Conservatives confirm that inflammatory group calling itself “Conservative Friends of Palestine” is not affiliated to the Party
The Conservatives have reportedly confirmed that the inflammatory group that calls itself “Conservative Friends of Palestine” is not affiliated to the Party.
The so-called Conservative Friends of Palestine, which operates a website and a Twitter handle with a modest following, claims to “seek to promote conservative values and provide new thinking on the Israeli-Palestine conflict that acknowledges the reality on the ground and advances long term solutions based on principles of equality and justice.”
Its website continues: “Besides providing a space for conservatives to come together and challenge the current one-state reality of the conflict that is so damaging, we aim to promote Palestinian voices that so often get left out of the conversation.”
However, in reality the group has constantly courted controversy, for example talking about “false accusations of antisemitism” and complaining about the “weaponising of antisemitism”. The website also has a bookshop offering numerous controversial and inflammatory books, and the group is staunchly opposed to the widespread adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism, particularly by universities, which is a flagship policy of the Government, which was the first national government in the world to adopt the Definition.
The status of this controversial group in relation to the Conservative Party has been a matter of concern, and we are pleased that the Party has apparently confirmed that the group is not affiliated.
Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.