The European Leadership Network (ELNET) is a non-governmental organization that promotes links between Europe and Israel.[2][3][4]
ELNET was created in 2007 as a European pro-Israel advocacy group, to assist European partners in becoming more active politically, in order to counter "widespread criticism of Israel in Europe".[5]
ELNET is registered in Belgium (responsible for the EU & NATO), France, Germany, Poland, the UK, Italy and Israel. The organization includes an additional US-based entity, Friends of ELNET (FELNET), whose sole role is fundraising for the entire network.
ELNET is a non-partisan organization that works to improve strategic relations between Israel and European countries. ELNET is active and has a presence in Germany, France, Spain, and Poland, Italy as well as an office in Brussels.
The organization has interacted with European officials on numerous occasions:
"ELNET has hosted more than 50 European delegations of parliament members, top government officials, and other European policy leaders to Israel. ELNET has also held more than 20 strategic dialogues in Europe and has engaged more than 500 participants in its effort to enhance European-Israeli understanding and cooperation"[6]
ELNET's role has been defined as "encouraging Jewish political activism".[7]
ELNET was founded in 2007, first in Brussels, and later in other European capitals – Madrid, Spain (2008), Paris, France (2010), Berlin, Germany (2013), Warsaw, Poland (2015), and London, United Kingdom (2020). ELNET is also registered in Israel (2010). The Forum for Strategic Dialogue (2013) is an offspring of ELNET.
The American entity, Friends of ELNET (FELNET), was co-founded and is chaired by Larry Hochberg, a co-founder of Children's Bargain Town USA, a small chain of toy stores that operated in Chicago.[8][9] Its president is David Siegel.[10] In 2017, it hosted Manuel Valls, a former French Prime Minister, in order to raise the awareness about the importance of France-Israel relations.[11]
ELNET operates in Europe using means and mechanisms similar to those used by AIPAC in the United States.
