UK Lawyers for Israel

UKLFI describes itself as an association of lawyers who support Israel and seek to ensure that the rights of Israel and Israelis are respected. Its stated mission is to use law to counter attempts to “undermine, attack and delegitimise Israel, Israeli organisations, Israelis, and supporters of Israel.”[4] It characterizes BDS and other efforts against Israel or its supporters as targets of this work.[1]

Its listed organizational objects include providing or promoting legal support through advocacy, research, advice and campaigning; training lawyers on international law and Israel; helping university students seeking protection from antisemitism or hate speech; networking among British lawyers; cooperating with like-minded groups abroad; and contributing to a supportive climate of opinion toward Israel in the United Kingdom.[2]

Membership is open to lawyers who share the organization’s objectives, including retired, academic and trainee lawyers, as well as law students. UKLFI lists annual fees of £60 for standard membership and £15 for students. Members and supporters receive a regular bulletin and information about legal developments, documents and relevant events, lectures and seminars.[8]

The organization invites lawyers with expertise in fields including charity, criminal, education, equality and international law to contribute. It says its work includes assisting students facing what it calls anti-Israel intimidation and propaganda, opposing efforts to exclude Israeli members from international organizations, resisting anti-Israel measures by councils and trade unions, and arranging educational events on legal issues relating to Israel.[8]

UKLFI says a small group of British lawyers established it as an unincorporated association in early 2011. The founders were concerned about what they called “the failure to combat the use and abuse of law by enemies of Israel” and sought to mobilise lawyers and supporters against BDS and what they regarded as the delegitimisation of Israel.[1] The organization says early successes reinforced their view that this work was useful.[1]

One early campaign identified in UKLFI’s history was an effort connected with a flotilla intended to sail to Gaza. UKLFI says Greek police arrested ships involved in the initiative, which the organization characterized as seeking to circumvent Israeli restrictions on the transfer of materials to terrorists. The organization presents the episode as an early success; the account is its own description of the operation and its circumstances.[1]

UKLFI says it later adopted a written constitution and honorary patrons. On 12 February 2013, the association’s assets were transferred to UKLFI Ltd, a non-profit company limited by guarantee with a board elected by its members.[1] The company is registered in England and Wales under number 07396781 and operates under the name UK Lawyers for Israel.[6]

The organization distinguishes UKLFI Ltd from the UKLFI Charitable Trust, a separate charity registered in England and Wales under number 1169041. The trust was registered in September 2016 to advance legal education on Israel and antisemitism and to provide legal support to victims of antisemitism, particularly where it relates to Israel. UKLFI says the trust conducts activities within its charitable objects, while UKLFI Ltd continues other operations.[6]

UKLFI says it is not aligned with a particular political viewpoint or party in the United Kingdom or Israel, and that its members hold a range of views. It also states that it is not a regulated provider of legal services and does not provide services reserved to regulated providers, although it may recommend an appropriate regulated provider.[1]

The UKLFI Charitable Trust is a separate registered charity rather than the charitable status of UKLFI Ltd itself. Its stated purposes are to advance legal education on Israel and antisemitism and to provide legal support to victims of antisemitism, particularly when it manifests in relation to Israel.[6]

UKLFI says the trust carries out activities previously undertaken by UKLFI Ltd when those activities fall within the trust’s charitable objects, while the company continues other operations. The organization’s public materials include educational resources for students and parents as well as legal and informational materials concerning Israel.[6][4]

A 2019 Jewish News report described the charitable arm’s invitation to Naomi Linder Kahn, a senior figure from the Israeli organisation Regavim, to speak at a London event. UKLFI said the event was postponed to allow proper security measures to be put in place and that a consortium of BDS and anti-Israel groups planned a mass demonstration. The report also described criticism of Regavim from some British Jewish groups and quoted UKLFI as saying that its trust arranged meetings on a range of issues and views and was not aligned with a political party or viewpoint.[9]

UKLFI describes several ways it may act on a matter: making representations, providing or seeking information, or challenging conduct by public authorities, companies, organisations or individuals. It may also encourage members or supporters to act independently as members of the public, refer a matter to a lawyer who may provide professional representation, or offer non-professional background assistance subject to professional rules and clarity about the nature of the help.[3]

