 by

Poju Zabludowicz Chaim "Poju" Zabludowicz (born 6 April 1953) is a Finnish-born British billionaire businessman, art collector and philanthropist.Midgley, Dominic (5 March 2010)"FINN CITY..." ''Highbeam Business'' (London). Retrieved 23 June 2013. Early life a ...

following the Second Intifada. It is funded through private donations. In 2005,

Ruth Smeeth Ruth Lauren Smeeth, Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (''née'' Anderson; born 29 June 1979) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stoke-on-Trent North from 2015 until 2019. Since 2022 she has been ...

joined as director of public affairs and campaigns. In 2009, it was described as "one of the most persistent and slickest media operations in the battle for influence over opinion formers".

''We Believe in Israel''

''We Believe in Israel'' is BICOM's pro-Israel advocacy organization in the United Kingdom. The current director is former Labour councillor Luke Akehurst. ''We Believe in Israel'' provides learning materials to both the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the

United Synagogue The United Synagogue (US) is a union of British Orthodox Jewish synagogues, representing the central Orthodox movement in Judaism. With 62 congregations (including 7 affiliates and 1 associate, ), comprising 40,000 members, it is the largest ...

. It is a member of the

Jewish Leadership Council The Jewish Leadership Council (previously known as the Jewish Community Leadership Council) is an organisation in the United Kingdom, founded in 2003, whose declared aim is to forward the interests of the organised Jewish community in Britain. ...

. According to their website, ''We Believe in Israel'' was launched following the ''We Believe in Israel Conference'' in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in May 2011, supported by 26 community organisations and attended by 1500 delegates. In the 2010s, the group asked

The Co-operative Group Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op, is a British consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses including food retail, wholesale, e-pharmacy, insurance and legal services, and funeral care. The Co-operative Group has over ...

to reverse its decision to boycott certain Israeli products.

''Fathom'' journal

''Fathom'' was founded in 2012 by political theorist

Alan Johnson Alan Arthur Johnson (born 17 May 1950) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2006 to 2007, Secretary of State for Health from 2007 to 2009, Home Secretary from 2009 to 2010, and Shadow Chanc ...

as a quarterly online scholarly journal under the motto: ''Fathom: for a deeper understanding of Israel and the region''. Martin Sherman of the

Israel Institute for Strategic Studies Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

accused ''Fathom'' in 2016 of "stifling debate" by refusing to publish articles by writers who oppose the

two-state solution The two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict envisions an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, west of the Jordan River. The boundary between the two states is still subject to dispute and negotia ...

References

External links

Official Website

Fathom Journal

We Believe in Israel
Political organisations based in the United Kingdom Media analysis organizations and websites Non-governmental organizations involved in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict 2002 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 2002 Zionism in the United Kingdom Zionist organizations Lobbying in the United Kingdom {{UK-org-stub

History

''We Believe in Israel''

''Fathom'' journal

See also

References

External links