EVENTS & ACTIVITIES

The Friends of Israel Initiative is a forum of World Leaders chaired by former Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper, working to support diplomatic initiatives for peace and stability in the Middle East based on reasonable debates about the region’s only democracy

www.friendsofisraelinitiative.org

3:30-4:30pm, Wednesday 3^rdApril 2019

Committee Room 4a, House of Lords, London, SW1A 0AA

Gaza has been a flashpoint for many years, not least since Hamas, a terrorist organisation committed to Israel’s destruction, staged a violent takeover to gain total control over its governance.  Since then, Hamas has fought three wars with Israel, interspersed with periods of attrition and low-level conflict.  During these times Hamas has become an innovator of terror, first switching to home-built missiles in order to overcome Israel’s barrier against suicide bombers, then to tunnels in order to infiltrate underground, and finally to large scale border riots aimed at breaching the border. Recently the United Nations Human Rights Council published the results of its inquiry into these border riots, while rocket fire from Gaza has intensified in the run up to Israel’s imminent election. 

At this Parliamentary briefing chaired by Baroness Deech, our speakers will examine the findings of the UNHRC Commission of Inquiry report from a legal and military perspective, comment on the ongoing struggle between Israel and Hamas and its latest flare-up and examine the very real implications for the United Kingdom of the misapprehensions and moral ambiguities that plague this conflict all too often in the public debate in the West. 

TIME: 3:30-4:30pm

DATE: 3^rdApril, 2019

VENUE: Committee Room 4a, House of Lords, London, SW1A 0AA

To attend please RSVP to: dlewin@friendsofisraelinitiative.org

Kindly note spaces are limited and guests must be confirmed by email acknowledgment from FOII to gain access

Colonel Richard Kemp was Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan and has served in Iraq, the Balkans, South Asia and Northern Ireland. He has led the international terrorism team at the UK’s Joint Intelligence Committee and served as chairman of the strategic intelligence group for COBRA, the UK national crisis management committee.  Colonel Kemp is is a founding member of the High Level Military Group, made up of Chiefs of Staff and other top retired military personnel across democratic nations’ armies, as part of which he has led several investigations into the conduct of the IDF as well as the handling of military issues by International Institutions investigating conflict.  He is a frequent commentator in the media as well as advising a range of political leaders on relevant issues. 

Natasha Hausdorff is a Barrister at Six Pump Court Chambers and a director of the NGO ‘UK Lawyers for Israel’.  She frequently lectures on legal issues surrounding the State of Israel and relevant International Law and has previously clerked for the President of the Israeli Supreme Court in Jerusalem. She has focused academically on the law of armed conflict and was recently a fellow in the National Security Law Programme at Columbia Law School in New York.