Jerusalem 04/05/18 – Over 500 million shekels have been transferred to Israeli political advocacy non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 2012-2016, according to a new report published by NGO Monitor today. The study maps funding to civil society groups in Israelclaiming human rights agendas, and shows that the majority, NIS 310 million, comes from foreign governments, almost all of them European. A number of NGOs examined received over 50% of their funding from these governments.

The Jerusalem-based research institute analyzed 5 years of funding for 39 Israeli NGOs involved in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Data was drawn from financial reporting to the Israeli Justice Ministry’s Registrar of Non-Profits (Rasham Amutot). The analysis is based on hundreds of hours of research and the cross-referencing of thousands of data points.

The data was compiled and made available in NGO Monitor’s new online funding database, which sorts by grant recipient, source, and shekel amount, among other categories.

“Politicized NGOs play a central role in the discussion of human rights in the Arab-Israeli conflict. An informed debate on the activities of these groups requires transparency in their funding,” explained the director of the Israel desk at NGO Monitor, Itai Reuveni. “Our extensive analysis converts a mass of data into a publicly accessible tool that will be useful in supporting an informed discussion.”

The analysis found that Germany is the largest donor to these NGOs, providing NIS 50 million, followed by the European Union, Norway and the Netherlands. These four donors together provided NIS 159 million, or more than half of all funding that originates with governments. The New Israel Fund is the fifth largest donor, as well as the largest private funder.

NGO Monitor’s analysis also revealed that church groups play a significant role in supporting politicized members of Israeli civil society, providing 20% of the total funding. Much of this church-based funding originates with European governments.

NGO Monitor also examined Israeli-registered NGOs that are active in “lawfare” campaigns, seeking to have Israeli officials and the State prosecuted at the International Criminal Court; lobby the EU, US, and UN; and others that provide data to the UN system for use in reports, as seen in the Goldstone report, which accused Israel of war crimes in the 2008-9 Gaza war.

Some graphic illustrations and tables included below. The database is available online at: https://www.ngo-monitor.org/annual-ngos-database/

The full report is available at: https://www.ngo-monitor.org/reports/analysis-of-grants-to-israeli-ngos-annual-reports-2012-2016/