NGO Monitor Digest (Vol. 4 No.2) 16 October 2005
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CONTENTS: |
- NGOS AND DIVESTMENT: UPDATE
- SABEEL CONFERENCE (CHICAGO)
- INTERFAITH GROUP CONFRONTS SABEEL'S NAIM ATEEK
- CHURCH COMMITTEES RECOMMEND AGAINST DIVESTMENT
- PM BLAIR FOCUSES UN SPEECH ON INCITEMENT
- FUNDING FOR PEACE COALITION (FPC) ON EU CODE OF CONDUCT
- DERSHOWITZ ON AMNESTY'S FAILINGS; AMNESTY ISSUES ANOTHER
CONDEMNATION
- EUROPEAN COORDINATING COMMITTEE OF NGOS (ECCP) MEETING
TO PROMOTE BOYCOTTS AND DIVESTMENT
- CHRISTIAN AID: ANTI-ISRAEL MESSAGE CONTINUES WITH LESS
INTENSITY
- ASSESSING CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (CIDA)
FUNDING FOR POLITICAL NGOS
- NEWS UPDATES
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NGOs AND DIVESTMENT: UPDATE
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SABEEL
CONFERENCE (CHICAGO)
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The Sabeel
Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, through its "Friends
of Sabeel" support network, held a conference in Chicago.
Speakers made allegations of ethnic cleansing against Israel
and of employing chemical weapons against Palestinian civilians.
The conference served as a platform to promote divestment
from Israel, and Mayor Richard Daley sent a widely-criticized
welcome letter. The Chicago conference is set to be the first
of four to be held in October, with three more to follow in
Toronto, Denver and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
For additional information, see:
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CHURCH
COMMITTEES RECOMMEND AGAINST DIVESTMENT |
The UK-based
"charity" War on Want, which has been central in the boycott
campaign, has failed to convince the Church of England to divest
from the Caterpillar, whose construction equipment is used by
the Israel Defense Forces. According to War on Want, "The Church’s
Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) has been examining
whether its investments in Caterpillar are consistent with the
Church’s ethical investment policy, which prohibits investment
in arms companies. The EIAG has now rejected calls for divestment…."
To read the War on Want press release, click
here.
Similarly, the Social Responsibility in Investments Committee
of the Episcopal Church has submitted its recommendations
that the church not divest from companies doing business with
Israel, but instead pursue a policy of "corporate engagement"
in order to influence "positive changes in Israeli government
policy… as well as urging the Palestinian Authority to oppose
violence as a means of resistance." In its deliberations, the
committee consulted with several pro-Palestinian NGOs, including
Sabeel, ICAHD, B’Tselem, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights
and the Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron, as well as representatives
of the Palestinian Authority, and of several pro-Israel organizations.
The church's Executive Council is considering the recommendations
at its meeting being held October 7-10 in Las Vegas.
For more information, see Matthew Davies, "Israel/Palestine:
Report recommends corporate engagement, positive investment",
Episcopal News Service, October 3, 2005. |
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PM BLAIR
FOCUSES UN SPEECH ON INCITEMENT |
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At the United Nations 2005 World Summit on September 14, British Prime Minister Tony Blair addressed the Security Council on the issue of terrorism, focussing specifically on the role of propaganda and incitement. As noted in numerous NGO Monitor analyses, the activities of politicized NGOs contribute significantly to this incitement and the justification of terrorism.
Terrorism "won't be defeated until we unite ... in fighting
the poisonous propaganda that the root cause of this terrorism
somehow lies with us around this table, and not with them.
They want us to believe that somehow it is our fault, that
their extremism is somehow our responsibility. .... We must
unite ... against those who incite, preach or teach this extremism,
...and also by eliminating our own ambivalence.... "
Click
here to read Prime Minister Blair's Statement
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DERSHOWITZ
ON AMNESTY'S FAILINGS; AMNESTY ISSUES ANOTHER CONDEMNATION |
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In an op-ed appearing in Canada's
National Post, Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz
called attention to Amnesty International's debilitating anti-Israel
bias, which prevents them from effectively addressing human
rights issues. "By heaping disproportionate blame for the
evils of the world on the Jewish state, these anti-Israel
zealots are not only ignoring the real problems faced by many,
they are also providing excuses to the perpetrators of real
evils."
Alan M. Dershowitz, "Scapegoat
to the World", National Post, September 17, 2005
(See also Alan M. Dershowitz,
"Ugly
iceberg of bigotry", Jerusalem Post, October
12, 2005)
After referring to NGO Monitor
analyses, Dershowitz concludes: "There is no indication that,
even as the Jewish state takes painful steps toward peace,
these unjustified attacks are diminishing." The following
Amnesty press release illustrates the point by focusing solely
on the effects on Palestinians of security measures, while
ignoring the terrorism which continues to necessitate their
implementation.
"Israel/Occupied
Territories: Prolonged Closure of the Gaza-Egypt Border and
Arbitrary Restrictions to Freedom of Movement should be Lifted",
Amnesty International, October 7, 2005 |
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EUROPEAN
COORDINATING COMMITTEE OF NGOs (ECCP) MEETING TO PROMOTE BOYCOTTS
AND DIVESTMENT |
The European
Coordinating Committee of NGOs on the Question of Palestine
(ECCP), headed by Belgian Senator Pierre Galand, is holding
a meeting on October 8 to promote their radical anti-Israel
agenda. The stated objective is to coordinate between NGOs,
trade unions, academics, and churches in promoting sanctions
and isolation of Israel. The participants include other politicized
NGOs, including PNGO and PCHR.
Read
Article >>>> |
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CHRISTIAN
AID: ANTI-ISRAEL MESSAGE CONTINUES WITH LESS INTENSITY |
NGO Monitor has
documented Christian Aid’s disproportionate focus and
biased approach to Israel and its pattern of erasing the context
of terrorism. The organization, that claims to "further
charitable purposes, which relieve or combat malnutrition, hunger,
disease, sickness or distress throughout the world", promotes
its political agenda under the guise of humanitarian aims. These
activities provide support and legitimacy to political campaigns
such as the divestment effort.
Read
Article >>>> |
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ASSESSING
CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (CIDA) FUNDING FOR
POLITICAL NGOs |
As the foreign
aid arm of the federal government of Canada, the Canadian International
Development Agency distributes over C$2 billion annually around
the world in line with government priorities for international
development. The largest portion goes towards the division covering
the Middle East, where CIDA funds numerous highly politicized
organizations with documented anti-Israel agendas. The materials
and activities of several of these NGOs call into question the
degree of oversight accompanying Canadian funding for international
projects.
Read
Article >>>> |
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NGO MONITOR
NEWS UPDATES |
- Dan Izenberg, "Group
to renew petition to High Court against policy of targeted
killings", Jerusalem Post, September 26, 2005.
- Dan Izenberg, "Physicians
protest Gaza Strip closure", Jerusalem Post,
September 26, 2005. and NGO
Monitor response. (PHR-I)
- The
Judgment on the Fence Surrounding Alfei Menashe - HCJ 7957/04,
Supreme Court of Israel, September 15, 2005.
- Gerald Steinberg, "EU-funded
NGOs behind Almog lawsuit", Jerusalem Post,
September 13, 2005. (PCHR)
- "Regional
Civil Society Forum on the Information Society for the Middle
East and West Asia unexpectedly banned by government authorities",
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information,
August 25, 2005.
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