Israeli Embassy Engages in Countering Anti-Israel News in UK

The Israeli embassy was funding trips to Israel for Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) activists, and had launched smear campaigns, branding some Labour members who raised questions over the definition of anti-Semitism as racists, according to media reports.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Israeli embassy engages with UK pro-Israel political activists to counter news stories which portray its policies in a negative light, media reported on Thursday.

"The embassy helps us quite a lot… When bad news stories come out of Israel, the embassy sends us information so we can counter it," Michael Rubin, a young Labour and pro-Israel activist told the Al Jazeera undercover journalist, as quoted by the newspaper.

Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit, The Lobby, ran a six-month investigation using an undercover reporter to approach politicians, activists and Israeli embassy officials.

The investigation also found that the embassy was funding trips to Israel for Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) activists, and had launched smear campaigns, branding some Labour members who raised questions over the definition of anti-Semitism as racists.

The LFI organization has denied receiving payments for trips to Israel from the embassy.