Denmark

Profile

Country/TerritoryDenmark

Activity

  • The Danish government funds numerous Israeli and Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) directly through the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA), and indirectly through the United Nations, DanChurchAid, and aid organizations such as Oxfam Novib and Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
  • According to DANIDA’s Openaid website, in 2023-2024, the Danish government  disbursed DKK 611.5 million ($85 million) for projects in the West Bank and Gaza.
  • Many NGOs that receive Danish funding lead campaigns and political activities that are inconsistent with Danish government policies to promote peace and a two-state framework in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Many Danish-funded NGOs are centrally involved in anti-Israel BDS and lawfare
  • On December 22, 2017, following a review of its support for Palestinian NGOs, Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen announced that Denmark would tighten conditions for Danish assistance to Palestinian NGOs.
  • In October 2018, the Danish Foreign Minister announced a new policy regarding “Explanations about the conditions for Danish support for Israeli and Palestinian civil society organizations” and stating that “The use of Danish funds for political purposes, including BDS activities, is unacceptable” and Denmark would no longer fund organizations “associating with a terrorist movement,” “violating human rights principles,” or “questioning Israel’s right to exist.”

Investigations into Problematic Danish Funding

  • In May 2017, a Secretariat-funded NGO, Women’s Affairs Technical Committee (WATC), inaugurated a youth center in the town of Burqa, near Nablus. The center is named after Dalal Mughrabi, a terrorist who in 1978 murdered 37 civilians, including 12 children.
  • In response, the Danish Foreign Minister stated that he would investigate funding to NGOs stating, “if any of these organizations crossed a line… if a leader of one of these organizations for example publicly announced that they want to get rid of all Jews, or kill all Jews, anything like that, of course we will immediately close down the support… If you end up in a way where you have an aggressive rhetoric, wanting to kill people or do illegal things, then of course we will immediately close down the support…”
  • On June 2, 2017, after further investigation, the Danish Foreign Minister stated that he was “outraged that WATC, claiming to work for human rights, not just glorified a terrorist, but also abused the trust of a generous people like the Danish. It is totally unacceptable, and I cannot too strongly denounce it. Denmark and Danish tax money should under no circumstances be used for anything that in any way glorify or promote terrorism. Therefore, we now require of WACT that they pay Danish support back” (emphasis added).

Direct Funding via the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA)

DANIDA Funding to Palestinian NGOs

  • In 2021-2023, the Independent Commission of Human Rights (ICHR) received DKK 22.6 million.
    • ICHR regularly collaborates with and has demonstrated its support for EU, US, Canada and Israel-designated terror groups, such as Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
  • In 2021-2025, Al-Haq received an unspecified amount via UNDP under the Human Rights and Democratic Accountability project.
    • Al-Haq is a leader in anti-Israel “lawfare” campaigns and BDS activities.
    • On October 22, 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Defense declared Al-Haq a “terror organization” because it is part of “a network of organizations” that operates “on behalf of the ‘Popular Front’.”
    • In May 2018, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express shut down online credit card donations to Al-Haq due to the group’s ties to the PFLP.
    • Al-Haq General Director Shawan Jabarin is tied to the PFLP. As a result, his requests for Israeli exit visas have been denied on several occasions, and he has been denied entry by Jordan.  In a series of court cases in 2007-2009, the Israeli High Court of Justice found Jabarin to be a senior PFLP activist (2007, 2008, 2009).
    • Al-Haq officials have celebrated and defended the murder of Israeli civilians – including the October 7th massacre.
      • On October 10, 2023, Al-Haq Head of the Training and Capacity Building Unit Ziad Hmaidan wrote on Facebook, “It is written in the Hadith: ‘You must wage jihad. The best jihad is preparing for war, and it is best to prepare for war in Ashkelon’.”
      • On October 10, 2023, Al-Haq Legal Researcher and Advocacy Officer Ahmed Abofoul tweeted, “It is outrageous to call on Palestinian resistance (permitted by international law) to CEASE its attacks while asking the occupying power ONLY to respect IHL.”
  • In 2021-2025, the Democracy and Workers Rights Center (DWRC) is receiving an unspecified amount via UNDP under the Human Rights and Democratic Accountability project.
    • In December 2023, DWRC was a signatory on a joint statement calling for “Arrest Warrants for Israeli officials to Prevent Genocide Against Palestinians.”
    • In October 2023, in the aftermath of the brutal Hamas attack, DWRC was a signatory on a statement calling to “emphasize that the root causes of these events is the illegal occupation of Palestine by Israel.” According to the statement, “We consider the flagrant unconditional support the U.S and European officials are offering Israel occupation while ignoring the plight of the Palestinian people as complicity in Israeli human rights violations and crimes against humanity, including the crime of apartheid. It is the international community’s failure to hold the Israel occupation accountable for its crimes that have led to the current situation.”
    • In November 2022, DWRC was a signatory on a letter to the ICC Prosecutor to “Urgently expedite his investigation into the Situation of Palestine, including the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution.open racism and intolerance has pervaded the society.”
  • In 2021-2025,the Women’s Studies Center is receiving an unspecified amount via UNDP under the Human Rights and Democratic Accountability project.
  • In 2020-2021, the Women’s Affairs Center received DKK 3.2 million. In 2021-2025, it is receiving an unspecified amount via UNDP under the Human Rights and Democratic Accountability project.
    • WAC accuses Israel of “clear war crimes” and perpetuating a “Nakba,” and is active in supporting BDS campaigns.
    • Participates in discriminatory campaigns such as “Love in the Time of Apartheid Campaign: The Palestinian Campaign for Repealing Israel’s Racist Law Denying Family Reunification.”

