France
Introduction
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Profile
Country/Territory | France |
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Activity
- The French government funds numerous Israeli, Palestinian, and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) directly through L’Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE), the Consulate General of France in Jerusalem (CGF), and French local authorities, and indirectly through French and foreign aid organizations such as CCFD- Terre Solidaire and Association France Palestine Solidarité.
- Since 2017, France funds a humanitarian consortium led by Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
- Many of the NGOs receiving French direct and indirect funds support boycott campaigns against Israel and/or call for the boycott of the State. Such advocacy is illegal under French law. (See NGO Monitor’s report: French Funding to NGOs Involved in Boycott Campaigns and with Alleged Ties to Terror Groups.)
- In 2019, France endorsed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.
- On January 1, 2022, the French government implemented a law, “Strengthening the respect of the republican values.” The law calls for organizations receiving French governmental funding to respect the laws and values of the French Republic. According to the law, every organization that wishes to receive French government funding must sign a “contract of republican commitment” and “Undertake[] (in its activity, in its internal functioning as in its relations with third parties) not to provoke hatred or violence towards anyone and not to condone such acts…[and be] committed to rejecting all forms of racism and anti-Semitism.” Any group that is found in breach of the contract will be defunded by the French government.
- In March 2022, France dissolved the PFLP-linked Collectif Palestine Vaincra (CPV) on the grounds that the group “calls to hatred, violence and discrimination.” The primary reasons for the dissolution included CPV’s support of terrorism (support to terror groups and individuals involved or convicted for terror related offenses), which according to the French authorities, “goes hand in hand with a legitimization of the terrorist methods which it endeavors to justify or minimize on the grounds that it is a necessary form of resistance.” In April 2022, the French government suspended the dissolution order and launched an appeal.(See NGO Monitor’s analysis “France dissolves anti-Zionist and PFLP-linked Collectif Palestine Vaincra – Main points of the dissolution decree.”)
- CPV is a member of Samidoun, an organization that was designated by Israel as a terror group in February 2021 due to its links to the PFLP. According to the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Samidoun “acts on the PFLP’s behalf abroad” and “plays a leading and significant role in the PFLP’s anti-Israel propaganda efforts, fundraising, and recruiting activists. These activities compliment the armed and violent terrorist struggle that the PFLP engages in against Israel.”
Government Agencies
Agence Française de Développement
- The Agence Française de Développement (AFD – French Agency for Development) is “a public institution that implements France’s policy in the areas of development and international solidarity.” AFD is “designated as the main operator of French development aid, under the joint authority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.”
- AFD has been active in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza since 1999 and has provided approximately €405 million for dozens of projects and partnerships.
- A 2017 AFD document stated that “AFD’s intervention must contribute to the consolidation and development of the [Palestinian Territories] PTs, but also ‘do no harm’, i.e. ensure that the projects implemented do not involuntarily exacerbate conflicts or delicate situations that could lead to acts of violence in the mid-or short-term. The factoring in of potentially negative effects of projects is carried out through the institutionalisation, identification, examination and follow-up of projects, broader consideration of the project’s socio-political environment and its potential impact on divides, a possible source of destruction and violence. Because of the extremely inflammable political and ideological environment, support to NGOs must be implemented with extreme caution.” Yet, AFD funds several highly politicized and problematic Palestinian NGOS.
Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC)
- In February 2019, AFD approved a €232,000 (out of a total budget of €650,000) grant to a French organization for an agriculture project in Area C of the West Bank. The French NGO partners with the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), a Palestinian NGO linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist organization, designated as such by the EU, the US, Canada, and Israel.
- UAWC is identified by the Palestinian Fatah organization as a PFLP “affiliate,” and by a USAID-engaged audit as the “agricultural arm” of the PFLP.
- On October 22, 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Defense declared UAWC a “terror organization” because it is part of “a network of organizations” that operates “on behalf of the ‘Popular Front’.”
- Several UAWC board and staff members have reported ties to the terrorist group. For more information, read NGO Monitor’s report “Union of Agricultural Work Committees’ Ties to the PFLP Terror Group.”
- Samer Arbid, UAWC’s accountant from 2016 until his arrest in 2019, was indicted on 21 counts in Israeli military court. Arbid is currently on trial for commanding a PFLP terror cell that carried out the August 2019 bombing attack, murdering 17-year old Rina Shnerb, and injuring her father and brother. According to the indictment against him (on file), Arbid prepared and detonated the explosive device.
