UK Lawyers for Israel

UK Lawyers for Israel is a British organisation which describes itself as using the law 'to combat attempts to undermine, attack or delegitimise Israel'.

It is a company limited by guarantee and claims to have worked on a range of projects including disrupting boycott activism, a flotilla sailing to Gaza, and working on cases in relation to universities and the media.

History

UK Lawyers for Israel has been operating since approximately 2011. It was co-founded by Jonathan Turner whom the Jewish Chronicle reported was also 'head of the Zionist Federation's legal group'.

Activities

Among other activities UKLFI has held a two-day seminar 'jointly with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israel Embassy in London' on 17-18 June 2012, 'Legal Challenges and Opportunities in Israeli Policy and Advocacy'. Papers were presented on asymmetric warfare, defamation, BDS and other topics.

It has also hosted a series of talks by Brooke Goldstein, director of the U.S.-based Lawfare Project in Manchester and London in March 2012. In September 2011 it held a roundtable discussion chaired by Dr Guglielmo Verdirame on the implications of the Palestinian bid for recognition as a state.

Affiliations

• Zionist Federation

People

Patrons

The Rt. Hon. Lord Carlile | The Rt. Hon. Lady Cosgrove | Baroness Deech DBE, QC | Professor Sir Elihu Lauterpacht | Sir Ivan Lawrence | Sir Gavin Lightman QC | The Lord Pannick | Professor Richard Susskind | The Rt. Hon. Lord Trimble

Lawyers

Julian Hunt | Jonathan Turner

Funding

UK LFI claims its members usually operate on a pro-bono basis but does solicit donations via its website and states that 'some matters may be funded by clients on a fee-paying basis or under conditional or contingent fee arrangements, and we may be able to raise funds from donors for some other projects which require major commitments'.

Contact

Email: info@uklfi.com

Website: www.uklfi.com