[Opinion] No peace in hidden agenda of aid agencies
Jason Edelstein explains that the Australian government is funding numerous NGOs in the region that demonize Israel and implement activities that make peace more difficult to achieve.
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: | Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ) |
Start date: | 1 Jan 1988 |
End date: | 27 Feb 2017 |
Jason Edelstein explains that the Australian government is funding numerous NGOs in the region that demonize Israel and implement activities that make peace more difficult to achieve.
In sharp contrast to Dutch government policy, direct and indirect funding supports NGOs that are active in BDS campaigns. In their response to this report, the Dutch Foreign Minister and State-Secretary of Foreign Affairs indicated that failure to end these activities may result in a cessation of funding.
Many of the grantees actively oppose the compromises necessary for a peace agreement, and engage in anti-Israel campaigns such as BDS (boycotts, divestment, and sanctions) and legal cases against Israeli officials and businesses.
UPDATE: As reported by Palestinian Media Watch, the Spanish government was identified as a sponsor of an ad on PA TV, promoting the boycott of Israeli goods.
The Goldstone report is primarily based on statements, publications, and submissions from highly politicized and biased NGOs, many of which are funded by European governments. Beyond adopting the flawed methodologies and false claims, the funding provided for these NGOs links European governments to the Goldstone report, and its contribution to anti-Israel demonization. European-funded groups PCHR, Al Mezan, Al Haq, and Adalah are also at the forefront of the lawfare campaigns that abuse the universal jurisdiction provisions in the legal codes of a number of Western countries using allegations of war crimes.
Powerful political NGOs such as Ir Amim, BTselem, and ARIJ use foreign funding to advance agendas on Jerusalem that are in direct opposition to Israeli policies, thereby circumventing the democratic process on this highly sensitive issue. Two-thirds of Ir Amims annual budget comes from the EU and European governments. An EU position paper relied heavily on NGO reports. ARIJ baselessly accuses Israel of eras[ing] all trace of Palestinian existence in Jerusalem. BTselem asserts that Israel attempts to sustain the myth, that unified Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel.
Many of the "civil society" organizations funded under the European Commissions Partnership for Peace Programme are active participants in the Durban strategy that exacerbates the conflict and promotes campaigns against Israel. Support for the tendentious activities of ARIJ, Ir Amim, Associazione Comunita Papa Giovanni XXIII, and Panorama was renewed. Support for radical ICAHD was not renewed. ARIJ "aims at disseminating information on Israeli colonization." Funding for Ir Amim constitutes an attempt to manipulate Israeli democracy. Participants with Associazione Comunita Papa Giovanni XXIII use the rhetoric of "colonizing," "massacres," and "ghettoizing."