CAGE International has accused two pro-Israel organisations – UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) and Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) – of attacking and harassing those who criticise Zionism and Israel’s racist policies, thereby threatening the very foundations of democratic debate in Britain.
In a report entitled, Britain’s Apartheid Apologists, CAGE says through foreign state interference and political and media cover, these two groups have worked to defend Israel’s apartheid nature.
UKLFI describes itself as an organisation of lawyers who support Israel using their legal skills to employ advocacy, legal research and campaigning to support Israel, Israeli organisations, Israelis, and/or supporters of Israel against BDS and other attempts to undermine, attack or delegitimise them.
Campaign Against Antisemitism says its mission is to expose and counter antisemitism through education and zero-tolerance enforcement of the law. It says it works closely with police forces around the country, the Crown Prosecution Service, regulatory bodies and the government to ensure that antisemitism is detected, investigated and punished with the full force of the law.
But evidence presented in the report raises concerns about the compliance of the UKLFI and CAA with UK charity law, which prohibits incitement to hatred on the grounds of race or religion and the promotion of views that denigrate those of a particular faith or race.
CAGE says that support for the racial domination enacted by an apartheid state is a clear breach of their legal and charitable duties.
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The report argues that the organisations have weaponised regulatory frameworks and “vexatious lawfare” to stifle free speech, chill public debate and intimidate Palestinian solidarity activists.
Those targeted, according to the report, include, amongst others, academics, doctors, students and charity organisations.
Dr Asim Qureshi, CAGE International’s Research Director, said: “Britain faces a democratic emergency, with free expression under sustained attack from a network of bad-faith actors who collaborate with willing and racist government institutions to suppress popular opposition to Zionism and support for the Palestinian people.
“What begins with the silencing of Palestine advocacy today, could be turned against any contentious issue in future.”
In their foreword to the report, the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) states: “The CAA and UKLFI’s work has contributed to an intensifying wave of repression: wearing a pin or keffiyeh for Palestine becomes a sackable offence; speaking out against the Gaza genocide risks referrals to regulators; and tearing down factories arming genocide results in lengthy custodial sentences. Despite their best efforts, support for Palestine is more widespread than ever before.
“The repression by UKLFI, the CAA and others, such as the Board of Deputy of British Jews, become most transparent in their key purpose of perpetuating Zionism above all else, when they attack anti-Zionist Jews and our organising. This has been vital to the goal of Zionism since its inception – to displace Jewish identity with a virulent form of racist nationalism. This destruction of actual Jewish ethics and traditions is a form of antisemitism, one leveraged by the establishment for its own self-interest in the service of Zionism.
“In revealing the history, tactics and politics of UKLFI and CAA, this report plays a vital role in disentangling Zionism from antisemitism – addressing both the legal, and vitally, the moral case for rejecting Zionism. As this genocide rages on, we must loudly and clearly fight against the colonial Zionist agenda and the way it erodes democratic and civil rights. The people of the world have identified the struggle for Palestine as the heartbeat of the struggle for our collective liberation. None of us are free until all of us are free.”
The report includes a set of recommendations:
- A judge-led public inquiry into foreign influence operations targeting UK civil society.
- Root-and-branch reform of professional regulators.
- New legislation to protect professional independence.
- Accountability for complicit politicians.
- Media reform to address institutional bias in coverage of the Palestinian struggle for liberation from Israeli colonialism, occupation, apartheid and genocide.
The report states that the UK’s failure to confront these “organisations’ complicity” risks normalising structural racism and eroding the foundations of democratic debate.
The report states that: “Only through decisive action to uphold international law and protect free expression can the UK begin to redress its role in perpetuating injustice against the Palestinian people”.