- In 2020, Al-Haq was a partner on an €900,000 project with the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) entitled “Human rights and Globalization.”
- On October 22, 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Defense declared Al-Haq a “terror organization” because it is part of “a network of organizations” that operates “on behalf of the ‘Popular Front’.”
- Al-Haq’s General Director Shawan Jabarin is linked to the PFLP. According to the Israeli Supreme court, Jabarin “is apparently acting as a manner of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde, acting some of the time as the CEO of a human rights organization, and at other times as an activist in a terror organization.”
- In 2011, Al-Haq proposed sabotaging the Israeli court system by “flooding the [Israeli Supreme] Court with petitions in the hope of obstructing its functioning and resources.”=
- In 2021, AFD granted €5,000 to Ma’an Development Center for “Integrated WASH assistance to water service providers for enhanced sustainable and safely managed access to services for the most vulnerable population in the governorates of Bethlehem and Hebron.”
- In 2016-2020, AFD provided Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS, see below for further information), a French BDS leader organization, with €320,000 for agricultural projects with Ma’an Development Center.
- On May 15, 2018, Ahmad Abdallah Aladini, a Ma’an Development Center employee was killed in the violence on the Gaza border. Aladini was a “member of the leadership of the PFLP in Deir al-Balah” (Gaza). Following a journalistic exposé of Aladini’s PFLP affiliation and the revelation of a second Ma’an Development Center employee, the Australian government, an indirect funder of Ma’an Development Center, announced it would conduct its own investigation.
Culture and Free Thought Association
- In 2021, AFD provided CCFD- Terre Solidaire (see below for further information on CCFD), a French organization that promotes a one-sided Palestinian narrative of the Arab-Israeli conflict, with €850,000 for educative and civil involvement projects for young people in Gaza with the Culture and Free Thought Association (CFTA). This follows a second phase funding of €800,000 in 2018.
- CFTA’s Director Mariam Zakoot signed a 2016 statement from Palestinian feminists supporting BDS and “deplor(ing) the colonial attitude inherent in some Israeli feminists’ request of us to sign a statement in favor of liberal ideals, ‘dialogue’ and ‘co-existence,’ and against the effective solidarity with the struggle for rights.”
- On June 19, 2019, CFTA announced it “officially launches its fourth educational and sixth community center,” which was apparently funded by AFD with CCFD-Terre Solidaire and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Mariam Abu Dakka, a “senior PFLP official,” also described as “one of the first female military leaders” and a “Palestinian female figure in armed resistance.”
- In May 2020, AFD authorized an €8 million grant to the NGO Development Center(NDC) to manage a project titled “Action for East Jerusalem’s Identity and Resilience (AJIR).” Implementing partners include PalVision, Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Palestine, and Al-Quds University.
- NDC is highly politicized, promoting discriminatory BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns and rejecting normalization with Israel.
- NDC “facilitated” and funded the 2008 “Palestinian NGO Code of Conduct,” which demands that Palestinian groups reject “any normalization activities with the occupier, neither at the political-security nor the cultural or developmental levels.”
- In 2013, NDC published “A Strategic Framework to Strengthen the Palestinian NGO Sector” (2013-2017) document funded by AFD that outlines “strategic objectives” of Palestinian NGOs and includes as “Programs/Projects/Activities”: “BDS Campaign[s]”; “Campaign[s] for Academic and Cultural Boycott”; “Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign[s]”; “Anti-normalization Campaign[s].”
AFD Funding to French NGOs
In addition to funding Palestinian NGOs, AFD provides funding to politicized anti-Israel French NGOs for projects in France within the frameworks of “development and international solidarity education initiatives” and “structuring French civil society.”
- Since 2009, AFD has provided approximately €740,000 to various Plateforme des ONG françaises pour la Palestine (PFP) programs that aim to influence media and decision makers’ opinions of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
- PFP is a politicized French NGO comprised of 40 French NGOs active in the Arab-Israeli conflict. PFP is active in BDS campaigns. François Leroux, PFP President, was “AFPS national leader for the BDS campaign.”
- In July 2018, AFD granted €1.15 million to the NGOs collective Centre de Recherche et d’Information pour le Développement (CRID) for a project to support “the organization of various events promoting the democratic and citizen debate.” With the grant, CRID organized and coordinated in August 2018 “the solidary and rebellious summer university of citizens and social movements,” a five day event that featured several anti-Israel workshops promoting BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns against Israel, despite the fact boycotts are illegal in France.
