The European Leadership Network (ELNET) is a non-governmental organization that promotes links between Europe and Israel.
ELNET was created in 2007 as a European pro-Israel advocacy group to assist European partners in becoming more active politically in countering criticism of Israel in Europe.
ELNET described itself as “the most influential pro-Israel advocacy organisation in Europe".
ELNET is registered in
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
(responsible for the EU & NATO),
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, the
UK,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. The organization includes an additional US-based entity, Friends of ELNET (FELNET), that fundraises for the network.
ELNET arranges visits by European parliament members, government officials, and other European policy leaders to Israel.
ELNET's role has been defined as "encouraging Jewish political activism".
ELNET UK
In 2024, ''
Declassified UK
''Declassified UK'' is an investigative journalism and media organisation founded in 2019 by Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis. It describes itself as "the leading media organisation uncovering the UK's role in the world." Curtis is an established ...
'' wrote that pro-Israel lobbyists, including ELNET, had donated to 13 out of
Labour’s 25 cabinet members "since they were first elected to the parliament", founding the likes of prime minister
Keir Starmer
Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...
,
foreign secretary David Lammy
David Lindon Lammy FRSA (born 19 July 1972) is a British politician who has served as Foreign Secretary since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenham since 2000. Lammy previously held vario ...
and
Jonathan Reynolds
Jonathan Neil Reynolds (born 28 August 1980) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade since July 2024. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, he has been ...
, the latter is the one who "oversees arms exports to Israel as UK trade secretary".
ELNET had organized a visit in Israel for
Labour Friends of Israel
Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) is a group in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that advocates a strong bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Israel, and seeks to strengthen ties between the British Labour Party (UK), Labour ...
(LFI)'s
MPs including member of Starmer’s cabinet and health secretary
Wes Streeting
Wesley Paul William Streeting (; born 21 January 1983) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford ...
.
The visit organised by ELNET for Labour staffers "had ‘clear agenda’ to shape policies of next government".
ELNET Germany
ELNET Germany ''ELNET Deutschland'' based in Berlin exists since 2014. It is focussing on the
German speaking countries like Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Like in other European countries it is focussing on conducting conferences, roundtables and background conversations to foster relations. In its advisory council are members like
Karin Prien
Karin Prien ( Kraus; born 26 June 1965) is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving Federal Minister for Education, Family, Seniors, Woman and Youth in the government of Chancellor Friedrich M ...
,
Brigitte Zypries
Brigitte Zypries (born 16 November 1953) is a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Between 2017 and 2018, she served as Minister for Economics and Energy in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel; she was the f ...
and fellows like
Shlomo Shpiro together with other known personalities. It maintains cooperation with the Forum of Strategic Dialogue (FSD), the
Federal Academy for Security Policy
The Federal Academy for Security Policy (, BAKS) is the Federal Republic of Germany’s interministerial institution for advanced studies, education and training in security policy in the remit of the Federal Ministry of Defence. It has its seat i ...
(BAKS),
Chatham House
The Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House, is a British think tank based in London, England. Its stated mission is "to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world". It ...
,
Hudson Institute
Hudson Institute is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1961 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation.
Kahn ...
,
Konrad Adenauer Foundation
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation ('' German: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: KAS'') is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's head ...
and
Reichman University
Reichman University () is Israel's only private university, located in Herzliya, Tel Aviv District. It was founded in 1994 as the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC Herzliya, ) private college, before being rebranded in 2021.
It receives n ...
(IDC Herzliya). There are further partnerships with
AJC Berlin,
German-Israeli Future Forum Foundation,
UN Watch
UN Watch is a Geneva-based non-governmental organization (NGO) whose stated mission is "to monitor the performance of the United Nations by the yardstick of its own Charter". It is an accredited NGO in Special Consultative Status to the UN Eco ...
and several
States of Germany
The Federal Republic of Germany is a federation and consists of sixteen partly sovereign ''states''. Of the sixteen states, thirteen are so-called area-states ('Flächenländer'); in these, below the level of the state government, there is a ...
.
See also
*
External links
The powerful pro-Israel lobby pulling the EU’s strings- ''TRT World''
References
2007 establishments in Europe
Lobbying organizations in Europe
Organizations established in 2007
Zionism in Europe
Zionist organizations
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