The organization’s website features briefing notes on armed conflicts, a parents’ toolkit concerning antisemitism and anti-Israel bias in British schools, and materials relating to the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court.[4] UKLFI lists work with ELNET relating to the International Court of Justice, UNRWA and self-determination, as well as material for the International Criminal Court concerning applications to arrest Israeli leaders. Its homepage also lists comments on a British government proposal to recognise Palestine as a state and a review of famine reports covering 2023–2024.[4]

In an interview, UKLFI legal director Natasha Hausdorff said the organization submitted material challenging the accuracy of the ICC prosecutor’s application concerning Israeli leaders. She argued that the court lacked jurisdiction and that complementarity supported allowing Israel’s legal system to address credible allegations; these were her arguments in the interview, not an independent determination of the court’s jurisdiction or the merits of the application.[10] Hausdorff also described student-support materials, including a “Know Your Rights” booklet, and said she made herself available to speak at campus events.[10]

UKLFI has also intervened in campaigns concerning cultural boycotts. Ynet reported that it responded to an open letter calling for a boycott of Israeli cultural institutions, arguing that the proposed boycott discriminated against Israelis and could expose participants to legal risks.[11] In October 2025, Mako reported that UKLFI sent legal-warning letters to British representatives of major film and television companies and industry bodies, arguing that a boycott of Israeli institutions could violate the Equality Act 2010 and affect financing and insurance. The report also noted the boycott organizers’ position that their campaign did not apply to Palestinian citizens of Israel; UKLFI’s legal claims were arguments, not reported court findings.[12]

The organization’s published examples span universities and student unions, regulatory bodies, schools, sports organisations, banks and public-authority decisions.[5] For 2024, UKLFI reports filing observations at the ICC about the accuracy of the prosecutor’s application, coordinating a letter signed by more than 1,200 lawyers concerning UK arms exports to Israel, and intervening over a Swedish bank’s restrictions on transactions with Israel.[5]

Among other outcomes it associates with its work, UKLFI lists a SOAS student receiving compensation after experiencing antisemitism, the removal of an anti-Israel banner, the overruling of a Lancaster Council BDS motion, the defeat of a proposed Merseyside Pension Fund divestment, and the cancellation of a World Squash Championship in Malaysia. These are examples presented by the organization on its own website; the material gathered here does not independently corroborate each claimed outcome.[4]

The organization also presents its volunteer network as a means for lawyers and other supporters to contribute professional experience. A volunteer on its FIFA project described participation as an opportunity to “resurrect old skills, not feel so isolated” while contributing to a wider cause.[4]

In a campaign reported by the Jewish News Syndicate, UKLFI challenged JustGiving’s decision to freeze £21,710 raised for portable batteries and phone power banks for Israeli soldiers. The crowdfunding page had been set up by two friends on 8 October 2023 and received donations from 147 people; JustGiving said the campaign breached its guidelines concerning funding militias or weapons. UKLFI argued that the Israel Defense Forces was not a militia and that phone chargers were not weapons. After letters and a meeting with company executives, JustGiving released the funds and acknowledged it had been wrong to withhold them.[13]

UKLFI’s work sits within contested debates about Israel, antisemitism, BDS and the boundaries of political advocacy. The organization presents its legal interventions as efforts to defend Israel and Israelis and to counter antisemitism and delegitimisation; its characterisations of campaigns and conduct are its own positions.[1][4]

A June 2019 report republished by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said UKLFI had made submissions to TSB and its parent company requesting that they withdraw banking services from the Islamic Human Rights Commission. The report said the bank’s details later disappeared from the commission’s donation page, which displayed a notice that it was “being updated.” It cautioned that it was unclear whether TSB had ended the banking relationship or whether the change was connected to the recent proscription of Hezbollah in the United Kingdom; it therefore did not establish that UKLFI’s submissions caused a change in banking services.[14]

In August 2025, the Counter Extremism Project relayed a Jerusalem Post report that the Charity Commission was reportedly investigating UKLFI and Campaign Against Antisemitism following a complaint by CAGE International. The roundup attributed to CAGE allegations that the organisations had legitimised Israeli policies it described as “racist, apartheid and genocidal” and had made complaints intended to silence pro-Palestinian voices. The report described a complaint and a reported inquiry, not findings that the allegations had been established.[7]