Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre

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The Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) is a United Kingdom based organisation which acts to promote awareness of Israel and the Middle East in the UK. BICOM issues materials on the history, economy, culture and politics of Israel, the Middle East peace plan, terrorism in the Middle-East, UK-Israel relations and foreign policy and the future of Palestine.

BICOM is positioned as a "pro-Israel British lobby group".

BICOM's chief executive, until July 2006, was Danny Scheck, a high-level official of the Israeli foreign ministry on a two year leave of absence. He was previously the chief spokesman and director of the press division of Israel’s foreign ministry.[1] He left to become the Israeli ambassador to France.[2]

The current Chief Executive Officer is the former Labour Member of Parliament Lorna Fitzsimons

[edit] Establishment and funding

"The need for a body able to orchestrate British Jewry’s political and public relations became apparent to Kerner (head of the United Jewish Israel Appeal) following the outbreak of the second intifada in September 2000, with its disastrous impact on Israel’s image. The day after the intifada began, some 50 leading Jews were summoned to a briefing with the then Israeli ambassador."

"That evening a group of them raised an initial £250,000 fund for pro-Israel lobbying and public relations. First to wave his chequebook was Poju Zabludowicz, a little-known name at the time but now an emerging figure who recently entered the Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated £2 billion, and who owns 40 per cent of downtown Las Vegas."

"As Middle Eastern peace prospects sank beneath the continuing violence, the emergency campaign for Israel morphed into a permanent new body, the British-Israel Research and Communications Centre (Bicom). While a debate goes on in the community’s upper echelons over whether Bicom should remain a mainly-behind-the-scenes player focussing on media or a more upfront pro-Israel lobby similar to the American AIPAC, it has become a potential recruitment ground for a new generation of lay leaders..." ^[1]