Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre

The Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) is a UK-based organisation which acts to promote awareness of Israel and the Middle East in the United Kingdom. BICOM publishes materials such as briefings and a journal, Fathom, covering the history, economy, culture and politics of Israel, Middle East peace plans, terrorism in the Middle East, UK-Israel relations and foreign policy.

British Israel Communication and Research Centre
Founded2002
FounderPoju Zabludowicz
TypeNon-profit
NGO
Location
  • United Kingdom, Israel

History

BICOM was founded in 2002 by Poju Zabludowicz following the second intifada. It is funded through private donations.[1]

In 2005, Ruth Smeeth joined as director of public affairs and campaigns.[2]

In 2009, it was described as "one of the most persistent and slickest media operations in the battle for influence over opinion formers".[3]

We Believe in Israel

We Believe in Israel is BICOM's pro-Israel advocacy organization in the United Kingdom. The current director is former Labour councillor Luke Akehurst.[4] We Believe in Israel provides learning materials[5] to both the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the United Synagogue.[6]

It is a member of the Jewish Leadership Council.[6]

According to their website, We Believe in Israel was launched following the We Believe in Israel Conference in London in May 2011, supported by 26 community organisations and attended by 1500 delegates.[7]

In the 2010s, the group asked The Co-operative Group to reverse its decision to boycott certain Israeli products.[8]

Fathom journal

Fathom was founded in 2012 by political theorist Alan Johnson as an open source, quarterly, online scholarly journal under the motto: Fathom: for a deeper understanding of Israel and the region.[9]

Martin Sherman of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies accused Fathom in 2016 of "stifling debate" by refusing to publish articles by writers who oppose the two-state solution.[10]

See also

References
  1. "About". Britain Israel Communications & Research Centre. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  2. "Smeeth exits Sodexho for pro-Israel lobby group". PR Week. 9 September 2005. Archived from the original on 5 April 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  3. Syal, Rajeev (4 Jan 2009). "How the pro-Israel lobby in Britain benefits from a generous London tycoon". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  4. "Why non-Jewish Luke's family has always given support to Israel". Jewish Telegraph.
  5. "We Believe in Israel Essay 2 - Zionism and the foundation of the State of Israel". United Synagogue.
  6. "Constituent Members". Jewish Leadership Council. Archived from the original on 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  7. We Believe in Israel. "Core Values". We Believe in Israel. Archived from the original on 2015-04-24. Retrieved 2015-04-21.
  8. We Believe in Israel. "Call on the Co-op Group to end their boycott of certain Israeli companies". We Believe in Israel. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 2 Jul 2015.
  9. Johnson, Alan; Greene, Toby (7 November 2012). "Founding Fathom: Why do we need another journal about Israel?". Times of Israel. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  10. Sherman, Martin (1 April 2016). "Stifling debate - BICOM's blatant bias". Jerusalem Post.
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