NGO Monitor Analysis (Vol. 3 No. 9) 15 May 2005

CONTENTS:

GUERIN AND HALPER: BBC ALLIES WITH ANTI-ISRAELI NGO UN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL REJECTS BADIL APPLICATION MERCY CORPS: HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE, MARRED BY ANTI-ISRAELI PROPAGANDA COHRE AND BADIL REPORT REFLECTS POLITICAL AGENDA THE CENTRAL ROLE OF PNGO IN THE AUT ACADEMIC BOYCOTT NGO's TARGET ISRAEL AT UNCHR MEETING PREVIEW UPCOMING REPORT ON HRW FORD FOUNDATION NGO FUNDING UPDATE - IMPLEMENTATION OF POST-DURBAN GUIDELINES IS SLOW AND LACKS TRANSPARENCY AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL EXPLOITS "WOMEN'S RIGHTS" NGO MONITOR NEWS UPDATES

GUERIN AND HALPER: BBC ALLIES WITH ANTI-ISRAEL NGO

When NGOs with strong political and ideological agendas are utilized by journalists with the same biases, the combination can be particularly explosive. An usually clear example is found in the case of the BBC radio program "From Our Own Correspondent", broadcast on 28 April, 2005. Guerin's headline "Palestinians fear for Jerusalem's future" provides further evidence of her anti-Israel agenda. Beyond the evident bias which essentially ignored the Jewish dimensions of Jerusalem (including the destruction and desecration of the Jewish Quarter before 1967), Guerin included a lengthy interview with ICAHD's Jeff Halper, who just happened to show up "to admire the view". As demonstrated in NGO Monitor's report, ICAHD – funded by the European Union under the assumed flag of promoting "human rights" – is essentially a one-man NGO that specializes in demonization and promoting the campaign to label Israel as an "apartheid state". In this blatantly staged interview, Halper was ready to provide Guerin with the appropriate quotes, referring to alleged Israeli land grabs, and invoking the standard Palestinian themes of victimization. This is a blatant violation of professional standards by a journalist, and the exploitation of the rhetoric of human rights for political ends.

UN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL REJECTS BADIL APPLICATION

BADIL, which leads the subversive Palestinian political campaign for the "right of return" and is active in anti-Israel incitement, applied for accreditation with the UN Economic and Social Council. Such status gives NGOs a platform to submit reports to delegates and take part in various official activities. As noted in NGO Monitor's report and analysis of BADIL its extremist anti-Israel political agenda is incompatible with universal human rights norms. The NGO Monitor report on BADIL was circulated among the members of ECOSOC, reflected in the questioning and discussion, and contributed to the decision to defer BADIL's application. According to press reports, "...Germany's representative asked if the NGO had ever dealt with the issue of terrorism. The representative of Cuba wanted to know if the organization made a distinction between terrorism and national liberation movements, while the representative of the United States asked the organizations position regarding the land issue between Israel and Palestine. The Observer of Palestine voiced strong support for the application."

MERCY CORPS: HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE, MARRED BY ANTI-ISRAELI PROPAGANDA

Despite its worthwhile efforts in other parts of the world, Mercy Corps pursues a politically-charged campaign against Israel, under the banner of Palestinian human rights. Mercy Corps fails to acknowledge efforts by Israel to alleviate suffering and the reasons behind Israel's security measures, while ignoring Palestinian corruption and terrorism, which contribute to this humanitarian crisis. Read Article>>>>

COHRE AND BADIL REPORT REFLECTS POLITICAL AGENDA

The Geneva-based NGO known as COHRE has joined BADIL in publishing a highly biased political attack against Israel. BADIL's agenda and activities have been analyzed in detail by NGO Monitor and COHRE's director, Scott Leckie, is a former staff member at the PLO's Palestinian Negotiations Support Unit. The 2000-2002 biennial report states “COHRE and BADIL are planning to jointly hire a lobbyist to co-ordinate a campaign to change policies within various UN agencies and States with regard to the right of Palestinian refugees to repossess the properties confiscated by Israel since 1947.” (p. 61) This report is part of that political campaign. COHRE's donors include The Body Shop, Ford Foundation, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (Germany), Canada (CIDA), Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden (SIDA), United Kingdom (DFID), Smith Richardson Foundation, UN-Habitat Programme, UNHCR,UNIFEM, and the World Bank.

	THE CENTRAL ROLE OF PNGO IN THE AUT ACADEMIC BOYCOTT
	The academic boycott instituted by the Association of University Teachers in the UK on April 22 was based on the activities of the Palestinian NGO Network, an organization that uses the guise of a "civil society" human rights network to promote an extremist pro-Palestinian agenda designed to justify violence against Israel. Read Article>>>>

	NGOs TARGET ISRAEL AT UNCHR MEETING
	The recently concluded 61st Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, was again characterized by intense political attacks focused against Israel, in which many NGOs played a major role. Read Article>>>>

	PREVIEW UPCOMING REPORT ON HRW
	Draft Report on Human Rights Watch: a Comparative Analysis of Activities in the Middle East by NGO Monitor. Read Article>>>>

	FORD FOUNDATION NGO FUNDING UPDATE - IMPLEMENTATION OF POST-DURBAN GUIDELINES IS SLOW AND LACKS TRANSPARENCY
	Since the Ford Foundation issued guidelines and declared its intention to implement more stringent funding guidelines, there has been limited progress with a number of highly politicized NGOs continuing to receive Ford funding. As the following update demonstrates, implementation is taking place, but slowly, and with very limited transparency. Read Article>>>>

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL EXPLOITS "WOMEN'S RIGHTS"

Reflecting Amnesty's consistent strongly pro-Palestinian political agenda, this NGO’s latest report on women’s rights in the Palestinian territories also blames Israel for intra-Palestinian violence against women. Rather than a significant examination of this issue, the document, which relies on biased sources and lacks credibility, exploits this issue in the political campaign against Israel. The authors patronizingly deny Palestinian society the maturity to act responsibly, instead blaming Israeli policies for these failures. Read Article>>>>

	NGO MONITOR NEWS UPDATES
	Michele Chabin, "Dovish Group Stung By Own Grantee," The Jewish Week, April 15, 2005. Latest allegation from UK "charity" Christian Aid: "Israeli Strikes Cost British Tax Payers Millions," Christian Aid, April 25, 2005.

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