International NGOs should work toward the goal of ensuring human rights for all citizens, everywhere. Instead, many disproportionately focus on allegations of Israeli violations and use their power and funding to promote a distorted narrative of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Amnesty International will conduct a series of intense campaigns targeting Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, and Trip Advisor. Amnesty will also deny Jewish historic connections to biblical sites, including in Jerusalem – reminiscent of antisemitic UNESCO resolutions.
Founded in 2002, Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) is the Geneva-based World Council of Churches’ (WCC) “flagship project” on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Despite marketing itself as a human rights and protection program, EAPPI places significant emphasis on political advocacy before, during, and after the trip.
On November 20, 2018, Human Rights Watch, in cooperation with Kerem Navot, published a report targeting Airbnb. The report followed a two-year long coordinated and well-financed BDS campaign.
Human Rights Watch’s October 2018 report “Two Authorities, One Way, Zero Dissent: Arbitrary Arrest and Torture Under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas” contains a number of obvious omissions and reflects an absence of serious analysis
On November 19, 2018, Airbnb issued a press release announcing it was “removing listings” in “Israeli settlements in the Occupied West Bank.” This change in policy was a clear result of a coordinated and well-financed campaign targeting the company by NGOs involved in BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns against Israel.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has used millions of European taxpayer funds, primarily from the UK, for a campaign that exploits the Israeli justice system and is aimed at circumventing appropriate diplomatic channels.
On June 27, 2018, the United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) published his 2017 report on Children and Armed Conflict. Intensive lobbying by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), led by Human Rights Watch, to include the IDF on the list of “grave violators” of child’s rights (included as an Annex) failed.
On June 13, 2018, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a press statement accusing Israel of “apparent war crimes in Gaza” during the weekly Hamas-orchestrated violence along the border.
On May 28, 2018, Human Rights Watch issued yet another publication targeting Israeli banks. These materials are part of HRW’s continuing role in a broader BDS campaign to damage Israel’s economy through the financial sector.
Between May 13-16, 2018, Human Rights Watch (HRW) employees tweeted excessively about the violence along the Gaza border, with their tweets almost exclusively condemning Israel’s right to defend its borders, belittling the violence, and making various politically driven statements
