Overview:
The Friends of Israel Initiative (FOII) is a worldwide group that advocates for Israel’s cruelty, occupation, and role in the international community. It was founded in 2010 by a group of infamous individuals from around the world who have a shared ambition to support Israel. The Friends of Israel Initiative is a best example of Israel propaganda activities known as Hasbara. This Zionist organization regularly seeks to whitewash Israeli policies. However, the FOII also faces scrutiny from public opinion regarding its stance on human rights issues and its response to allegations of human rights abuses.
FOII has hailed the advent of what it calls the “New Right” in Europe. Rafael Baraji, the organization’s executive director and long-time senior assistant to former Spanish President Jose Maria Aznar, worked with and still admires former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. In one of FOII’s publications in 2018, he described the European “New Right” as a “buoyant political movement [that] shares Israel goals and concerns” despite its anti-Semitic background and inclinations.
It is worth mentioning that the formation of Zionist European right-wing parties has been largely possible through direct Israeli political support and financial resources provides by wealthy Zionist individuals, most prominently the US-based Robert Shillman and Nina Rosenwald.
Hub for World’s Notorious Zionists
This initiative is a hub for people who blatantly support Israel and never back down from it. The list goes on and here are some of its most infamous people:
• Sheldon Adelson: Founder and former CEO of Las Vegas Sands
• Haim Saban: Israeli-American media mogul
• Ronald Lauder: President of the World Jewish Congress
• Len Blavatnik: Ukrainian-born British-American businessman
• Daniel Pipes: Founder and President of the Middle East Forum
• Dennis Ross: Former U.S. Middle East Peace Negotiator
• Alan Dershowitz: Professor of Law Emeritus at Harvard University
• Tony Blair: Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• Stephen Harper: Former Prime Minister of Canada
• John Howard: Former Prime Minister of Australia
• Nicolas Sarkozy: Former President of France
• George W. Bush: Former President of the United States
Shady Funders
According to tax papers, casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson, who spent the most money on Donald Trump‘s election via untraceable dark money entities, gave at least $2 million to the FOII between 2012 and 2016. Home Depot founder Bernard Marcus, who finished second in the Trump campaign by spending $7 million on pro-Trump outside expenditure groups, gave $215,000 to FOII between 2013 and 2014.
The group’s nonprofit branch in the United States collected $1.8 million in contributions and grants for the 2015 tax year.
Nearly half a million extra dollars were contributed to FOII by the Middle East Forum, a renowned anti-Muslim organization led by Daniel Pipes, who branded Muslim immigration as “more troublesome than most” and “resistant to assimilation”.