Broadcasted by Channel 4 on 16 November 2009 (8-9pm), this documentary was the result of the investigative journalism of Peter Oborne and his team on the Pro Israeli Lobby in Britain. This edition of Dispatches looked into its little known activities and found that the lobby is the most powerful and wealthiest in Westminster.

The Pro Israeli Lobby is a general term used to describe a collection of smaller groups – the most active of these being the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), which Oborne claims to include at least half of the shadow cabinet. According to Oborne the CFI has donated as much as £10 million to conservative politicians over the past few years, either officially under the name of the organisation or indirectly through its members.

The programme maintains that the wealthy businessman, Poju Zabludowicz, chairman of BICOM (the British Israeli Communications and Research Centre), has business interests in illegal West Bank settlements and has personally given £15,000 to David Cameron, leader of the Conservative party, alongside £50,000 to the conservative central office. Oborne alleges that William Hague, Shadow Foreign Secretary and various other members of Cameron’s team have accepted thousands of pounds worth of donations. Whilst this is legal in the UK it is not openly acknowledged and there seems to be very little transparency.

BICOM’s head office for instance is in Israel although their website maintains they are a British organisation created by British citizens. When the filmmakers travelled to the site, they could not find anyone to interview and got the impression that BICOM was more of a virtual organisation.

Interestingly, after the public outcry following the high civilian death toll during Israel’s attacks on Lebanon in 2006, William Hague mentioned in parliament that Israel’s reaction had been “disproportionate”. After these comments all funding to his office from the CFI ceased, and a letter was written to David Cameron saying that the word “disproportionate” should not be used when describing Israel.

When Cameron spoke at a CFI organised lunch shortly after, he mentioned nothing about the death toll in Lebanon or Gaza which had reached around 1500, instead declaring that Israel strived to protect innocent lives. Sir Richard Dalton, who served as consul-general in Jerusalem, claims that these donations to the conservatives “obviously don’t come with no strings attached.”

The Labour Friends of Israel was found to be another active political lobby contributing financial assistance to many labour politicians. They have paid for a large number of Labour MPs to fly to visit Israel.

Until now Britain’s pro-Israeli lobby has been subject to very little scrutiny and whilst little is known about it, Michael Mates, a conservative MP describes it as “the most powerful political lobby” that “nothing can touch.”

The programme went on to describe the large influence that the pro Israeli lobby has on the BBC, actively influencing its coverage of the Middle-East. This was evident when BBC editors chose not to air a Gaza humanitarian appeal, succumbing to pressure from the lobby; on another occasion Jeremy Bowen, the BBC’s Middle East editor, went under investigation for criticising Israeli military action following a letter from the CFI.

The documentary criticised the BBC for allowing itself to be bullied by the pro Israel lobby and for not putting up a stand. It thus provides an insight into the murky world of people with certain interests exerting significant influence on the most powerful establishments in this country.

Mr Oborne goes to great lengths to differentiate between Israelis and Jews and interviews many people within the Jewish community in Britain who oppose the Pro Israeli Lobby and Israeli occupation of Palestine. Whilst the intention of the producers was not to uncover a conspiracy but to highlight the need for transparency, there may have been a need for a balance of opposing views within the programme.

Dispatches: “Inside Britain’s Israel Lobby” was broadcast on Channel 4 on Monday 16 November 2009 (8-9pm). It was presented by political commentator and journalist Peter Oborne. The full documentary is available on the internet.