British lawmakers to get another Israel lobby group

If there’s something the British Parliament has in abundance, it’s Zionist, Israel and Jewish lobby groups.

Not only does each major party represented in the legislature – Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, UK Independence Party – has its own “Friends of Israel” group, but there’s also an All-Party Britain-Israel Parliamentary Group and an All-Party Parliamentary Group for Christian and Jewish Relations.

In fact, one reputable British source says that up to 80 per cent of Conservative Members of Parliament belong to the Conservative Friends of Israel lobby group, and we all know how Labour Friends of Israel dominated and bankrolled the Labour governments of war crimes suspect Tony Blair and his successor, Gordon Brown.

An over-saturation of Zionist and pro-Israel groups, you would think? Apparently not.

According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, British lawmakers are about to set up a new parliamentary, cross-party group on Jewish issues which, it is claimed, will focus on communal issues other than Israel and anti-Semitism.

The new group, to be launched in September, “will support MPs by offering brokered meetings with Jewish constituents, invitations to Jewish community events, tailored to individual parliamentarians in accordance with their particular interests, an invite to an annual Hanukkah Reception in Parliament”, among other events, a statement by the group’s organizers said.

So far benign? Maybe – until you discover that the organizers are the Board of Deputies of British Jews (BDBJ), the UK’s foremost Zionist and pro-Israel lobby group.

The BDBJ is not just your run-of-the-mill collective of Israel pimps but one which, according to its website, ”retains the privilege of personal approach to the sovereign [i.e. the British Queen] on state occasions (most recently on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II)” and “continues an active interest in the lives of fellow Jews abroad”, i.e. Israel and the world Zionist movement. The BDBJ says it will help run the new parliamentary group and serve as its secretariat.

Another hint at the Israel focus of the new group is contained in a part of the BDBJ’s statement announcing the new group, which says the group will provide “regular briefings on Jewish communal issues by the Board of Deputies – including on religious freedom, equalities, extremism, medical ethics, education, welfare and issues facing World Jewry”.

“World Jewry” is Zionist speak for Israel and the international Zionist movement serving Israeli interests.

And just in case there’s any residual doubt about the politics of the prospective group, the BDBJ says it “will not seek to duplicate the existing work of excellent parliamentary initiatives on Israel or anti-Semitism, but work with them for the common good” of Jews [emphasis added].

In fact, once you dispense with the deceptive verbiage, it becomes abundantly clear that this group will be yet another Zionist lobby. After all, why would MPs need “regular briefings on Jewish communal issues” by an external group when their primary responsibility is to connect with and represent their constituents, Jews and non-Jews?

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