Confederation of Friends of Israel, Scotland

Formation

Richard Haley writes:

The launch of Edinburgh Friends of Israel in 2015 drew guests from all over Scotland. Around 95% of them were said to be non-Jewish, and most of these to have been Christian. Glasgow Friends of Israel was launched shortly afterwards. Co-founder Sammy Stein said: "The vast majority of our members are not Jewish." Similar groups have been set up around Scotland, including Aberdeen, Dundee, Dumfries and Galloway, Highland and Perth. The COFIS website currently lists thirteen groups as established or in the pipeline.

The groups were said to be "independently funded by members". But their rapid flowering was the outcome of an inititiative of the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM). BICOM is a privately funded lobby and action group for the benefit of Israel. It describes itself as "an independent research centre producing research and analysis about Israel and the Middle East" and says it supports "a close relationship between Britain and Israel, based on shared values and interests." It was set up in October 2000.

controversies

Ben Wray writes:

Former convenor of Cofis, Nigel Goodrich, is active participant in Facebook group which has as rule one: “This group is about ‘Palestine and Palestinians which doesn’t [sic] exist” Cofis activist Sammy Stein said they “have dissociated themselves from anything to do” with Goodrich, who stepped down as convenor last October However Cofis refused to offer their view on the ‘Jewish Defence Forces’ Facebook group, which also includes amongst its members a Britain First intelligence officer and a director of a anti-Islam conference addressed by Tommy Robinson in 2012

The leading pro-Israel campaigning group in Scotland has distanced itself from the man who was its convenor until just months ago, after it was revealed he was a member of a racist anti-Palestinian Facebook group. A representative of Confederation of Friends of Israel Scotland (Cofis) told CommonSpace it has “dissociated” itself from Nigel Goodrich, who is a major architect of pro-Israel networks in Scotland. CommonSpace can reveal that Goodrich was a member of the Facebook group ‘Jewish Defence Forces’ (JDF) whose description, pinned at the top of the page, engages in a series of racist smears against the Palestinian people, including that they do not exist and have no national claim.

Speaking to CommonSpace on behalf of Cofis and affiliated organisation Glasgow Friends of Israel (GFI), activist Sammy Stein said: “We have dissociated ourselves from anything to do with Nigel [Goodrich]. Full stop, everything and anything to do with Nigel.” Goodrich was convener of Cofis until 9 October 2018, according to the organisation. His history in rightwing pro-Israel circles in Scotland goes back several years, and he has represented the movement repeatedly in media interviews over that time. Cofis is the umbrella group coordinating a range of pro-Israel groups around the country, a key part of Goodrich’s efforts in recent years.

Cofis describes its role as to “resource and coordinate a growing number of groups around Scotland who are seeking to stand by the nation of Israel in the midst of pressures, boycotts and undeserved criticism.” The Jewish Defence Forces Facebook group’s first ‘rule’ for membership states: “‘This group is about “Palestine and Palestinians” which doesn’t [sic] exist. Israel is the name of our country.'” CommonSpace has seen evidence that Goodrich was an active member of the group, posting in support of the “honour” of the Israeli Defence Forces.

Stein was adamant that Goodrich no longer had anything to do with Cofis or GFI, and was not in contact. “He isn’t invited, he doesn’t attend, he isn’t in this country. He’s got nothing to do with those events,” he said. “I don’t believe he will be involved in anything we do.” When asked if it was worrying that the person who had led the organisation until so recently had joined a Facebook page who’s rules were based on such ideas, Stein said: “It sounds to me like he has changed, maybe that’s one of the reasons he has gone.” Stein insisted that the groups he was involved in were “anti-racist” and that “we believe in a two state solution”. He insisted that he “did not have a view” about whether the Facebook page was racist, as he had only just come across it through screenshots sent to him by CommonSpace. “I have to be very careful and check the things that you are pointing to. But that’s only partially something he said, he may have other views I don’t know.”

The current Cofis acting convener Edward Sutherland also commented, appearing to assert that Goodrich himself was not a racist. Sutherland said: “Nigel Goodrich resigned as Convenor of Cofis on 9 October 2018, due to relocating outside of the UK. He now has no involvement with Cofis. We are an organisation which advocates for peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestinians and we reject all forms of racism, including antisemitism as defined in the IHRA definition. “Until yesterday, I was unaware of the existence of the Facebook group you refer to, but note from the screenshot that Nigel did not join until after he left Cofis. I have seen no evidence that Nigel has personally made any racist comment and would be astonished to do so [sic].” Other active members of the JDF Facebook group include Paul Besser, ’intelligence officer’ of the far-right group Britain First which has been banned from Facebook and Twitter, and Mordechai Kedar, an Israeli academic and director of Stop Islamisation of Nations, which infamous far-right figure Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka ‘Tommy Robinson’) addressed a conference of alongside Kedar in 2012.

Resources

• Richard Haley Who are Friends of Israel? Scotland Against Criminalising Communities, 06 February 2019.

• Ben Wray Exclusive: Scottish pro-Israel group distances itself from former convener over racist Facebook page Source News. 15/03/2019.