Israel sought to evade US law on foreign lobbying, leak shows

LONDON: Israel received legal advice on evading US laws regulating foreign lobbying campaigns, The Guardian reported.

The Foreign Agents Registration Act requires officials working for foreign governments to register with the US Justice Department and provide regular updates on lobbying campaigns.

An email and legal memo leak sourced from a hack of Israel’s Justice Ministry in April revealed hundreds of documents discussing the law, which was viewed as an impediment to Israeli lobbying efforts in the US.

The files were released by a group named “Anonymous for Justice” and reviewed by The Guardian.

Concerns about FARA within the Israeli government surfaced around 2018.

Then US President Donald Trump, who had a close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, faced criticism that year after members of his administration were met with FARA enforcement actions relating to Russian lobbying efforts.

The leaked emails reveal Israeli alarm at the prospect of future FARA crackdowns targeting the Israel lobby, one of the largest and most influential foreign lobbying campaigns in the US.

Israeli officials proposed the creation of a US nonprofit to circumvent the law.

An Israeli Justice Ministry legal memo dated to 2018 warned that FARA compliance would “damage the reputation” of US groups that received direct funding and orders from Israel.

In creating a domestic entity that could be overseen from abroad, senior Israeli officials hoped to sidestep the law while maintaining Tel Aviv’s powerful influence in Washington.

Liat Glazer, who was then a legal adviser to the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs, outlined the strategy in an email.

“We will have means of supervision and management,” he said, adding that grants and “informal coordination mechanisms,” including “oral meetings and updates,” would still guarantee control of the US lobbying entity.

Officials also proposed, and eventually launched, a “PR commando unit” dedicated to boosting Israel’s image in the US.

Originally known as “Kela Shlomo,” or “Solomon’s Sling,” the unit rebranded to “Concert” in 2018 and later “Voices of Israel” in 2021, The Guardian reported.

It was tasked with damaging the reputation of the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign that pressured Israel through consumer behavior.

The Guardian reported earlier this year that the group was relaunched in the wake of Oct. 7 to target US college students staging nationwide protests against Israel’s war on Gaza.

Israeli officials, before the latest iteration of the group, contracted prominent election and campaign law firm Sandler Reiff on retainer in a bid to overcome FARA-related concerns.

A former Israeli intelligence officer and former chief censor for the Israeli army was deeply involved in the launch of Kela Shlomo, documents show.

Brig. Gen. Sima Vaknin-Gill is now a board member of the US-based Combat Antisemitism Movement.

CAM was launched one year after the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs, which was headed by Vaknin-Gill, proposed the launch of a US-based lobbying group.

The nonprofit has repeatedly denied to disclose its funding sources to journalists.

In a statement to The Guardian, CAM claimed to be a “global interfaith coalition that unites over 850 partner organizations” and that it was “not established by, nor influenced by, the Israeli government.”

Craig Holman, an expert on lobbying reform and government ethics, warned of the potential for FARA violations arising from the leaked documents.

“If there is a deliberate effort by Israeli governmental officials to influence American policy and/or public opinion on foreign affairs,” he said, “this would constitute a FARA violation not just by the US agents serving the Israeli government, but also by any person or nonprofit organization in the US who is a knowing participant.”