Broederlijk Delen

Profile

Country/TerritoryBelgium

Activity

Funding

Funding to Broederlijk Delen

Donor2021202020192018
European Union€540,982€396,393€366,118€316,946
DGD€8,007,166€5,066,913€5,397,356€3,227,623
Cities and Municipalities € 218,728€191,381€132,034€134,461

Political Advocacy

  • Broederlijk Delen has provided funding to a number of highly biased and politicized NGOs active in the Arab-Israeli conflict including AdalahGishaZochrotHaMoked, and Breaking the Silence. Since 2017, Broederlijk Delen has not released funding information regarding Palestinian and Israeli grantees. (See table below for further funding information.)
  • Broederlijk Delen creates “teaching materials” on Israel. The lessons include “50 years of occupation” aiming to “provide students with an insight into the consequences of the occupation” as well as asking “how do we engage in political lobbying?”
  • In April 2023, Broederlijk Delen was a signatory on a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General urging the UN to reject the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. According to the letter, the IHRA definition “opens the door to labeling as antisemitic… findings of major Israeli, Palestinian and global human rights organizations that Israeli authorities are committing the crime against humanity of apartheid against Palestinians.”
    • The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, adopted by nearly 30 countries and counting, represents the international consensus definition of antisemitism, as well as how to distinguish between legitimate criticism of Israel and antisemitism. An example of the latter includes denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
  • In November 2022, Broederlijk Delen, alongside DCI-P and DCI-Belgium, hosted a controversial photo exhibit in the Belgium Chamber of Representatives titled “Military detention is no way to treat a child.”
    • Numerous individuals with alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist organization designated as such by the US, EU, Canada, and Israel, have been employed and appointed as board members at DCI-P. For more information on DCI-P’s PFLP ties, read NGO Monitor’s report “Defense for Children International – Palestine’s Ties to the PFLP Terror Group.”
    • On October 22, 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Defense declared Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCI-P) a “terror organization” because it is part of “a network of organizations” that operates “on behalf of the ‘Popular Front’.”
  • In October 2021, Broederlijk Delen moderated a panel titled “Apartheid from the Jordan to the Mediterranean” featuring Human Rights Watch Israel/Palestine Director Omar Shakir to discuss HRW’s report accusing Israel of committing apartheid.
    • HRW’s report denies Israel’s legitimacy as a Jewish state by alleging Israel has committed crimes of apartheid and reducing all security policies to “demographic objectives.” The report recommended “Impos[ing] targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against officials and entities” as well as “Condition[ing] arms sales and military and security assistance to Israel.” HRW promoted artificial and manufactured definitions of apartheid to extend the ongoing campaigns that seek to delegitimize and demonize Israel. (Read NGO Monitor’s Policy Paper “False Knowledge as Power: Deconstructing Definitions of Apartheid that Delegitimise the Jewish State”)
  • In June 2021, following Parliamentary questions regarding allegations of Belgian government funding used for terrorist financing, Broederlijk Delen published a press release stating that it has “complete confidence in the functioning and transparency of its partner Defense for the Children Palestine (DCI-P).” According to the press release, Broederlijk Delen, “deeply regret[ted] the umpteenth attempt by the Israeli authorities, reinforced by Israeli lobby groups – including in Belgium – to undermine their legitimacy with very serious charges of terrorist financing. No evidence of such facts has ever been provided.”
    • On October 22, 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Defense declared Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCI-P) a “terror organization” because it is part of “a network of organizations” that operates “on behalf of the ‘Popular Front’.”
  • In June 2021, Broederlijk Delen signed a letter to the European Commissionregarding the “political instrumentalization of the fight against antisemitism.” The letter called to “Acknowledge, reject and counter the political instrumentalization of the fight against antisemitism and of the IHRA definition in particular for the purpose of shielding the Israeli government from criticism. Instruct all involved EU officials to refrain from facilitating and legitimizing such instrumentalization.”
    • The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, adopted by nearly 30 countries and counting, represents the international consensus definition of antisemitism, as well as how to distinguish between legitimate criticism of Israel and antisemitism. An example of the latter includes denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
