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[Excerpt:]

Though Europe remains mired in a massive financial crisis, European capitals continue to fund NGOs that seek to undercut Israel’s democracy.

Prof. Gerald M. Steinberg, the head of NGO Monitor who teaches political science at Bar- Ilan University, wrote the Post, “Europeans also need to practice the values that they preach, particularly with respect to democracy and transparency. The recent confused decision of the European Court of Justice, which allowed the EU to keep all documents and procedures relating to funding of political NGOs as super-sensitive secrets, and the ECJ’s failure to hold a single session to hear oral arguments, highlights the gap between lofty principles and anti-democratic practice. After the Israeli elections in 2013, the conflict over EU secret funding for NGOs promoting political warfare against Israel is likely to intensify.”

Steinberg said, “Europe, taken collectively, has a highly schizophrenic, inconsistent and dysfunctional relationship with Israel, and this needs to change fundamentally in 2013 to avoid major damage on both sides. There are situations, such as during the recent Gaza conflict, in which government officials and other serious players fully understand the Israeli context and responses to deadly attacks. But in other cases, such as on admitting that Hezbollah, like Hamas, is an Iranian-backed terror group, Europe is paralyzed and confused. To be taken seriously, the EU and member states will have to make the difficult decisions that have been awkwardly avoided in the past.”