- Following a journalistic exposé, “These Israel boycott movements funded by the French Agency for Developpment” (L’Opinion, March 29, 2019), AFD director affirmed that “when this point was brought to our attention and given the position of France on the boycott, we immediately wrote to the CRID and we now make this reminder before the granting of our funding” (emphasis added). Yet, the nature of this “reminder is unknown.” On February 5, 2020, during a hearing in the Senate, AFD director confirmed the introduction of an anti-BDS “reminder” in its contracts with French NGOs.
Consulate General of France in Jerusalem
- The Consulate General of France in Jerusalem (CGF) has not published details about its funding to NGOs since 2016, reflecting a lack of transparency and accountability.
- CGF reports that it supports local NGOs via “the Innovative Projects of Civil Societies and Coalitions of Actors program (PISCCA)” and the funding of “micro-projects that contribute to the sustainable socio-economic development of Palestinian civil society.”
- In 2021, Hamoked received NIS 164,840 from the Consulate in Jerusalem for the “Protection of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem.”
- Hamoked is an Israeli NGO that regularly petitions the High Court of Justice and makes inaccurate and inflammatory allegations of Israeli “apartheid,” “deportations,” “torture,” and “forcible transfers.”
- In 2020, Yesh Din received NIS 193,050 from the Consulate in Jerusalem.
- Yesh Din is central to the allegations that Israeli investigative and court systems are unable or unwilling to investigate allegations of wrongdoing and is part of a wider “lawfare” strategy of pressing “war crimes” cases against Israeli officials in foreign courts and in the International Criminal Court (ICC). These campaigns use faulty information and skewed statistics to promote their political claims.
- In 2017, B’Tselem reported receiving NIS 124,008 from the Consulate in Jerusalem. B’Tselem actively pursues its political agenda in the Israeli courts and the Knesset.
- In 2018, B’Tselem also received NIS 30,132 from the Human Rights Award of the French Republic from National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH), a “French National Institution for Human Rights.” For more information about the Human Rights Award of the French Republic, see NGO Monitor blog post in French.
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- B’Tselem shared the 2018 Human Rights Award with Al-Haq. Al Haq is a leader in anti-Israel “lawfare” campaigns and BDS activities. General Director Shawan Jabarin is allegedly linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a designated terrorist organization by the U.S., EU, and Canada. Click here to read NGO Monitor’s unofficial translation of the decision by the Israeli High Court of Justice.
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- In 2018, B’Tselem also received NIS 30,132 from the Human Rights Award of the French Republic from National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH), a “French National Institution for Human Rights.” For more information about the Human Rights Award of the French Republic, see NGO Monitor blog post in French.
- In 2018, Ir Amim received NIS 100,740 from the Consulate in Jerusalem.
- Ir Amim’s activities consistently promote a one-sided Palestinian narrative, accusing Israel of the “Judaization” of Jerusalem, and alleging without evidence that the security barrier’s supposedly “demographic rationale therefore outweighs its security rationale.”
Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE)
- The Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) has not published details about its funding since 2016, displaying a lack of transparency and accountability.
- In 2020, France granted €1.2 million to Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) for its flagship program, “Information, Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA).”
- NRC supports politicized “Litigation of public interest cases …through Israeli courts and international mechanisms.” Previously, NRC funded over 4,000 cases and legal interventions in Israeli forums.
- A lawyer affiliated with the NRC program stated that the objective of these cases are an attempt to “try every possible legal measure to disrupt the Israeli judicial system… as many cases as possible are registered and that as many cases as possible are appealed to increase the workload of the courts and the Supreme Court to such an extent that there will be a blockage” (emphasis added).
National Commission for Decentralized Cooperation
- Under the framework of the “National Commission for Decentralized Cooperation,” MEAE co-funds several projects with French local authorities.
- In 2019-2022, MEAE and French local authorities are granting €394,928 (€204,000 by MEAE; the rest by French municipalities and departmental councils) for a youth program in East Jerusalem that involved a convicted PFLP member. The program partners with the Palestinian NGO Al Bustan, which publishes imagery showing children engaging in mock executions, videos glorifying violence, supporting members of terrorist groups, and taking children to visit families of Palestinian prisoners. For more information, see NGO Monitor’s report: “French Government Supports Youth Project Involving Convicted PFLP member – Update.”