DANIDA Funding to Israeli NGOs

  • In 2021-2025, B’Tselem is receiving an unspecified amount via UNDP under the Human Rights and Democratic Accountability project.
  • In 2021-2025, Breaking the Silence is receiving an unspecified amount via UNDP under the Human Rights and Democratic Accountability project.
    • Breaking the Silence makes sweeping accusations based on anecdotal, anonymous, and unverifiable accounts of often low-ranked soldiers. These “testimonies” lack context, are politically biased, and erase the complicated reality in the West Bank. In addition, they reflect a distorted interpretation of the conflict in order to advance the political agenda of Breaking the Silence activists, thereby fueling the international campaigns against Israel.
    • In July 2024, Breaking the Silence was a signatory on a statement calling on the US Congress to “tie any future military aid to Israel to a clear demonstration of Israel’s commitment to and respect for international law and human rights of Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank.”
    • In March 2020, Breaking the Silence alleged, “Israeli officials are now actively promoting an apartheid reality which itself blurs the lines, and our position [of not participating in ‘Israel Apartheid Week’ events on campus] may therefore have to change in the future accordingly.”
  • In 2021-2025 Gisha is receiving an unspecified amount via UNDP under the Human Rights and Democratic Accountability project.
  • In 2021-2025, the Public Committee against Torture in Israel (PCATI) is receiving an unspecified amount via UNDP under the Human Rights and Democratic Accountability project.
    • Regularly circulates unverifiable allegations of Israeli torture, using them as the basis for campaigns in international forums and Israeli courts.

DANIDA Funding to NGOs Active in the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Amounts in DKK)

NGO20252024202320222021202020192018
Al-HaqN/AN/AN/AN/A925,433793,229661,024
B’TselemN/AN/AN/AN/A4,286,3894,183,611 1,525,000
Breaking the SilenceN/AN/AN/AN/A3,176,8752,770,6251,300,000
GishaN/AN/AN/AN/A2,510,876312,5001,000,000
Public Committee against Torture in Israel (PCATI)N/AN/AN/AN/A1,464,6671,340,733
Women’s Affairs CenterN/AN/AN/AN/A1,816,0321,433,7081,530,9381,100,000
Women’s Studies CenterN/AN/AN/AN/A2,555,8431,936,934925,000
The Democracy and Workers Rights Center (DWRC)N/AN/AN/AN/A1,938,9931,047,575925,000
Independent Commission of Human Rights (ICHR)11,300,0006,300,0005,362,1075,121,5166,300,0006,443,523

Indirect Funding

DanChurchAid support for Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI).

