On May 21, 2007, NGO Monitor released an analysis of Amnesty International’s 2006 reporting on the Middle East.  The analysis showed that Amnesty issued more significant publications on Israel than any other Middle Eastern country and even more than on the mass killings in Sudan.    NGO Monitor’s findings were confirmed by the organization itself.  Amnon Vidan, Director General of Amnesty – Israel, admitted Amnesty applies double standards to Israel stating, “There is an expectation of Israel and other democratic states to abide by a higher standard than Sudan.”  To read NGO Monitor’s report in full, click here.

Amnesty’s 2006 Annual Report, released on May 23, 2007, reinforced the analysis showing this organization’s politicized approach towards Israel and lack of credibility.   Many of the claims repeated in Amnesty’s Annual Report have been discredited or found to be false by media, intelligence, and UN reports.

  • Amnesty claims that 650 Palestinians were killed by Israeli actions, but this NGO makes no distinction between combatants and civilians.  Nor do they provide a source for these allegations.
  • Similarly, no sources are given for the claim that 1200 people were killed in Lebanon during the war, and no differentiation is made between Hezbollah fighters and Lebanese civilians.
  • Amnesty criticizes Israel’s use of cluster bombs, but fails to mention Hezbollah’s use of Chinese-made cluster bombs fired at Israel.
  • Amnesty’s analysis of the war in Lebanon underplays the role of Hezbollah’s aggression in triggering the violence, including the false claim that 3 Israeli soldiers were killed in this initial attack, when, in reality 8 were killed and two kidnapped.
  • Amnesty’s section on Lebanon completely omits the large scale use of human shields by Hezbollah.

To see NGO Monitor’s press release on Amnesty’s Annual Report, click here.

NGO Monitor’s research received extensive international media coverage including: