Mark Lewis and the Pro-Israel Legal Network
Strength of lead: Strong — documented organisational connections, disciplinary history, judicial criticism
Summary
Shooter’s lawyer Mark Lewis is not simply a solicitor-for-hire — he is deeply embedded in pro-Israel advocacy networks. He lives in Israel (Netanya), his partner Mandy Blumenthal runs two pro-Israel organisations, and Lewis himself was a director of UK Lawyers for Israel and is honorary patron of the Campaign Against Antisemitism. His involvement connects Shooter to a broader infrastructure of pro-Israel legal and political advocacy.
Mark Lewis — Profile
- Born c. 1964. Has multiple sclerosis (diagnosed age 25)
- Lives in Netanya, Israel since December 2018
- Partner at Patron Law, heading Israel-UK litigation from Israel
- Best known for the Milly Dowler phone hacking case — negotiated the £3M settlement that led to the closure of the News of the World
- Represented 80+ phone hacking victims
- His own voicemails may have been illegally accessed by the News of the World
Pro-Israel Organisational Connections
UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI)
- Lewis was a former director (until emigration to Israel)
- Provided pro bono legal work for Israel
- Stated: “None of us charge for our time but we devote it to putting legal arguments forward for Israel”
Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA)
- Lewis is honorary patron
- Began advising pro bono two weeks after CAA’s founding
- Devised the legal strategy CAA uses for libel actions against those accused of antisemitism
Herut UK
- Lewis involved in August 2018 relaunch of this revisionist Zionist organisation
- Jabotinsky ideology — Israeli Herut merged with Likud in 1988
- Lewis spoke about “unapologetic Zionism”
- His partner Mandy Blumenthal was national director
Mandy Blumenthal
- Lewis’s partner since ~2014
- National director of Herut UK
- Former head of UK Lawyers for Israel
- Introduced Lewis to Hadassah Hospital’s MS clinical trials in Israel
Disciplinary and Judicial Findings
SDT Disciplinary (2018)
- SRA prosecuted Lewis for offensive social media posts (2015–2017)
- Told an 18-year-old Labour supporter to “fk off you stupid ct”
- Told a young Jewish man he hoped his father “would sit shiva for you soon” (wishing death)
- Multiple “death-wishes” to trolls
- Found “lack of integrity”
- Fined £2,500 + £10,000 costs
- Lewis said the SRA was “on the wrong side of history”
Source: Legal Business
Judicial Criticism — Davidoff v Google (2023)
- Mr Justice Nicklin found Lewis filed witness statements containing untrue evidence
- Swore that Trustpilot reviews were “false, fabricated statements” — judge found at least one was demonstrably true
- Nicklin J called evidence “perfunctory, even desultory” and “simply not good enough”
- Second time in 2023 Lewis was caught out for untrue witness statements
Notable Cases
- Rachel Riley v Laura Murray: Won £10K damages + £1.1M costs against Corbyn’s stakeholder manager
- John Ware v Jewish Voice for Labour: Settled with apology
- Miller & Power v Turner (2023): Lost. Judge described claimants’ conduct as “an exercise in bullying”
Connection to Shooter
- Lewis called allegations against Shooter “false and defamatory”
- This is consistent with Lewis’s broader approach: using defamation law offensively to suppress legitimate journalistic scrutiny
- Shooter’s profile (Israel business interests, Orthodox Jewish community, anti-Palestine stance) fits Lewis’s typical client profile
Strategic Value
- Lewis’s involvement elevates Shooter from “local councillor with dodgy properties” to a node in a wider pro-Israel advocacy network
- The UKLFI, CAA, and Herut UK connections are all documented
- Lewis’s disciplinary history and judicial criticism for untrue evidence undermine the credibility of his “false and defamatory” threats on Shooter’s behalf
- The Blumenthal connection (running both Herut UK and UKLFI) is the key node connecting multiple organisations