Israel has not committed a single war crime in Gaza, the head of the newly-formed Reform Friends of Israel has claimed.
Speaking to Declassified , Jason Pearlman also described the torture and abuse of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons as “the minutiae of individual claims”.
Until December, Pearlman was a media adviser to Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, who a UN commission found to have incited genocide .
Speaking from Israel, where he still lives, he told Declassified that he started a conversation with Reform about turning the party’s ‘Friends of Israel’ group into a “full-time” organisation while he was still working for Herzog.
“We did have a dinner with Nigel and some key backers,” he said. “We were able to put seed funding together.”
Pearlman refused to say who Reform Friends of Israel’s (RFOI) donors were. But he admitted: “I’m sure some of the people who fund CFI [Conservative Friends of Israel] and LFI [Labour Friends of Israel] will also be funding RFI.” Who is Jason Pearlman? While Jason Pearlman remains an obscure figure in British politics, he stands to become one of the most influential figures on foreign policy, if Nigel Farage’s party wins the next election.
He has said he has “great respect” for Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.
And, when his departure from Israeli politics was announced in December, he was personally thanked by President Herzog.
“Jason has helped guide the Office of the President through perhaps Israel’s most challenging times with the international press,” Herzog said. “I am grateful for his tireless efforts to promote understanding of the work of the President of Israel and bring Israel’s story to millions around the world.”
When Declassified asked Pearlman if he believed Israel had committed any war crimes since 7 October 2023, he said: “No, of course not.” He added: “The tragedy is that there is no nuance when it comes to discussing this conflict.” Declassified asked if he could think of a single specific case where he would condemn IDF soldiers in Gaza. Pearlman replied: “Probably… [but] I can’t think of anything specifically off-hand.”
And when asked about the well-documented abuse and torture of Palestinian prisoners, Pearlman said: “I am sure there is some truth to all of these things…” But he appeared to dismiss such cases in favour of focusing on “the wider perspective of ‘how do we solve these issues?’”. He said: “We are looking at how can we promote a dialogue and a narrative that advances a better region or, in this case of Reform Friends of Israel, a better relationship between the UK and the values and the UK with Israel and the values of Israel. “And rather than getting dragged into the minutiae of individual claims – which obviously need to be dealt with; if they’re brought to you, then you obviously need to deal with them – but individual cases, I’m much more interested in promoting a dialogue which puts a very clear line between terrorism and a future.”
Pressed about why he was referring to abuse allegations as “the minutiae of individual cases”, Pearlman simply said: “I have full faith in the judicial system to prosecute, investigate and prosecute any such cases. I am not aware of any such cases being proven or prosecuted.”
Discussing the aims of Reform Friends of Israel, he pushed back at the suggestion it is a lobbying organisation, saying that he instead considered the group to be “a resource for the party”.
“[RFOI] believe fervently that the UK-Israel relationship is an important relationship,” he said, adding that it “needs heavily investing in”. “Reform, as a party, I think we can find a lot of people who understand that importance and want to help promote it.” RELATED How frightening would Nigel Farage’s foreign policy be? While working as a political strategist in 2012, he claimed that the BBC had shown footage of “staged injuries” in Gaza. In a post on Twitter, he shared a video titled “Exposed: Pallywood Returns to Gaza”. The idea of “Pallywood” is a conspiracy theory that suggests Palestinian actors routinely dress up as bombing victims and pose for photos in the rubble to attract sympathy.
When questioned about this by Declassified , Pearlman doubled-down on his claim, saying: “It is unfortunately a well-established fact that we have seen a lot of manipulation of the media.”
As head of RFOI, he is likely to have close relations with the party’s leadership and organise delegations to Israel. He will also be working alongside Lois Perry, a former Ukip leader who was recently appointed as the group’s strategic director.
Last month, Perry repeated false claims about the Hamas terror attack on 7 October 2023 saying that they “put babies, alive, in ovens whilst their mother’s could hear and were also simultaneously being raped”.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz has reported that although one baby was murdered on 7 October and a second one died in the womb of her mother who was shot, the specific claim about them being put in ovens is “not true”. Mendoza While Reform has always been pro-Israel, Pearlman and Perry are two of a number of hardline figures who Farage has surrounded himself with in recent months.
Others include Alan Mendoza, who was appointed Reform’s chief global affairs adviser in November last year. Mendoza is best known for co-founding and directing the Henry Jackson Society, a neoconservative think-tank which has been accused of pushing an “anti-Muslim agenda”.
Last year, its report on the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA was used by Israel to justify its campaign to ban the organisation and cripple its ability to operate.
Less well known is that Mendoza is also president of the Jewish National Fund (JNF UK), a British charity that lists Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an honorary patron – and has reportedly given £1m to Israel’s “ largest militia “.
Novara Media reported how financial accounts for JNF UK show it donated the money to HaShomer HaChadash (HH) between between 2015 and 2018. On its website, JNF UK describes HaShomer HaChadash as “a grassroots organisation helping farmers and ranchers in the Negev and the Galilee safeguard their land”. But reports have linked it to the far-right and allege that it “facilitates the violent theft of Palestinian land”. In 2024, the Israeli +972 magazine said: “Individuals wearing Hashomer Hachadash clothing have also been documented participating in settler violence and attempting to force Palestinians off their land.”
As Farage’s chief foreign policy adviser, Alan Mendoza will likely have a huge influence on the party’s agenda. Having defected from the Conservatives in November, his appointment was seen by the right-wing press as proof that “Reform is serious on foreign policy”.
And since taking up the role, he has already pledged that “Israel will always be a key ally for Reform UK”.
Mendoza – who did not respond to Declassified ‘s request for comment – recently also announced he would stand for re-election to Westminster City Council
He has been the focus of protests by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. One of the group’s organisers, Oscar Leyens, explained: “With Mendoza’s candidacy announced, we see the well-established links between the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and the British far-right. “We cannot forget that the colonizing of Palestinian land first began under British rule. The JNF’s connections to Reform UK is a continuation of that same racist colonial legacy.”
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