We've all heard about the American Israel
Public Affairs Committee, or APEC, the
powerful pro-israel lobby group shaping
US politics. But little is known about
its main counterparts operating across
the Atlantic in Europe and England that's
quietly pulling strings in both the EU
and British parliaments. So who's
behind the group, what do they want and
why are they operating under the radar?
Meet El Net, Europe's most influential
Israel lobby group. El Net, which stands
for European Leadership Network, presents
itself as an NGO promoting shared
democratic values between Europe and
Israel. But a closer look reveals an
entirely different agenda. Founded in
2007 with offices across Europe and
England, El Net's purpose is to align
European MP's with pro-israel narratives
and to ensure that Tel Aviv's interests
get a direct line into European
decision-making. The man behind it?
Ranan Elias, who first dealt with
European affairs at AIPAC and later at
the Israeli National Security Council.
His words in 2008 were clear. If
groups like ours had even 10% of the
budget of US pro Israel lobbies, we
could change European policies. And
that's exactly what Elnat has been trying
to do.
But how is El Nat influencing European
and British politicians?Simple
direct engagement. El Nat cultivates
personal ties with key figures and
individual lawmakers. As a core tactic,
it sends lawmakers on luxury, all
expenses paid trips to Israel, framing
them as educational experiences. In the
first seven months after Tel Aviv
launched its genocidal war on Palestine's
Gaza on October 7th, 2023, Elnet
arranged over 20 trips, sending nearly
300 parliamentarians from both the
EU and the UK to Israel. But these
trips aren't just for show. They're
designed to get MPs on board with
Israel's narratives and to push Tel
Aviv's agenda into related policies.
Among the many attendees were UK
politicians Andrew Percy. And Anthony
Higginbotham, who declared that the
troops were donations. Numerous UK Labour
Party members also received money from
Elnat amid Israel's ongoing war on Gaza.
A 2024 report by Declassified
UK revealed that nine Conservative
MPs received funds from pro Israel
groups, including Elnat, and key figures
like John Woodcock, the Baron of Walney,
joined Elnat's online briefings about Tel
Aviv's atrocities in the Palestinian
enclave. El Net's lobbying led to
increased support among EU politicians
for Israeli policies that had previously
come under heavy criticism from some EU
member states and neutralized opposition
to Tel Aviv's actions in Palestine, such
as those related to its illegal
settlements or its brutal war on Gaza.
El Net Israel CEO Emmanuel Navon says
parliamentary delegations to Israel
directly impact the level of support Tel
Aviv receives from Western countries. In
May 2024, he told supporters that El Net
had influenced the European Parliament's
resolution conditioning a Gaza
ceasefire and the release of Israeli
hostages and the defeat of Hamas.
Now, this resolution would never have
been passed without the many years of
work done by El Net or those
parliamentarians that have literally
turned them around as pro Israeli as
being pro Israel after visiting Israel.
So the question now is, besides Israel,
who else is funding El Net?
Unsurprisingly, tracking the money leads
us back across the Atlantic to the US. El
Net's primary funding comes from private
donations often linked to anti Muslim
groups and prominent pro Israel and pro
Republican billionaires. For years, El
Net has copied the modus operandi of the
US's Israeli lobbies. The group's US
based fundraising arm called Friends of
El Net or Fel Net. Is led by former
Israeli diplomat David Siegel, who also
overseas a majority of El Net's budget.
Fel Net raised over $7,000,000 in
2022, a million more than in
2021. Other donors include Bernie Marcus,
the co-founder of Home Depot, and
billionaire Larry Meisel, as well as the
Lisa and Michael Lafell Foundation linked
to billionaire investor Michael Lafell.
Funding also comes in from American
billionaires tied to various
transatlantic groups promote
Islamophobia. And finance illegal Israeli
settlements such as Miriam Adelson and
Nina Rosenwald. Still, since
Elnet's budgets and donors are only
partially disclosed and information about
the exact allocations of funds remains
scarce, the influence of the group's
undisclosed contributions on European
policy making warrants further
scrutiny.
Elnet's lobbying also extends into. The
tech, defense and business sectors. The
lobby group uses its influence to secure
lucrative trade deals with EU countries.
These deals promote the use of Israeli
defense and tech firms in sectors like
cybersecurity, AI and Agritech.
In 2017, Alnet successfully lobbied for
the continuation of the European Israeli
Association Agreement, which is a legal
framework aimed at fostering political
dialogue and Economic cooperation between
Tel Aviv and the EU. These efforts help
Israeli companies access EU funding and
markets. So after peeling back a
few layers of Elnet's vast
operations across Europe, we have to ask
who's really benefiting more from this
lobby group, Europe citizens or Israel?