The Influence of the European Friends of Israel on the Members of the European Parliament Ugur Burc Yildiz* Abstract: This article investigates how and why the European Friends of Israel, the most powerful pro-Israel lobby in Brussels, has worked to influence members of the European Parliament. It puts that the European Friends of Israel’s lobbying activities have composed of arranging meetings with senior Israeli politicians and bureaucrats, organizing both policy and public conferences, taking policy initiatives and organizing trips for missions. Within the framework of these activities, the European Friends of Israel has aimed to influence the parliamentarians to take decisions in line with Israel’s security interests, such as over Iran’s nuclear program or Hamas, and ensure their support for some Israeli policies criticized by the European Union, like the settlements. Given its financial power and well-organized structure, it can be expected that the European Friends of Israel, which is still a relatively new organization, will become more effective in lobbying in defense of Israeli interests. Key Words: European Friends of Israel, European Union, Members of the European Parliament, Israel, Lobbying. * Assistant Professor at Department of International Relations in İzmir University.
[email protected] ALTERNATIVES TURKISH JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS www.alternetivesjournal.net Ugur Burc Yildiz Introduction The birthplace of lobbying is the United States (US), dating back to the early years of the establishment of the republic. Lobbying is now carried out by nearly 100,000 lobbyists in Washington D.C., with one of the most powerful lobbies being the pro-Israel American Israel | 2 Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which was once defined by former US President Bill Clinton as better than anyone else at lobbying in Washington.1 Lobbying, however, has only developed in the European Union (EU) over the last 20 years as EU institutions have been granted more powers.