First pro-Israel lobby in EU set up

[Scurrilous]

A new organization named “European Friends of Israel” is expected to be inaugurated next week in Brussels with the aim of becoming an AIPAC-type pro-Israel lobby in Europe.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3300374,00.html

<snip>

"Several pro-Israel European Union parliament members who were recently joined by a number of Jewish businessmen sponsoring their activity have decided to institutionalize their endeavor in order to boost cooperation between pro-Israel parliamentarians throughout the continent and help in improving Israel’s image there.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was invited to the inauguration ceremony in Brussels, but he will apparently not attend; Foreign Minister Tzipi
Livni cancelled her participation, but a number of Knesset members are expected be on hand for the event.

“We support the initiative and attach great importance to it,” an Israeli Foreign Ministry official said. However, according to them, there's still a long way between the young European organization and AIPAC, which is active in the US for many Years.

"We have set ourselves a target to turn Europe into Israel's ally", said Tuesday Lobby's CEO Michel Gur Ari."

[acmavm]

1. I don't thing Europeans are going to be as easy to persuade

to support war crimes as this 'lobby' thinks they will.

And AIPAC is a criminal organization.

[Violet_Crumble]

3. Another thing...

I don't know if lobby groups in Europe are anywhere near as influential and highly organised as they are in the US. Maybe they are, but I'd be surprised if that were the case...

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

5. Well, it's certainly not quite as easy.

If there were a governing body, like the EU, with definite powers like our government has, then lobby groups might work there. But each European country has its own sovereignty, which means you need a lobbying presence in every single country. There's no way one group can be as effective simply because of the logistics involved.

[geek tragedy]

16. The problem is that you don't have the concentration

of power like you do in the US.

Who do you lobby--your national government or the EU?

If you lobby the EU, which body do you lobby?

Etc etc.

[Phx_Dem]

8. what crime did aipac commit?

that is besides supporting Israel.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Phx_Dem]

12. You stated that aipac is a "criminal organization"

Don't see how your link supports that.

I should not have to say this, but I personally do not approve of much of what aipac does these days, it's unfortunate that they have been so influenced by US neo-con thinking.

[acmavm]

14. Right. Spying is not a criminal activity. No. Not at all.

[papau]

2. About time they had an organization to offset the far left EU hate of

Israel - the partial truth lies and the exaggerations as to deeds that are "crimes" - always forgetting context - has been a black mark on the left in the EU.

unfortunately nothing can offset the EU far right skin head hate of Jews.

[Violet_Crumble]

4. The EU is far left?????

That's kind of ridiculous. Also ridiculous is labelling criticisms of Israel as lies and hatred. As for context, my bet is that the EU would have a much better grasp of context than many posters on this site do...

[papau]

20. The far left in the EU has hated Jews as long as I have been alive

Not all criticisms of Israel are lies and hatred. And God knows death and destruction should be criticized.

but most on DU and in the EU, in my opinion, ignore context, ignore history, ignore facts on the ground, accept staged lies, and indeed start their review of anything to do with Israel with an anti-Israel bias - as in the DU posts on "what right does Israel have to exist".

But that is just my observation/opinion.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

6. There's plenty of real anti-Semitism in Europe.

But the EU can hardly be accused of that. At least not with any kind of credibility.

[Douglas Carpenter]

7. others seem to be coming up with the same exact "lies" and "exagerations"

International Committee of the Red Cross/Palestinian Territories:

http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/palestine?OpenDocument

B'tselem - the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories

http://www.btselem.org/english/About_BTselem/Index.asp

Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions:

http://www.icahd.org/eng

The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel

http://www.stoptorture.org.il/eng/background.asp?menu=3&submenu=3

Physicians for Human Rights - Israel

http://www.phrusa.org/healthrights/phr_israel.html

Amnesty International/Israel and Occupied Territories:

http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/israel_and_occupied_territories/index.do

Human Rights Watch/Israel and Occupied Territories:

http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/israel/

Israeli Woman for Human Rights

http://www.machsomwatch.org/eng/homePageEng.asp?link=homePage&lang=eng

[Stockholm]

22. Exactly what do you include in your category

"far left EU".

And when you are at it pls provide some links to back up the claim that the left in EU hates Israel.

Stockholm

[breakaleg]

9. I find it interesting that a "country" feels the need to have so many

lobbies.

[geek tragedy]

15. Why is 'country' in quotes?

Every country has its own set of lobbyists. The House of Saud most notoriously.

[breakaleg]

17. because

I thought lobbyist were hired by special interest groups to influence government on their behalf. Not governments hiring lobbyists to influence other governments.

[The Magistrate]

18. Most Governments, Sir

Engage "public relations" firms to supplement their diplomacy here. Most ethnic groups with ties to the proverbial "old country" similarly engage on its behalf.

But your use of ironic quotes around country, relating to Israel, does still interest me strangely: more clarification would be appreciated.

[breakaleg]

19. A country that needs as much PR as Israel does ought to spend

more time looking at why they need so much PR rather than expanding their already vast machine.

[Tom Joad]

10. I thought Blair was the first pro-Israel lobby in Europe.

A poodle to both Bush and Olmert.

But seriously, while European leaders do very little to offend Israel (mostly out of deference to the US administration) the populace remains dead set against Israel's policies of militarism and occupation. I would like to think this lobby is not going to change things much. It is difficult to uneducate people once people know something. I hope much resources are invested in this losing strategy.

[Englander]

13. EU urges Israel to call off West Bank home plans

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union urged Israel on Wednesday to call off plans to build 690 new homes in two Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, branding the move illegal and apt to raise regional tensions further.

Government tenders were published on Monday inviting bids on 348 plots in the Maaleh Adumim settlement and 342 in Beitar Ilit, the largest number of housing bids for settlement building offered since Prime Minister Ehud Olmert took office on May 4.

"This planned construction threatens the viability of an agreed two-state solution. Like all settlement activity, it is contrary to international law," EU President Finland said in a statement.

"Furthermore, the Presidency finds the solicitation of the tenders in question particularly unfortunate at a time when confidence-building measures are urgently needed in the region."

The EU, whose nations have pledged to send over half of an expanded U.N. peace force of 15,000 to Lebanon, is pushing for a revival of Middle East peace efforts around the 2003 U.S.-backed peace "road map", which sets out a path toward a Palestinian state co-existing alongside Israel.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-09-06T142525Z_01_L06770640_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST-ISRAEL-EU.xml&archived=False

[Stockholm]

21. Good for them

Lobbyists are a part of a democratic society!

One problem ahead for AIPACs' European branch is that Europeans knows from recent history that simply being a democracy is no guarantee for acting like one.