US Donors Fund Pro-Israel Lobby Driving European Policy – Report

December 18, 2025 News
US donors fund pro-Israel lobby driving European policy, The Intercept revealed. (Photo: screen grab)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

The Intercept documents how US funding has enabled ELNET to lobby European lawmakers, shape foreign policy decisions, and deepen military, political, and economic ties with Israel.

US donors are channeling millions of dollars into a pro-Israel lobbying group operating across Europe, exporting political tactics long associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) into the European Union, an investigation by The Intercept has revealed.

The European Leadership Network (ELNET), which its leaders have described as the “AIPAC of Europe,” has received at least $11 million from US foundations, nonprofits, trusts, and donor-advised funds since 2022, according to an analysis of tax filings conducted by The Intercept.

The funding surge has accelerated since the October 7 attacks and amid Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.

ELNET reportedly organizes networking trips to Israel for European lawmakers, hosts parliamentary events, and lobbies European governments on foreign and defense policy.

The group claims credit for major pro-Israel decisions, including persuading Germany to approve a $3.5 billion purchase of Israeli drones and missile systems, the largest defense deal in Israel’s history.

While ELNET is smaller than AIPAC, The Intercept noted that it operates in a more compact political environment, allowing it to exert disproportionate influence. The European Union is Israel’s largest trading partner, giving European institutions significant leverage over Israel’s diplomatic standing.

“ELNET states clearly that their role is to legitimize and deepen economic ties with Israel, at a time when international law tells us we should be sanctioning Israel and sever trade ties,” said Lynn Boylan, an Irish member of the European Parliament from Sinn Féin.

“As an EU lawmaker, I am very concerned that US groups are seemingly successfully able to determine EU policy on Israel.”

According to The Intercept, nearly all US funding flows through Friends of ELNET, the group’s US-registered nonprofit, which transfers most of its revenue to ELNET chapters across Europe. Friends of ELNET raised $9.1 million in 2023, up from $7 million in 2022 and more than double its revenue in 2018.

The organization’s US leadership has deep ties to AIPAC. Friends of ELNET is chaired by Larry Hochberg, a former AIPAC national director, while its president, David Siegel, previously worked as an AIPAC legislative writer, Israeli diplomat, and Israeli army officer.

Several board members are major AIPAC donors, including at least one member of AIPAC’s elite Minyan Club, according to ELNET biographies cited by The Intercept.

According to the investigation, major donors include the William Davidson Foundation, which has given $800,000 since 2022, and the Newton and Rochelle Becker Charitable Trust, which contributed nearly half a million dollars in 2023. Jewish federations in major US cities, including Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, and San Francisco, have also donated hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Much of this funding was reportedly routed through donor-advised funds (DAFs), which allow donors to remain anonymous while receiving tax deductions. Although DAFs are barred from direct lobbying, experts cited by The Intercept warned that the system allows donors to obscure political influence.

“It’s a way to rinse your name off of any kind of donation that could be perceived as controversial,” said Bella DeVaan, associate director at the Institute for Policy Studies. “Do we want to give people a tax break to amplify their influence around the world? I don’t think most people would agree with that.”

ELNET’s lobbying efforts have reportedly included advocating for the suspension of funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), promoting EU resolutions affirming Israel’s “right to self-defense,” and pushing for the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which critics argue conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism.

Following October 7, ELNET intensified its activity, organizing screenings of the attacks in European parliaments and facilitating meetings between European lawmakers and Israeli officials. According to ELNET’s own 2023 annual report, the group served as “a conduit of factual and credible information” to European policymakers.

“The day after ELNET brought Israeli survivors to speak at the European Parliament, an unprecedented resolution was passed backing Israel’s right to self-defense and calling for the elimination of Hamas,” the report stated.

Boylan said the group’s influence highlights a disconnect between European governments and public opinion.

“Thousands of Europeans protest each week to pressure their officials to stop the genocide in Gaza,” she told The Intercept. “Their concerns are ignored in favour of organizations specifically established to defend Israel at all costs.”

The investigation also found overlap between ELNET donors and organizations that fund Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank. More than 50 ELNET donors have contributed millions to groups such as the Central Fund of Israel and the Jewish National Fund, which support settler projects.

Friends of ELNET did not respond to The Intercept’s requests for comment.

As European support for Israel shows signs of strain, ELNET has framed its work as increasingly vital.

In a 2023 fundraising appeal cited by The Intercept, the group declared that its priority was to ensure that “the unprecedented European military and diplomatic support for Israel remains strong for the duration of the war until Hamas is eradicated.”

(The Palestine Chronicle)

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