  • In April 2021, Broederlijk Delen welcomed the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch a formal investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Israel in the “State of Palestine.” According to Broederlijk Delen, “This is a long-awaited and a critically important step towards ensuring the rule of law and ending impunity, while ensuring accountability for Israel’s crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court.”
  • In December 2018, Broederlijk Delen published an article referring to Gaza as an “open-air prison.” The article further placed sole blame on Israel for the continuation of the conflict, stating that “In the Gaza Strip itself, however, there has not been any improvement in the disastrous humanitarian situation. This is a direct consequence of the draconian blockade that Israel installed,” altogether omitting that the blockade was implemented in an effort to stop Palestinian terrorists from smuggling weapons and rockets into Gaza that would later be used to target Israeli civilians.
  • In May 2018, Broederlijk Delen signed on a call to the UN Human Rights Council to launch an “independent investigation into violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by Israel.” The call accuses Israel of “excessive, indiscriminate and disproportionate use of lethal force… [that]  may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity” (emphasis added).
  • In April 2018, Broderlijk Delen and Pax Christi led an “immersion trip” to Israel and the West Bank publicized as “an introduction to the political reality.” The trip met with a number of highly politicized Israeli and Palestinian NGOs including, Adalah, Zochrot, Breaking the Silence, Ir Amim, and the Parents Circle Family Forum.
  • On February 7, 2017, Broederlijk Delen was a signatory on a call to “end the European complicity – marking 100 years of injustice against the Palestinian people” (i.e. since the Balfour Declaration). The call “solemnly reaffirm[ed] that in 2017, after 100 years of dispossession, denial and ethnic cleansing, the rights of the Palestinian people must, at last, be respected.” The statement further called for the “the suspension of the EU’s Association Agreement with Israel” and on the international community “to cease all complicity with continued settlement activity and the myriad of ways that Israel violates international law.”
  • In January 2017, as a member of the church umbrella organization CIDSE’s Palestine-Israel Working Group, Broederlijk Delen released a report titled “No Place Like Home: A Reader On The Forced Internal Displacement Of Palestinians In The Occupied Palestinian Territory And Israel” that was designed as a tool to lobby the European Union. The report calls for “the EU and Member States [to] prioritise the use of their leverage in bilateral relations towards the aims of promoting the shared values of democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms. Financial support alone is not enough to promote these values, and ensure that they bring about justice and prosperity for the region.”
  • In May 2016, held an expo on “Peaceful resistance in Palestine and Israel.” The corresponding booklet included a highly misleading map claiming to depict Palestinian loss of land since 1946. The booklet also reproduced information from ZochrotBreaking the SilenceCombatants for PeaceParents Circle Families Forum, and other political advocacy NGOs.
  • In September 2016, Broederlijk Delen’s organized a “Peace Journey” to Israel with Pax Christi Flanders. Due to the Israeli policy of denying entry to activists involved in BDS, Brigitte Herremans, then policy officer for Broederlijk Delen, was denied entry when the trip landed in Israel on September 9, 2016.
    • In an interview on Flemish Radio 1 on September 12, 2016, Herremans called for “sanctions against Israel” and to “subject Israeli citizens who come to Belgium to interrogation.” In the same interview, when asked about reports that showed a rise in antisemitism in Belgium, Herremans accused “Israel’s allies” of “inflating” the level of antisemitism in order to “distract from its treatment of Palestinians.”
    • Herremans also encourages the EU “to confront Israel with the fundamental choice of whether it wants to continue its occupation and systematic violations of international law (with all the criticism that comes along with this) or if it wants to be a full and respected member of the international community.”
  • Produced an alternative tourism brochure in which it recommends visits with Sabeel and tours with Zochrot. The brochure also highlights the politicized tours of Breaking the Silence and includes information by EAPPI and the  Yves Society as information references. These NGOs present a one-sided perspective of the Arab-Israeli conflict, based entirely on the Palestinian narrative, and promote the BDS campaign against Israel.

BDS Activities

Partners

Broederlijk Delen Funding to NGOs (amounts in NIS)

2019-2020 amounts based on NGO annual reports; 2021-2022 amounts based on financial reports submitted to the Israeli Registrar of Non-Profits

NGO2022202120202019
Breaking the Silence142,469240,310105,968160,627
Gisha160,291189,525186,311198,751
Adalah99,381239,656139,625
Parents Circle Families Forum107,225
Kerem Navot51,22050,440
B'Tselem
Al Marsad18,972
Baladna€10,50017,472
Defense for Children International - Palestine (DCI-P)€37,200€36,900€32,900
WCLAC€65,500€45,200€40,000

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