On September 8, 2010, director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) Jeff Halper published a letter to musician Pete Seeger, calling on the artist to cancel his November 14 performance in Israel and “not participate in the whitewashing, greenwashing, or any washing of this rogue regime.” Halper’s letter also makes allegations of Israel’s “apartheid system” and policy of “ethnic cleansing.” ICAHD is a recipient of an EIDHR grant (€ 169,661 2010-2012).

Seeger was scheduled to be the featured guest at the “With Earth and Each Other – A Virtual Rally for a Better Middle East” event, which aims to raise awareness and support for the coexistence projects of the Arava Institute for Environment Studies. The Arava Institute, a former Partnership for Peace grantee, works to prepare “future Arab and Jewish leaders to cooperatively solve the region’s environmental challenges.”

NGO Monitor wrote to the European Commission, a major funder of ICAHD, asking if the EC Delegation was aware of Halper’s opposition to Israeli-Arab coexistence programs, and whether this would affect the organization’s future applications for EU funding.

The Commission replied that the funding goes to “specific projects in thematic areas [not organizations],” EU policy does not have “to be systematically reflected in [the NGO] statements, seminars, or publications,” and “the EU fully supports diversity of opinion…as long as this is in line with its fundamental democratic principles.”

1. Letter to European Commission on ICAHD’s boycott call (September 14, 2010)
2. Response from European Commission (October 4, 2010)

1. Letter to European Commission on ICAHD’s boycott call (September 14, 2010)

Eric Galvin
EIDHR Coordinator
Delegation of the European Commission to the State of Israel

Dear Mr. Galvin,

On September 8, 2010, director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) Jeff Halper published a letter to musician Pete Seeger, calling on the artist to cancel his November 14 performance in Israel and “not participate in the whitewashing, greenwashing, or any washing of this rogue regime.” Halper’s letter also makes allegations of Israel’s “apartheid system” and policy of “ethnic cleansing.” ICAHD is a recipient of an EIDHR grant (€ 169,661 2010-2012).

Seeger is scheduled to be the featured guest at the “With Earth and Each Other – A Virtual Rally for a Better Middle East” event, which aims to raise awareness and support for the coexistence projects of the Arava Institute for Environment Studies. The Arava Institute, a former Partnership for Peace grantee, works to prepare “future Arab and Jewish leaders to cooperatively solve the region’s environmental challenges.”

  • Is the EC Delegation aware of ICAHD director Halper’s opposition to Israeli-Arab coexistence programs?
  • Will ICAHD’s continued support for ant-Israeli boycotts affect the organization’s future applications for EU funding?

We look forward to continued dialogue with the EC on these important issues.

Sincerely,

Karoline Henriques
Europe Desk
NGO Monitor

2. Response from European Commission (October 4, 2010)

Subject: Your request for information regarding Israeli Committee against House Demolitions

Dear Ms. Henriques,

Referring to your letter of September 14, 2010 addressed to my colleague Mr. Eric Galvin, I inform you that the European Commission funding supports specific projects in thematic areas (such as support for human rights or civil society support to the peace process). These projects are defined by guidelines which are set in accordance with the Commission’s external aid policy. These projects and actions respond to clear objectives set out in calls for proposals. Organisations as such are not supported by European Commission funding but rather well defined individual projects. The Eu’s calls for proposals are based on established, public criteria and the EU bases its decisions to allocate grants exclusively on those criteria.

NGOs whose projects are supporterd by the European Commission need to be fully compliant with Commission rules and procedures and, in general, operate in a way which is fully consistent with the democratic values of the EU. This does not imply that EU policy has to be systematically reflected in all their statements, seminars or publications. In fact the Commission requires all project publications to carry a disclaimer stating clearly that the contents of a particular document can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union. Moreover, the EU fully supports divesity of opinion and the right of free expression as long as this is in line with its fundamental democratic principles. Information on funding  is readily available on Commission web sites.

Sincerely,
Livia Stella
Head of Operations