Bicom chair's Exodus link

Bicom chairman Poju Zabludowicz was among guests at a launch for Operation Exodus, a new book about the refugee boat intercepted by the British before it reached Palestine in 1947.

The event was arranged by London TV producer Jill Samuels, founder of the charity Films Without Borders, who did the interviews for the book.

More..

Bicom scoops Benjamin Netanyahu for annual dinner

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit Britain in November, the JC has learned.

Mr Netanyahu will be the keynote speaker at the annual dinner of Bicom, the Israel lobbying organisation, in London on November 1.

But senior Israeli sources refused to confirm that Mr Netanyahu would visit Britain and said any possible plans were not finalised.

A full schedule has not been agreed, but it is thought he is likely to meet his counterpart David Cameron.

No plans have yet been made for Mr Netanyahu to hold other communal meetings.

More..

£400k to boost profile of Israel with Bicom

Bicom plans to boost its profile and influence - with the help of a £400,000 cash injection.

New initiatives include setting up a virtual debating club, creating an Israel and Middle East peace process index, doubling delegations to Israel and establishing an annual policy conference.

More..

Israel's impaired global vision

The word of the hour is delegitimisation. Doesn't exactly trip off the tongue, but it has nevertheless become the vogue term of art for those defending Israel.

Critics no longer merely "disagree with" - or even "attack" - Israel; they now seek to undermine its very legitimacy as a state.

So hot has this topic become, the Jewish Leadership Council and Bicom are hosting a joint seminar on it this month. Their focus will be a report by Israel's Re'ut Institute that has already prompted a major think-in hosted by Israel's Foreign Ministry.

More..

British leaders at Aipac

A delegation of Britain's Jewish community leaders travelled to the United States this week to take part in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) convention.

Jewish Leadership Council chief executive Jeremy Newmark, Board of Deputies president Vivian Wineman and Bicom chief executive Lorna Fitzsimons led the British group.

Other representatives from the JLC, the Board, the Community Security Trust and Union of Jewish Students joined the trip.

More..

Exposed: Dispatches’ prejudice over Bicom

On Monday night, Channel 4’s Dispatches programme will focus on what it calls “one of the most powerful… least transparent lobbying groups in the UK”, the pro-Israel lobby. Sadly, the programme seems to have a pre-determined agenda. Some people have suggested that the production team felt compelled to “balance out” their two recent programmes exposing the footprint of radical Islamism in the UK.

I come to this conclusion with a heavy heart, having been led a not-so-merry dance over the past ten days by the programme makers.

More..

Lorna in quarantine

Bicom chief executive Lorna Fitzsimons was briefly in quarantine last week with suspected swine flu.

Fitzsimons returned from a trip to the US with suspicious symptoms and was ordered to take herself out of circulation while tests were done.
Thankfully, she turned out to have nothing more than a case of the sniffles.

More..

Lee Petar goes from Bicom to doing PR for the Sheikh of Dubai

When Lee Petar, the former director of communications at Bicom, left to set up his own PR firm, he probably did not envisage that one of his first major deals would involve advising the emirate of Dubai.

Mr Petar, who co-founded Tetra Strategy seven months ago, recently won the account to advise the emirate — one of the United Arab Emirates — on strategic communications and reputation management. The deal, reportedly worth around £500,000, is one of the biggest PR deals this year. “It’s a real communications challenge and a real opportunity for me,” Mr Petar tells People.

More..