Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel (LDFI) is an associated organisation whose stated objective is to 'maximise support for the

State 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 ...

within the British

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

Party', and to 'promote policies which lead to peace and security for Israel within a

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

peace settlement'. The President of Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel is Baron Palmer. The Vice Presidents are

Alan Beith Alan James Beith, Baron Beith, (born 20 April 1943) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who represented Berwick-upon-Tweed as its Member of Parliament (MP) from 1973 to 2015. From 1992 to 2003 he was Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democr ...

, Baron Alliance, and Baroness Ludford. The Chair is Gavin Stollar and the Vice Chair is Jonathan Davies.

History

The Liberal Friends of Israel group was the first friends of Israel group in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

. The SDP Friends of Israel group was formed in July 1981 with Bill Rodgers as President. The Liberal Friends of Israel and the SDP Friends of Israel groups were amalgamated into the Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel when the parties

merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

in 1988. In July 2020, the LDFI issued a statement expressing "deep concern" about plans by the Israeli Government to annex part of the West Bank. In October 2020, the LDFI and the

Board of Deputies of British Jews The Board of Deputies of British Jews, commonly referred to as the Board of Deputies, is the largest and second oldest Jewish communal organisation in the United Kingdom, after only the Initiation Society which was founded in 1745. Established ...

jointly wrote to Mendip District Council urging it to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, after the council voted unanimously against adopting it.

Members of LDFI

Official portrait of Lord Palmer of Childs Hill crop 2, 2019

In alphabetical order, members of ''Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel'' include: *

, Vice President of LDFI *

Ed Fordham Ed, ed or ED may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ed'' (film), a 1996 film starring Matt LeBlanc * Ed (''Fullmetal Alchemist'') or Edward Elric, a character in ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' media * ''Ed'' (TV series), a TV series that ran fro ...

, PPC for

Hampstead and Kilburn Hampstead and Kilburn is a constituency created in 2010 and currently represented in the House of Commons by Tulip Siddiq of the Labour Party. Glenda Jackson was the MP from 2010 to 2015, having served for the predecessor seat since 1992. Co ...

in 2010 General Elections *Matthew Harris, PPC for

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Gre ...

in the 2010 General Elections * Baron Palmer, President of LDFI *Gavin Stollar, Chairman * Baroness Ludford, MEP for

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 ...

References

External links

Official websiteSpeech to the Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel
''

Charles Kennedy Charles Peter Kennedy (25 November 1959 – 1 June 2015) was a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1999 to 2006, and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 1983 ...

'', 4 November 2004 Organisations associated with the Liberal Democrats (UK) Israel friendship associations Political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom Israel–United Kingdom relations United Kingdom friendship associations Jewish British history Lobbying in the United Kingdom {{UK-poli-stub