Humanitarian Consortium
- In 2018, France granted $936,920 to a humanitarian consortium led by Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), along with four other international NGOs: Action contre la Faim, ACTED, Première Urgence Internationale’s Spanish branch, and Gruppo di Volontariato Civile. This consortium was established in 2015 “at the initiative of DG-ECHO and five EU Member States (Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, and Sweden)” and claims to “protect Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, from individual and mass forcible transfer.” Following France joining to the consortium in June 2017, France provided NRC with €350,000.
Commissioner General for Territorial Equality
- In 2016, the office of the Commissioner General for Territorial Equality (CGET), a branch of the French government, granted €18,000 to the pro-BDS and anti-Zionist Union Juive Française pour la Paix (UJFP) for the project “a Jewish word against racism: production of tools-public meetings.” Part of the project was producing video clips that compare Zionism to Nazism and alleged that Zionism is antisemitic.
- Following a journalistic investigation exposing this troubling misuse of taxpayer funds, in 2018 the French government asked that its logo be removed from the UJFP website and demanded the return of already disbursed funding.
French Local Governments
- In 2013-2017, the Council of Île de France Region granted €146,000 to the Plateforme des ONG françaises pour la Palestine (PFP).
- In a 2019 correspondence between the Council of Île de France Region and NGO Monitor, the French local authority claimed it has not provided funding to PFP since 2015. In its response, the Council of Île de France Region referred to a 2016 voted decision that stipulates that are “excluded from funding organizations calling for a boycott of the State of Israel, especially those involved in the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, as these appeals constitute a criminal offense (Court of Cassation, October 20, 2015)” (emphasis added). The local authority further claimed that the PFP funding in 2016 and 2017 was most likely from previous commitments.
Direct French Funding to Israeli NGOs Based on Information Submitted to the Israeli Registrar of Non-Profits (Amounts in NIS)
NGO Donor 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
Breaking the Silence Consulate General of France in Jerusalem 63,559
B’Tselem Consulate General of France in Jerusalem 124,008 130,219
Ir Amim Consulate General of France in Jerusalem 100,740
Terrestrial Jerusalem MFA- France 167,364
Yesh Din Consulate General of France in Jerusalem 193,050 114,557
Indirect Funding
Funding via UN Frameworks
Funding to UN-OCHA
- In 2021, France provided the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs €750,000 for “Strengthening Humanitarian Coordination and Advocacy in the occupied Palestinian territory.” Additionally, France provided the oPt Humanitarian Fund with €250,000.
- Several PFLP-linked NGOs, including UAWC, UHWC, and PCHR are regular recipients of disbursements from the “occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund.”
Funding to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
- In February 2020, AFD and UNICEF signed a €10.9 million partnership to “to strengthen maternal and neonatal healthcare for vulnerable women, newborn babies and young children in the Gaza Strip, State of Palestine.”
- According to the project press release, “this new funding will build upon a previous joint project, signed in 2018, between the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, AFD, and UNICEF, which aimed to improve the access of lactating women and children to essential and lifesaving maternal and child health care, nutrition, and developmental services delivered at maternal facilities, neonatal hospitals, and primary healthcare clinics in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.”
- In 2019, France provided UNICEF with $280,584 for “Strengthen[ing] maternal and neonatal care provision in Khan Younis, Gaza.” The project lists “members of the Health and Nutrition cluster – NGOs and UN” as implementing partners of the project.
- According to documents published by the Gaza Health Cluster, the cluster distributes funds and partners with NGOs, including the Union of Health Worker Committees (UHWC) and PMRS.
- UHWC is identified by Fatah as an official PFLP “affiliate” and by a 1993 USAID-engaged audit as the “the PFLP’s health organization.” For more information on UHWC’s PFLP ties, read NGO Monitor’s report “Union of Health Work Committees’ Ties to the PFLP Terror Group.”
- PMRS is a signatory to a multiple BDS initiatives and has organized BDS conferences.
- In January 2019, Mustafa Barghouti, president of PMRS, participated in a conference organized by the PFLP titled “The crime of normalization and ways of confrontation,” which was held “in honor of the 11th anniversary of the departure of its founder, Dr. George Habash.” During the conference, Barghouti presented a paper on “The role of parties and factions in promoting the boycott concept.”
- According to documents published by the Gaza Health Cluster, the cluster distributes funds and partners with NGOs, including the Union of Health Worker Committees (UHWC) and PMRS.
Funding to United Nations Mine Action Service
- In 2019 and 2018, France provided the United Nations Mine Action Service with $233,100 and $218,579, for the “mitigation of threat posed by the presence of explosive hazards in Gaza” and for the “mitigation of threat posed by the Presence of ERWs in Gaza,” respectively.
