Jewish National Assembly paid £28,000 for ex-Home Secretary Braverman's Israel trip

A UK-based, pro-Israel lobby group reportedly forked out close to £28,000 for former Home Secretary Suella Braverman's four-night stay in Israel last spring. 

The Jewish National Association (JNA) paid for Braverman and her husband to stay in Israel between 31 March and 4 April during their "solidarity visit... following the October 7th attacks".

The expenses included two return flights to Tel Aviv, costing £989.74, as well as accommodation, meals and visits within Israel at an additional £26,811.53, according to data obtained from the UK parliament website which discloses expenses used by MPs.

The London-based JNA describes itself as a "truly representative conduit for the communication of the views of British Jewry to government and other decision-makers" based on "promoting Jewish life, supporting Israel and fighting antisemitism".

Its chair, Gary Mond, has come under fire for making comments deemed Islamophobic in the past, and promoting "anti-Islam" US activist Pam Geller.

Mond confirmed to The New Arab on Wednesday that the JNA paid for Braverman’s trip, saying this was to "equip those of influence with a comprehensive knowledge" of Israel-Gaza and to enable them to argue with knowledge against "heinous lies told by Jew-haters and their supporters".

Chris Doyle, the director for the Council of Arab-British Understanding, criticised Braverman for accepting the donation given Mond's controversial past.

He also raised questions about the exorbitant cost of the trip, given that normal visits to Israel by MPs usually only cost around £2,500.

"Given the very extraordinary costs, way beyond what is normal for a fact-finding delegation, and the record of the donor, this casts serious questions about her judgement and why she accepted," Doyle told TNA.

Braverman’s visit to Israel follows her sacking by then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a UK cabinet reshuffle in November after she had accused London's Metropolitan Police of being more lenient towards pro-Palestinian demonstrators than right-wing protesters.

In an article written in The Times, Braverman said: "Right-wing and nationalist protesters who engage in aggression are rightly met with a stern response yet pro-Palestinian mobs displaying almost identical behaviour are largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law? I have spoken to serving and former police officers who have noted this double standard."

The former Home Secretary expressed several comments deemed as pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian amid the onslaught on the Gaza Strip, where at least 40,233 have been killed as of Wednesday in the 10-month assault.

Braverman also went on to brand Gaza solidarity marches as "hateful" and claimed protesters wanted to "erase Israel from the map", despite the largely peaceful nature of UK and global protests, whose objective is for an immediate ceasefire for the embattled enclave.