[Opinion] Human Rights as Theater: The Strange Saga of Omar Shakir’s Visa
Professor Gerald Steinberg discusses the revoking of BDS activist and HRW employee Omar Shakir's work visa.
Publications: | Reports, Books, Academic Publications, Submissions, Resource Pages |
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Other Content Types: | Press Releases, In The Media, Presentations, Posts, , Key Issues |
NGOs: | Human Rights Watch (HRW) |
Start date: | 1 Jan 1988 |
End date: | 24 Apr 2019 |
Professor Gerald Steinberg discusses the revoking of BDS activist and HRW employee Omar Shakir's work visa.
HRW appeals the revoking of BDS activist and HRW employee Omar Shakir's work visa.
Influential non-governmental organizations (NGOs) claiming to promote universal human rights and humanitarian aid are among the main legitimizers of Palestinian violence.
The Israeli Ministry of Interior has revoked the work visa granted in April 2017 to Human Rights Watch (HRW) employee Omar Shakir, a long-time anti-Israel, pro-BDS activist. In its response, HRW (and its local lawyer, Michael Sfard) makes the false claim that “neither HRW – nor Shakir as its representative – advocate for boycott, divestment or sanctions against companies that operate in the settlements, Israel or Israelis (sic).”
On April 3, 2018, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued an “analysis” of the March 30, 2018 events along the Israel-Gaza border. Like other HRW responses, this latest publication lacks credible methodology and manipulates the presentation of facts and law to advance a political narrative rather than engage in professional human rights research.
Professor Gerald Steinberg argues that more non-governmental organizations (NGOs) need to adopt and abide by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism.
In March 2018, the NGO umbrella group known as Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict (Watchlist) published a Policy Note urging the UN Secretary General to add Israel, Myanmar, and others to a list of “grave violators” of children’s rights. Terror groups, including Hamas and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), are not mentioned in Watchlist’s publication.
On February 13, 2018, Human Rights Watch (HRW), along with Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-I), issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s procedures for granting access for Gaza residents to Israel for medical treatment. The groups cite a December 2017 World Health Organization (WHO) document that claims that 54 Gazans died while awaiting approval to travel to seek medical attention in Israel or in the West Bank. The WHO paper does not provide a source for this figure.
Human Rights Watch is a powerful NGO, with a massive budget, close links to Western governments, and significant influence in international institutions. Its publications reflect the absence of professional standards, research methodologies, and military and legal expertise, as well as a deep-seated ideological bias against Israel. HRW’s review of “Israel and Palestine: Events of 2017,” reflects these same methodological flaws, resulting in a highly skewed representation of Israeli domestic and international law.
A number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been participating in a campaign celebrating and defending Tamimi. Despite the video evidence, they insist that Israel has no grounds for trying and imprisoning her. Although these NGOs claim to promote human rights and the rule of law generally, and protect the rights of children specifically, in Ahed Tamimi’s case they ignore the exploitation and recruitment of children as “soldiers” in a propaganda war against Israel.