- Ma’an Development Center is listed as an implementing partner of the projects. (See above for more information on Ma’an Development Center.)
Funding to the Food & Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme
- According to the UN-OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service (FTS), in 2021 France provided $908,442 to the World Food Programme. According to UN-OCHA’s FTS, these projects appear to be part of the WFP’s Food Security Sector programs in the West Bank and Gaza.
- According to documents published by the Food Security Sector, the Sectordistributes funds and partners with UAWC, Ma’an Development Center, and Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC).
Funding to World Health Organization (WHO)
- In 2020, France pledged $1.1 million to WHO for its “COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan,” which targets several regions, including Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
- As part of their response to COVID-19, WHO and UN-OCHA are partnering and channeling funds to numerous organizations that have ties to terror groups and are active in delegitimization campaigns against Israel. Many projects funded as part of the COVID-19 plan are not related to emergency life-saving measures needed to combat the spread of COVID-19, but instead are part of regular NGO fundraising activity.
CCFD-Terre Solidaire
- In 2020, total income was €39.6 million, of which €5.07 million (13%) was provided by the French government (AFD) and the European Union.
- In 2018, AFD granted CCFD- Terre Solidaire €800,000 for educative and civil involvement projects for young people in Gaza with the Culture and Free Thought Association (CFTA). (See more on CFTA above.)
- CCFD calls for “defending the right to boycott the products from Israeli settlements, and for stopping the criminalization of the BDS movement.”
- CCFD has provided funding to a number of highly biased and politicized NGOs active in the Arab-Israeli conflict including Breaking the Silence, Who Profits, Zochrot, Social TV, Emek Shaveh, and Sadaka Reut.
Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS)
- In 2016-2019, AFD provided Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS), a French BDS leader organization, with €320,000 for agricultural projects with Ma’an Development Center. (See more on Ma’an above.)
- Every two years, AFPS raises money under the banner of “SOS Palestine.” The organization claims that “without occupation, there would be no problem of poverty or shortage in Palestine.” Funds are transferred to politicized Palestinian NGOs, some of which have alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist group. As of March 4, 2020, AFPS has not published its 2018 grantees.
- In 2020, AFPS provided grants worth €77,000: Recipients included Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC) (€30,000), Union of Agricultural Works Committee (UAWC) (€10,000), Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) (€30,000), and the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee (PSCC) (€7,000). Both UHWC and UAWC have ties to the PFLP terrorist organization.
- In 2018, AFPS granted €30,000 to UHWC and €15,000 to PMRS.
- In 2016, AFPS transferred €100,000: Recipients included Union of Health Work Committees (HWC) (€15,000), a PFLP terrorist group “affiliate;” and the Culture and Free Thought Association (CFTA) (€15,000) and the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) (€15,000), both of which promote BDS campaigns against Israel.
- In 2014, AFPS transferred €150,000: Recipients included the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) and Health Work Committees, two organizations with ties to the PFLP terrorist group; and PMRS, CFTA, and Ma’an Development Center. Funding amounts are not given.
Indirect Funding to Israeli NGOs (Amounts in NIS)
According to information provided to the Israeli Registrar of Non-Profits.
NGO | Donor | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
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Breaking the Silence | CCFD-Terre Solidaire | 42,771 | 387,359 | 387,122 | |||
Zochrot | CCFD-Terre Solidaire | 163,557 | 149,375 | ||||
PHR-I | Caritas (Secours Catholique) | 212,000 | 229,000 | 133,000 | |||
Public Committee Against Torture in Israel | FIDH | 43,774 | 44,864 | ||||
Social TV | CCFD-Terre Solidaire | 60,060 | 38,469 | 70,886 | |||
Alternative Information Center | CCFD-Terre Solidaire | 56,376 | |||||
Sadaka-Reut | CCFD-Terre Solidaire | 41,502 | 139,670 | 177,190 | |||
Emek Shaveh | CCFD-Terre Solidaire | 58,071 | 68,864 | 338,539 | 64,004 | ||
Who Profits | CCFD-Terre Solidaire | 79,894 | 40,017 | ||||
Gisha | Action Against Hunger | 22,060 | 183,584 | 201,063 | |||
Baladna | CCFD- Terre Solidaire | 1033,890 |
Further Reading
- Saying One thing and Doing Another Ben Dror Yemini, Ynet news, July 4, 2015