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[Excerpt:]

"As preparations proceed toward another all-out attack against Israel at the Durban Review Conference in April, this is not the time for B’tselem, a powerful Israeli NGO, to expand its controversial activities to Washington. The weapons of choice used in the Durban strategy to demonize Israel are fashioned from the language of human rights, and while B’tselem was not active in the original 2001 United Nations World Conference on Racism, its publications and allegations against Israel are very much part of the assault by other NGOs. There may be justification for discussing human rights among Israelis in the context of terrorism, but there is no basis for preaching in America about alleged Israeli abuses (including many false claims). In reality, the objective here has less to do with human rights than with Israeli politics. Like Peace Now, B’tselem was founded ‘to change Israeli policy in the occupied territories,’ and while using the language of human rights, the main objective is to ‘end the occupation.’ Its mission is facilitated by an annual budget of $2 million for advocacy, provided by the Ford Foundation, the New Israel Fund, European governments and radical churches that supported the notorious Durban NGO Forum. B’tselem does not have Israel’s best interests at heart, to understate the case. After failing to gain political power in Israel, B’tselem’s officials have followed Peace Now to Washington. The group’s stated goal is ‘to become the central clearinghouse for information about human rights conditions in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip for members of Congress, the State Department and other policy makers.’ But in the context of the Durban-based campaigns to label Israel a ‘racist and apartheid’ state, including boycotts, divestment and sanctions, these advocacy efforts in Washington will intensify the attacks against Israel’s legitimacy."