Friends Of Israel Initiative Update

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Dear friends and supporters,

Since establishing the Friends of Israel Initiative earlier this year we are delighted to inform you that up to 10,000 people have signed up to support us. This is an astounding achievement and bears testimony to the yearning among so many people around the world for a more reasoned and balanced approach to the State of Israel.

We will soon be launching a regular newsletter to inform you about all the events that we are organizing, our plans for the future, and how you personally can make your own contribution to our efforts. This is a collaborative exercise and we value each and every one of you. More than 1,600 of you have signed up to receive the newsletter. If you have not done so already, please enter your email from the front page section "Receive Our Newsletter" at http://www.friendsofisraelinitiative.org/.If you have already signed up for the newsletter please send the link to like-minded friends and colleagues so they can join the battle too.

More generally, we would encourage you to visit our website at http://friendsofisraelinitiative.org/index.php and to spread the word about what we are doing.

Since launching our Initiative in Paris on June 1, momentum has grown exponentially with widespread coverage in the international media. In July we had a launch event in the Palace of Westminster in Great Britain, where more than 250 people packed into one of parliament’s most historic committee rooms to hear FII board members Jose Maria Aznar, Marcello Pera, Andrew Roberts, and former lawyer for Diana, Princess of Wales, Anthony Julius, explain why this Initiative is so vitally important. Mr. Aznar then launched the Initiative in Jerusalem at the beginning of September.

September has been an extraordinary month for us. On the 14th, a bi-partisan resolution was introduced in the United States Congress specifically endorsing our work. It is extremely rare for any new organization to be recognized in a Congressional resolution and we are very grateful to Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ) for sponsoring it. The full text of the resolution is available on our website, http://www.friendsofisraelinitiative.org/uploads/articles/pdfs/72.pdf, as are details of the other events we participated in during the U.S. roll out of our international road show in Washington D.C. which included a breakfast meeting in Congress hosted by the above mentioned sponsors of the resolution, several other Congressmen and Congresswomen as well as Senator Joe Lieberman. We were also delighted to have been hosted for a working lunch at the Council on Foreign Relations.

An immensely productive month was sealed for the Initiative with the announcement that former Czech President and one-time dissident playwright Vaclav Havel had agreed to join our Board.

The board members and their collaborators are working tirelessly to set up other events in capital cities around the world. We will keep you informed.

Once again, we thank you for your support. We believe that you signed up to us because you care deeply about our cause and because you want to make a difference. This Initiative has the potential to do that, and with your help we are confident of success.

With very best wishes,

Jose Maria Aznar