Condoleezza Rice at AIPAC conference
Photo: Reuters
First pro-Israel lobby in EU set up
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.
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.
The organization's representative in Israel, Yehoshua Ben-Yosef said Tuesday that to this day 150 European parliament members have joined the lobby.
