Becca Wertman
About
Born in Vancouver, Canada, Becca earned her BA in International Relations graduating summa cum laude from the University of Southern California. She also has an MA in Political Science from Columbia University. Her articles have appeared in The Hill Times, The Province, The Georgia Straight, Jerusalem Post, Canadian Jewish News, YNet News, Algemeiner, Times of Israel, and The Tower. She is co-author, with Prof. Gerald Steinberg, of “Value Clash: Civil Society, Foreign Funding, and National Sovereignty,” published in the January-March 2018 issue of Global Governance.
Expertise
BDS on campus
All Articles
The UN and WHO are in desperate need of fiscal transparency
Becca Wertman discusses how the UN, WHO, and its various arms should not be immune from scrutiny when they call on governments to donate vital resources.
[Opinon] Anti-Israel NGOs exploit COVID-19 to spread hatred
Becca Wertman analyzes how a number of advocacy NGOs have made statements linking their agendas to the coronavirus.
[Opinion] Shakir is no human rights defender
Becca Wertman analyzes how Omar Shakir, HRW's Israel/Palestine Director, has abused his platform to promote discriminatory BDS campaigns aimed at delegitimizing the Jewish State.
[Opinion] Canada’s UN Security Council seat is not worth the cost
Becca Wertman analyzes Canada's abandonment a a longstanding, bi-partisan tradition of voting against UN resolutions that single out Israel.
[Opinion] Non-state actors’ exploitation of children must end
Becca Wertman analyzes how Civil society actors and the U.N. should help to enforce the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, but regularly fail when it comes to non-state actors like the terrorist groups in Gaza.
[Opinion] BDS Does Have Sting
Becca Wertman discusses BDS discriminatory campaigns on college campuses.
[Opinion] Feds fund group promoting campaign they condemn
Canada has consistently denounced boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaigns against Israel, making funding for the Palestinian group Wi’am completely incompatible with Canadian policy.
[Opinion] There are serious flaws in foreign aid
Given the presence of self-interested actors, such as terror groups posing as human rights NGOs or groups promoting particularistic and not universal values, it is crucial that governments remain vigilant and ensure that aid is used to improve the lives of those for whom it’s intended, writes Becca Wertman.
[Opinion] Guiding International Aid to Those in Need
Becca Wertman discusses the importance of oversight over international aid, and recent developments in Canadian, European, Swiss, and Danish giving.
[Opinion] Airbnb Falls for BDS's Antisemitic Trap
Becca Wertman discuses Airbnb announcing it was “removing listings” in “Israeli settlements in the Occupied West Bank.”
[Opinion] NGO Indifference to Child Exploitation
Becca Wertman spoke at the 38th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.
[Opinion] Human Rights Watch Ignores Critical Aspects of Gaza Riots
Becca Wertman discusses how Human Rights Watch (HRW) releases a report ignoring criticial aspects of the Gaza riots, including the threat that Hamas and other terrorist factions pose to both Palestinian and Israeli civilians and does not mention the recruitment and use of children as soldiers.
Letter to the Editor: UNICEF fails Gaza Children
Becca Wertman responds to the immoral bis in UNICEF's work on the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Value Clash: Civil Society, Foreign Funding, and National Sovereignty
For centuries, the principles of national sovereignty and noninterference in internal affairs that arose in Western Europe were central to international relations. Reently, however, this framework has been weaked considerably through a number of mechanisms and practices, including international institutions and allied nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
[Opinion] The Members of Israel’s BDS Blacklist
The Israeli government has prepared a list of 20 organizations that lead BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns, such that officials of these groups will not be allowed to enter Israel. Reasonable people can disagree on whether or not banning activists who seek to harm the country they desire to enter is the best policy approach or not.
[Opinion] Human rights defenders, or offenders
December 10 marks International Human Rights Day—a date that honors the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948—and as such, recognizes the universal value of human rights. Unfortunately, those prestigiously honored as human rights defenders by the international community have made a mockery of these universal values of human rights.
[Opinion] Lack of Foreign Aid Oversight Imperils Policy Objectives
Becca argues that Canada’s continued emphasis on women and girls should be commended, but the country's past experience shows that international aid organizations and mechanisms require far greater scrutiny than the new international aid policy admits.
[Opinion] A Bitter Pill: the Humanitarian Trap of Gaza
Becca Wertman explains that NGOs that claim human rights agendas must face the facts, that Hamas steals aid.
[Opinion] Once Again, NGOs Are at the Center of a UN Blunder
Becca Wertman outlines how the authors of a UN report that accuses Israel of apartheid have long histories of anti-Israel activity, and rely heavily on sources that cite highly politicized NGOs.
[Opinion] Human rights for all!...Or just some?
Becca Wertman questions why some NGOs that claim to promote the values of human rights seem to value some lives more than others.
[Opinion] Anti-Israel Activists Take the Stage at Columbia University Law School
Becca Wertman how a recent event at Columbia University Law School featured speakers who share a common support for legal warfare against Israel.
