Where we really need an inquiry on NGO funding
NGO Monitor founder Gerald Steinberg writes that where we really need an investigation into NGO funding isn't Israel: It's Europe. When MK Faina Kirschenbaum (Israel Beiteinu) introduced the motion to establish the parliamentary inquiry, she claimed that Arab governments and terror groups are among the major funders of the NGOs responsible for “lawfare” campaigns that seek to label Israelis as “war criminals.”NGO Monitor has not found documented evidence for either claim, although it is possible that such secret funding exists.Steinberg is right, but as he himself acknowledges, there is no indication that the Europeans are willing to consider exposing their game. And so Israel, in whose interest it is to expose the sources of NGO funding has to do what it can by adopting this imperfect mechanism.
In contrast, we have shown the massive and often secret funding for highly political NGOs from European governments, and the European Union in particular. Europe, which preaches democracy and good government to others, blatantly violates the basic rules of funding transparency and open debate. An impenetrable shroud of secrecy hides all aspects of the processes by which the EU funds groups such as Yesh Din, Adalah, PCATI and many Palestinian groups.
And much of this European money is used to promote lawfare, as well as boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) – the two primary expressions of the NGO Durban strategy of “complete international isolation of Israel.”
The cost of European secrecy in funding for political NGOs was recently revealed by NGO Monitor and The Jerusalem Post, when the Dutch government was found to be supporting the intensely anti-Israel (and often anti-Semitic) actions of Electronic Intifada via a church-based humanitarian framework (ICCO). The Dutch foreign minister was surprised by the revelation that his own government was fuelling the Arab-Israel conflict, and there are many more such examples in Holland and throughout Europe.
As a result, the European-funded, NGO-led assault on the legitimacy of Israel, as well as the double standards and false allegations of “war crimes,” is continuing. In addition, these actions undermine the universality of human rights norms and convert these moral principles into convenient political weapons. Universal jurisdiction statutes in Europe, and mechanisms such as the International Criminal Court, which were designed to bring genocidal dictators to justice, have been stripped of any significance through the cynical attempts to label Israeli leaders as “war criminals.”
But then it's not surprising that the Europeans don't want to investigate anti-Israel NGO funding. About six months ago, I did a post that showed that European anti-Semitism is even stronger than in the Arab world, and that while the Arabs might one day compromise regarding the 'Palestinians,' the Europeans are less likely to do so. I could not find that post to link it. But a Google search through my blog with the catchphrase "European anti-Semitism" brought more than 800 results, including individual discussions of just about every country in Europe.
Things haven't changed much since the 1940's, have they?
Labels: European anti-Semitism, NGO funding, NGO Monitor
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:15 AM
3 Comments:
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Some very valid and important points Carl. Thank you.
To borrow slightly from Bat Ye'or's book Eurabia, the demonisation of Israel is Europe's 'get out clause' with the Muslims.
The 'logic' of this being that if Europeans side with the Muslim community on Israel (and a whole host of other issues) the risk of upsetting the Muslim community is greatly reduced; thus the risk of terrorism is also reduced.
Since the British were in Palestine, the threat of violence and disorder has been used as a very effective tool for Arab regimes to get what they want. When the Arabs were carrying out pogroms against the Jews, the British made sure the Jews weren't in possession of any weapons, so as not to 'fuel the fire'. At the same time, King Saud was using this threat with the British as a means of pressuring the British to stop Jewish immigration into Palestine. Consequently, the Holocaust would not have had such high numbers were it not for the White Paper of WWII. We must never forget the lengths the British will go, to appease the Arabs.
Lastly, with regards to your point about European anti-Semitism and the left:, psychologically speaking, the attempted assassination of the Jewish congresswoman from Arizona (Giffords) by a fanatic who is reported to have Communist Manifesto, as well as Mein Kampf material on his youtube page, is yet one more indication that the left have become the new right.
Some very valid and important points Carl. Thank you.
To borrow slightly from Bat Ye'or's book Eurabia, the demonisation of Israel is Europe's 'get out clause' with the Muslims.
The 'logic' of this being that if Europeans side with the Muslim community on Israel (and a whole host of other issues) the risk of upsetting the Muslim community is greatly reduced; thus the risk of terrorism is also reduced.
Since the British were in Palestine, the threat of violence and disorder has been used as a very effective tool for Arab regimes to get what they want. When the Arabs were carrying out pogroms against the Jews, the British made sure the Jews weren't in possession of any weapons, so as not to 'fuel the fire'. At the same time, King Saud was using this threat with the British as a means of pressuring the British to stop Jewish immigration into Palestine. Consequently, the Holocaust would not have had such high numbers were it not for the White Paper of WWII. We must never forget the lengths the British will go, to appease the Arabs.
Lastly, with regards to your point about European anti-Semitism and the left:, psychologically speaking, the attempted assassination of the Jewish congresswoman from Arizona (Giffords) by a fanatic who is reported to have Communist Manifesto, as well as Mein Kampf material on his youtube page, is yet one more indication that the left have become the new right.
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