• The Netherlands provides more than €10 million annually to NGOs in Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
• The funds are transferred directly through government entities (MFA, Embassy in Tel Aviv, Representative Office in Ramallah), and indirectly via Dutch NGOs and via the NGO Development Center (NDC) in Ramallah.
• Some of the local NGOs receive grants from multiple sources, indicating a lack of coordination and supervision by the Dutch Foreign Ministry.
• The funding details below were presented to NGO Monitor in correspondence with the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Netherlands Representative Office (NRO) in the Palestinian Territory.

Direct Funding

Funding via Embassy in Tel Aviv

• The Dutch government directly funds a number of Israeli political advocacy NGOs, including: Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), Geneva Initiative (H.L. Education), Gisha, Machsom Watch, Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHR-I), Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), and Yesh Din.
• The allocation to these NGOs in 2010 totaled €226,547 (in 2009, NGOs received €207,430 from the Embassy).
• The Geneva Initiative is a new grantee in 2010. It received €65,851, the largest amount in 2010 to a single project. Gisha also received its first grant, €14,000.
• After not receiving funds in 2009, ACRI was rewarded a €24,000 grant for 2010.
• PCATI’s funding was cut from €19,500 in 2009 to €4,500 in 2010.
• Israeli NGOs previously funded by the Netherlands include: Machsom Watch, Yesh Din, and PHR-I.

Funding via Representative Office in Ramallah

• NGOs funded through the Representative Office in Ramallah in 2009 included Al Haq, Al Mezan, Defence for Children International - Palestine Section (DCI/PS), HaMoked (Israeli), PARC (Agricultural Development Association) The Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA), and Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling (WCLAC).  Al Haq and Al Mezan are active in filing lawsuits against Israeli officials and companies that do business with Israel (lawfare). Al-Mezan, DCI-PS, PARC, PASSIA and WCLAC promote BDS (boycotts, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns and “resistance” rhetoric.
• In 2010 Al Haq, Al Mezan, and WCLAC did not receive grants from the Netherlands. DCI/PS funding in 2010 was cut from €124,100, to €21,140.
• Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC) received almost €8 million. PARC publicly supports BDS, utilizes demonizing rhetoric as “apartheid” and other racially charged language and falsely accuses Israel of “war crime[s].”
• PASSIA received its first grant from the Netherlands in 2010, totaling €28,306.
• After not receiving funds in 2009, HaMoked received €21,450 in 2010.

Indirect Funding

• Indirect funding is channeled through Dutch aid-organizations: ICCO, Oxfam NOVIB, Kerk in Actie (KIA), Cordaid, and others.
• ICCO received €124 million in Dutch government funds in 2008, representing 90% of its budget. ICCO partners with NGOs promoting BDS and antisemitic rhetoric and imagery, including BADIL (amount not disclosed on ICCO’s website) and Electronic Intifada (€200,000 between 2006-10).  These organizations also promote a “one-state” solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict – in other words, the elimination of Jewish self-determination rights.
• In November 2010, NGO Monitor revealed that ICCO had transferred Dutch government funds to Electronic Intifada (EI).  Dutch FM Uri Rosenthal told the Jerusalem Post, “I will look into the matter personally.”
• In January 2011, Minister Rosenthal had a “frank and open discussion” with ICCO, noting that EI’s activities are “directly contrary to Dutch government policy.”  The Minister dismissed ICCO claims that its funding of EI comes from private donations as “disingenuous.”
• ICCO refused to change its policy and defended support for BDS and EI as “a peaceful and legal way to push for an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.”
• Oxfam NOVIB received more than €129 million (approximately 70% of its budget) from the Dutch government in 2009. One of Oxfam NOVIB’s partners is The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), which leads attempts to have Israeli officials arrested abroad.  PCHR also promotes “resistance” rhetoric.
• KIA runs projects co-financed with the government, but does not detail which ones. KIA partners include Sabeel and Al-Mezan, NGOs active in the BDS-campaign. Sabeel utilizes antisemitic themes and antagonism of Jews in its campaigning.
• Cordaid received more than €4 million from the Dutch government in 2009. €1.7 million was spent in Israel and the PA.
  • Despite a lack of transparency, NGO Monitor’s research shows that Holy Land Trust, COHRE, and Ma’an Development Center receive Cordaid funding.

NGO Development Center (NDC)

• The Human Rights and Good Governance Secretariat (HR/GG), operated by the NGO Development Center (NDC) in Ramallah, distributes joint funds to Palestinian and Israeli NGOs on behalf of the governments of the Netherlands, together with Switzerland, Sweden, and Denmark.
• The 2010-2013 Dutch contribution is to the HR/GG is $4.5 million.
• The work of the HR/GG is overseen by a steering committee of representatives from the four countries.
• NDC “facilitated” and funded the “Palestinian NGO Code of Conduct,” which demands that Palestinian groups reject “any normalization activities with the occupier, either at the political-security or the cultural or developmental levels.”
• NGOs that received Dutch funding via NDC in 2009 include:
  • PCHR, Al Haq, and Al Mezan, which advance “war crime” cases and lawfare against Israeli officials.
  • Addameer, Al Dameer, Arab Thought Forum, Al Mezan, DCI-PS, JCW, Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center, PWWSD, Ramallah Center for Human Rights Studies, WCLAC, WATC, all involved in BDS (boycotts, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns.
  • PHR-I, PCATI, HaMoked, Bimkom, B’Tselem, ICAHD

Ductch Funding for NGOs (in euros)

Bimkom and Breaking the Silence also received direct funding via the Embassy in Tel Aviv before 2009.