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

  • Denmark provided DKK 17 million in 2021-2025 to NRC for “Resilience, Peace and Stability” in Gaza and the West Bank.
  • NRC has been one of the leading international campaigners against donor-imposed anti-terror vetting regulations. NRC lobbies to reduce anti-terror vetting standards, as well as to develop mechanisms to circumvent them. For more information see NGO Monitors report “Norwegian Refugee Council’s Campaign to Weaken and Circumvent US Anti-terror Policy.”
  • NRC leads massive and unprecedented political campaigns exploiting the Israeli legal system. In sharp contrast to NRC’s ostensibly humanitarian agenda, this massive program focuses on some of the most complex and sensitive political issues in the Arab-Israeli context. (Read NGO Monitor’s report “Flooding the Courts: The Norwegian Refugee Council’s European-Funded Proxy War.”)
  • One of NRC’s principle projects in Israel, “Information, Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA),” exploits judicial frameworks to manipulate Israeli policy, bypassing democratic frameworks.
    • As part of the ICLA program, NRC provides “legal assistance, including paralegal services, accompaniment, follow up or court representation in order to ensure the best possible individual legal protection outcomes” in “collaboration, coordination and partnership both internally within NRC and externally with NGO sector… and with the PA with a view to address some of the barriers to participation of the hard to reach population in ICLA response.” Through its Palestinian and Israeli partner NGOs and private lawyers, the ICLA program submits between 500-800 new cases to Israeli courts per year.

Oxfam

DanWatch

  • In 2020-2022, Danida granted DKK 4 million to Danwatch for “independent journalistic coverage of rights violations and abuses in developing countries.”
  • DanWatch describes itself as an “independent media and research centre specialized in investigative journalism on global issues.” However, the organization leverages this allegedly “independent” position to politically attack Israel.
  • As part of the BDS campaign against Israel, DanWatch targets Israeli and European corporations, such as Ahava, G4S, Integrated Service Solutions (ISS), Israeli agricultural products, and tour operators under the guise of “business ethics.”
  • According to DanWatch, a “DanWatch-investigation” led to Danish pension fund, Sampension, to divest from four publicly traded Israeli companies.
  • In contrast to DanWatch’s claim of being an “independent media and research centre,” publications regarding Israel are commissioned by organizations with a history of anti-Israel activities (i.e. DanChurchAid – see above).
  • DanWatch’s “independent media and research” is based on unreliable, biased, and politicized NGOs including Who ProfitsIsraeli Committee against House Demolitions (ICAHD), and Al-Haq, as well as “legal opinions” of Richard Falk, the highly controversial former United Nations Special Rapporteur.“

United Nations Funding

UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FOA)

DanChurch Funding to NGOs (amounts in Danish kroner (DKK) unless specified)

Information taken from DanChurchAid’s 2021 Project Overview. Amounts in NIS are based off information submitted to the Israeli Registrar of Non-Profits.

Implementing partnersFunding - TotalYear / s
EAPPI250,0002021-2023
Breaking the Silence450,0002019-2022
Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ)639,4612017-2019
Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling (WCLAC)450,0002019-2022
Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC)Undisclosed 2015
B’TselemNIS 110,9762023
438,0002019-2022
PalVision1,263,4682021-2022
Badil300,0002019-2022
Women’s Affairs Center1,250,0002019
Who ProfitsNIS 13,1992017
NIS 13,8392016
Ma’an Development Center14,378,3192021-2023
Norwegian Church Aid5,518,1582016-2020
ACT Alliance EU75,0002020-2021
Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR)300,0002019-2022
YMCA- East Jerusalem14,456,4422021-2023
Human Rights Defenders Fund450,0002019-2022
Ma’an Development Center and Culture and Free Thought Association3,749,0042021
Ma’an Development Center and Women’s Affairs Center1,307,4182021

Appendix 1

Screenshots from DANIDA OpenAid – May 30, 2018

 

Danish funding to the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law IHL Secretariat

 

 

NIRAS (Secretariat) funding 2017

 

Danish funding to DanWatch

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