"UN Springs Into Action, Plans Another Israel-Bashing Conference"

A UN conference of non-government organizations (NGOs) called to discuss civil society in support of Israeli-Palestinian peace at the end of August has been described by an Israeli NGO watchdog as an anti-Israel propaganda conference. The meeting, set to take place at the European Parliament (EP) on August 30 - 31, has been organized by the UNs Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, which describes itself as the main UN forum where all NGOs interested in the Palestine issue can meet.

"An Academic Hijacking"

When a relatively small number of British academics tried to hijack the traditional trade union agenda of the British University and College Union by calling for an academic boycott of Israel, they expected little opposition. The union, after all, is British, and the nation whose academics were to be boycotted is Israel.

"One year after its creation, Human Rights Council achieves disturbingly little"

A year after the creation of the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to replace the discredited UN Human Rights Commission, Reporters Without Borders today voiced deep concern about the new bodys functioning and, in particular, the obstructionist manoeuvres by member countries that are the worst human rights violators...

Letter to the editor in response to David Amadia, Amnesty International has much to say about Israel, June 17, 2007

"The Sound of Silence"

The West is host to many organizationsthe Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the International Solidarity Movement, and countless othersdedicated to supporting the Palestinian cause. Given mounting casualties among Palestinian civilians under fire in Lebanon and Gaza this week, one would expect these organizations to voice their shock, outrage, or simple concern at these events. Take the plight of Palestinians in the northern Lebanese camp of Nahr el Bared: according to recent news reports, more than 130 people have died during the past three weeks of fighting there. The escalating violence in Gaza has claimed the lives of more than 70.

Jeff Denaburgs letter to Amnesty International, "Could Amnesty International be further from reality?"

I am again disappointed by your 2007 reports on Israel and the Palestinians. Its fine to scrutinize Israels actions and measure them against human rights standards. But clearly the application of any law has to take into account all of the factors influencing the actions. Amnesty insists on judging Israel as if Israel is not under constant threat of Palestinian terrorism. This makes little sense and results in highly prejudicial reports.

"Cotler addresses UN Human Rights Council in Geneva"

Professor Irwin Cotler, Opposition Critic for Human Rights in the Canadian Parliament, told the UN Human Rights Council today and made public for the first time that he declined the invitation of the President of the Human Rights Council to join the UN investigative mission into Beit Hanoun in Gaza because, [I] could not accept a mandate to hear only one side of a dispute [] which denied the other side the right to a hearing [] and which denied the presumption of innocence.

Letter to the editor in response to Tovah Lazaroff, "American Jew finances campaign against demolition of Palestinian homes", June 12, 2007.

"ADL Calls Amnesty Report 'Fundamentally Biased' Against Israel"

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today strongly criticized the latest Amnesty International report on living conditions in the West Bank, saying that the reports dismissal of the West Bank security fence as providing greater safety for the citizens of Israel highlights the fundamental bias of the organization....

Amnesty Irrational

Following Amnesty Internationals release of its Annual Report, Jamie Weinstein, a Collegiate Network Fellow, claims that "instead of maintaining a worldwide scope and focusing on the gravest human rights abuses, Amnesty disproportionately targets one country: the United States."