Letter to the Editor on Christian Aid
Dear Sir,
June Jacob’s personal experiences aside (October 19, 2007 letter), the examination of Christian Aid’s political activities in the Middle East must be based on the facts.
NGO Monitor’s detailed research on CA since 2003 shows a consistent, highly biased and politicized approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Instead of concentrating on genuine humanitarian aid, as expected from such an important charity, Christian Aid uses a great deal of its resources to demonize Israel, erase Palestinian responsibility and ignore terrorism. Officials promote extremist political campaigns and have close links with the main proponents of divestment and boycotts. These campaigns are entirely inconsistent with the requirements of a charity which claims to provide humanitarian aid, and the process alienates Israelis, inhibiting important cooperative efforts.
Of course criticism of Israeli policies is not necessarily anti-Semitism. But Christian Aid focuses disproportionately on Israel — the entire "conflict" section on its website is devoted to the Palestinian plight – as if there were no other conflicts in the world, and as if Israelis had no right of defense against terror. In addition, Christian Aid’s close association with radical anti-Semitic groups such as Sabeel and with replacement theologians such Rev. Sizer do not support its claim to fight the root causes of poverty.
Sarah Mandel
Associate Editor
NGO Monitor