Conservative Friends of Israel

CFI operates mainly in political circles and is one of Britain's pro-Israel parliamentary groups, alongside Labour Friends of Israel and Liberal Friends of Israel.[1] Its commitment to the Conservative Party accompanies an interest in Israel's welfare and the development of close relations between Britain and Israel.[7] The organization educates and informs Conservatives about Israel and seeks to ensure that Israel's case is fairly represented in Parliament.[2]

Its work combines distributing information about Middle Eastern events, arranging visits for MPs and parliamentary candidates, organizing events in and around Westminster, and supporting Conservative election campaigning.[2][7] Its parliamentary leadership includes separate positions for the House of Commons and House of Lords, alongside an honorary presidency.[8]

Michael Fidler formed CFI in 1974 following protests over the response of Edward Heath's government to the 1973 Yom Kippur War, including its arms embargo on the combatants and refusal of American requests to use British facilities to support Israel.[9] During his four years in the House of Commons, Fidler had become convinced of the need for an effective pro-Israel voice within the Conservative Party.[3]

Fidler regarded a Conservative organization as a way to redress a political imbalance: Labour Friends of Israel had existed since 1957, many Labour supporters were Zionists, and some British Jews regarded Labour as their natural political home.[9] Former prime minister Anthony Eden was among CFI's early patrons, and Margaret Thatcher endorsed the group in 1975 after succeeding Heath as Conservative leader.[9]

Fidler served as CFI's director from 1975 until a few months before his death.[3] Under his direction, the organization developed lobbying activity in both Houses of Parliament and at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.[3] Malcolm Rifkind served as honorary secretary of its parliamentary group from 1976 to 1979.[10] By July 2006, Robert Halfon held the position of political director and appeared in that capacity among signatories to an open letter to G7 leaders.[11]

Delegations to Israel are a continuing part of CFI's educational work, combining political, cultural, and historical visits with meetings involving Israeli and Palestinian officials.[9] Their stated purpose is to help participants gain insight into the region and return better equipped to ask informed questions, rather than to return with all the answers.[9] Visits have been arranged for both MPs and parliamentary candidates to deepen their understanding of the Middle East.[7]

James Gurd worked for CFI for 14 years, including eight as executive director, before preparing to leave in 2024.[6] During that period, he led more than 40 missions to Israel, introducing hundreds of politicians, advisers, and policy professionals to the country.[6] CFI also campaigned for the United Kingdom to proscribe Hamas and Hezbollah during his executive-director tenure.[6]

Westminster events provide opportunities for parliamentarians to meet Israeli representatives and discuss regional affairs.[9] In February 2020, approximately 40 Conservative MPs, including 35 newly elected members, attended a CFI lunch with Israeli ambassador Mark Regev.[9] Stephen Crabb and Lord Eric Pickles jointly led the discussion, and the event was intended particularly to introduce new MPs to the ambassador and facilitate discussion of Israel and the wider region.[9]

At the end of January 2020, CFI's annual parliamentary reception attracted more than 250 supporters, including 100 parliamentarians.[9] Minister Robert Jenrick delivered a keynote speech addressing the government's pledge to fight antisemitism; the guests included the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III.[9]

In 2022, Andrew Heller announced that he was stepping down as chair after 13 years, with Stephen Massey, then the organization's treasurer, announced as his successor.[12] Heller said that hundreds of parliamentarians had visited Israel during his tenure and characterized CFI's annual lunches and party-conference receptions as major events in the political calendar.[12]

Jeremy Brier KC became chair in October 2024, succeeding Hilda Worth, who had held the chairmanship since November 2022 after serving as vice-chair from 2010 to 2022.[13] Worth presented the transition as an opportunity to rebuild in opposition and take a new cohort of MPs and colleagues to Israel.[13]

In January 2026, Greg Smith MP became Commons parliamentary chair after Suella Braverman's defection to Reform UK.[8] Lord Pickles was identified as CFI's House of Lords chair in September 2024, while Lord Polak was identified as honorary president in 2022.[6][12] Lord Leigh of Hurley, a joint president of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, also sits on CFI's executive board.[14]

Prime Minister Theresa May addressed CFI on December 13, 2016, praising close British–Israeli ties.[4] She called the Balfour Declaration “one of the most important letters in history” and said that Britain would celebrate its centennial in 2017 with pride.[4] Her planned appearance at a private CFI lunch coincided with discussion of the government's adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism, a measure she called “a ground-breaking step.”[15]

CFI was among the organizations consulted informally during the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee's 2016–17 inquiry into antisemitism in the United Kingdom.[16] The committee also held informal meetings with other parties' Friends of Israel groups and with Friends of Palestine groups.[16]

The organization's parliamentary leadership has participated in wider international advocacy on security issues.[17] In December 2022, Stephen Crabb, identified as CFI's House of Commons chair, was among 220 lawmakers from Europe and North America calling for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be designated a terrorist organization.[17]

CFI has challenged Palestinian Authority educational materials and British funding arrangements.[5][18] In August 2020, Stephen Crabb, Lord Pickles, and Lord Polak wrote to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab requesting publication of a joint EU–UK curriculum review and expressing “serious concerns” about reported methodological irregularities, translation errors, and the alleged inclusion of Israeli Arabic textbooks as Palestinian Authority materials.[18] At a February 2021 online event hosted by the Board of Deputies, Jewish Leadership Council, Zionist Federation, and We Believe in Israel, Crabb argued that there was “a direct link” between what he described as textbook indoctrination and Palestinian minors' participation in violence against Israelis, and that incitement impeded peace.[5] CFI joined other pro-Israel organizations campaigning over education funding; the UK subsequently ended direct funding for Palestinian Authority education and health-worker salaries, but the government said its decision was not influenced by the EU textbook report.[5]

Other contested positions have been voiced at CFI events.[4] Addressing a reception on May 16, 2022, Home Secretary Priti Patel characterized what she had seen of the BDS movement as racist and defended the proscription of Hamas as a moral imperative.[4] At a CFI meeting later that year, Liz Truss called herself a “huge Zionist and huge supporter of Israel” and promised to strengthen bilateral relations; she also raised the controversial possibility of moving the British embassy to Jerusalem.[4]

Reported membership figures require distinction from verified counts: in 2020, CFI claimed membership among 80% of Conservative MPs in the preceding Parliament and more than 2,000 supporters.[9] Separately, a study of antisemitism and alternative media examined a 2017 article's claims about CFI officers and widespread parliamentary support, analyzing its surrounding depiction of Israel supporters as exercising conspiratorial influence over British institutions rather than independently verifying its membership estimates.[19]