[Opinion] Europe’s NGO cold war to ‘mitigate pro-Israel voices’
Professor Gerald M Steinberg discusses European funding that is politically motivated or specifically targeted at Israel.
Publications: | Reports, Books, Academic Publications, Submissions, Resource Pages |
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Other Content Types: | Press Releases, In The Media, Presentations, Posts, , Key Issues |
Funders: | Belgium |
Start date: | 1 Jan 1988 |
End date: | 22 Sep 2020 |
Professor Gerald M Steinberg discusses European funding that is politically motivated or specifically targeted at Israel.
The 2017-2021 Joint Strategic Framework for Belgian aid to Palestinians, coordinated by Oxfam Solidarity, M3M, SolSoc and APEFE, commits its signatories to promoting a variety of anti-Israel campaigns, through advocacy and lobbying in Belgium and the EU.
On December 19, 2019, the Israel Security Agency (Shabak) announced it had uncovered a 50-person terror network, operated in the West Bank by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) – a designated terrorist organization in the EU, the US, Canada, and Israel. The statement named several leading PFLP figures, several of whom currently or previously worked for European funded, PFLP-linked non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The EU and many European countries fund a network of organizations, some of which are directly affiliated with the PFLP, and others with a substantial presence of employees and officials linked to the PFLP.
On November 19, 2018, Airbnb issued a press release announcing it was “removing listings” in “Israeli settlements in the Occupied West Bank.” This change in policy was a clear result of a coordinated and well-financed campaign targeting the company by NGOs involved in BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns against Israel.
The European Union (EU) and European governments provide funding to a number of Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for culture, art, and related activities. Detailed research and analysis of this funding reveal that many of the supported organizations utilize cultural activities to indoctrinate children and youth, promoting rejectionist and violent agendas.
The well-being of children is a cornerstone of international human rights as noted in the Vienna Declaration. Unfortunately, the UN agency charged with protecting children is failing to carry out its mandate. The Palestinian branch of UNICEF funds and partners with several NGOs that are closely linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist organization.
UNICEF spearheads a campaign to have Israel included on a UN blacklist of “grave” vio-lators of children’s rights. This political agenda is a primary facet of UNICEF’s activities relating to Israel, completely inconsistent with its mandate of “child protection” and from its guidelines for neutrality and impartiality.
In April 2016, the Palestinian non-governmental organization (NGO) Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCI-P) launched its No Way to Treat a Child campaign, which aims to lobby governments to “use all available means to pressure the Israeli government to end the detention and abuse of Palestinian children.” In this campaign, DCI-P makes numerous false and misleading claims about the IDF and Israeli Military Courts.
NGO Monitor estimates that European governments – directly through governmental mechanisms, and indirectly via church and other humanitarian groups – and UN agencies contribute over €100 million to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) active in the Arab-Israeli conflict.