Medico International

Activity

• Medico International states that it “struggles for the human right to the best possible access to good health. In doing so we support local partners… in their endeavors to create the economic, social and cultural conditions which allow each person to attain the highest health standard possible.”
• Based in Germany and Switzerland, with projects in Africa, the Middle East, Central and South America, and Asia. Medico’s offices for “Israel and Palestine” are based in East-Jerusalem and Ramallah.

Funding

• In 2023, Medico International’s total income was €23.9 million; total expenses were €21 million, of which €1.2 million was spent on projects in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Funding for these projects came from Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Funding for Politicized NGOs

• MI openly supports political activities and lobbying of its partners. According to MI’s 2015 annual report, “in addition to humanitarian aid, [MI’s local partners] also bring the political crisis into light. They collect material for the International Court of Justice in The Hague and pursue political interventions” (p.25, NGO Monitor translation).
• In 2023, Medico funded 26 projects with a number of highly biased and politicized NGOs active in the Arab-Israeli conflict including Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), Al-Haq, Al Mezan, Culture and Free Thought Association, Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS), Adalah, Akevot, Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHR-I), Who Profits,  Breaking the Silence, Kerem Navot, and HaMoked. (See below for further funding information.)
  • The Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), Al-Haq, and Al Mezan have ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist organization designated as such by the US, EU, Canada, and Israel. On October 22, 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Defense declared UAWC and Al-Haq “terror organizations” because they are part of “a network of organizations” that operates “on behalf of the ‘Popular Front’.”
    • UAWC is identified by Fatah as an official PFLP “affiliate,” and by USAID as the “agricultural arm” of the PFLP. According to academic scholar Glenn E. Robinson, UAWC was founded in 1986 by “agronomists loosely affiliated with the PFLP.” For more information on UAWC’s PFLP ties, read NGO Monitor’s report “Union of Agricultural Work Committees Ties to the PFLP Terror Group.”
    • Al-Haq’s General Director Shawan Jabarin has been linked to the PFLP. 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.
    • A number of Al-Mezan officials and employees are members of the PFLP and Hamas. For more information on Al-Mezan’s PFLP ties, read NGO Monitor’s report “Al Mezan Center For Human Rights’ Ties to the PFLP Terror Group.”
• In 2022, Medico granted €30,000 to the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) for a project titled, “Solidarity in the face of defamation.” According to the project description, “the long-standing partner organization with which medico implements a program also funded by the Federal Foreign Office has been the target of a defamation and delegitimization campaign for several years…Under such pressure, medico funding is intended to maintain UWAC’s ability to act and secure its existence.”

Political Advocacy

• Medico International’s website and publications completely ignore Palestinian terrorism, do not mention Israeli victims, and focus only on alleged Israeli violations of international law.
• In January 2025, Medico published an article claiming, “we ourselves stuck to the terms ‘war crimes’ and ‘crimes against humanity’ as we were convinced these had been and were being committed against the Palestinians, not only in Gaza, but also on the West Bank…The conclusion is clear, and medico shares this analysis, that Israeli actions constitute genocide…Therefore, medico will embrace usage of the term ‘genocide’ to describe actions of the Israeli state in Gaza since October 2023.”
• In January 2025, Medico claimed, “After the attacks of the 7th October 2023, the repeatedly proclaimed German solidarity with Israel took on truly peculiar forms. The federal government continues to provide weapons to a country whose government and armed forces are suspected of committing genocide that has been shown to be guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity that have ethnically cleaned northern Gaza.”
• In November 2024, Medico published an article claiming, “ Continued arms deliveries and German intervention against the International Criminal Court in favor of Israel further encourage the Netanyahu government to continue and expand its disproportionate warfare….Germany should finally use all its weight to bring Israel to an end to its criminal warfare and illegal occupation, instead of equipping it with weapons to commit these crimes.”
• In February 2024, Medico published an interview with Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles Michael Rothberg who claimed, “I do not doubt that antisemitism exists across German society, including among Muslims, but the politicization of the definition of antisemitism—for example, the way that the IHRA definition is used to stifle criticism of Israeli policies—makes it very difficult to reach consensus on what is and what is not antisemitic.”
  • 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 January 2024, Medico published an article claiming, “The doggedness with which German politics refuses to recognise the parts of Israel’s settlement and oppression policy that are reminiscent of colonial history undoubtedly has to do with the country’s failure to come to terms with its own crimes. And yet Germany should have a record of this: A country that is responsible for two genocides in modern history must take note of and scrutinise every serious accusation of genocidal intent with the utmost seriousness and humility.”
• In November 2023, Medico published an article stating, “Israel’s army is out of control, acting disproportionally and outside the bounds of international humanitarian law and values…the German government, together with other states, must urgently exert appropriate pressure on the warring parties. It should continue to support the important work of the International Criminal Court and offer the Chief Prosecutor all necessary assistance to prevent further mass atrocities and bring to justice those suspected of involvement in crimes under the Rome Statute or responsibility for such.”
• In October 2021, Medico condemned the decision by the Israeli Ministry to designate six Palestinian NGOs, including Medico’s partners Al-Haq and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), as terrorist organizations. According to the press release, “we consider Gantz’s decision an escalation to cement Israeli domination in the occupied Palestinian territories and to rally international political support for this with the “accusation of terror”. medico international strongly opposes the criminalisation of work for Palestinian human rights.”
• In June 2021, Medico signed a letter to the European Commission regarding 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.”
  • In October 2019, Medico and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation published an “Expert Opinion on the ‘Working Definition of Antisemitism’ of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance,” referring to it as “inconsistent, contradictory and formulated very vaguely.”
• On May 7, 2020, Medico released a short film titled “Chronically ill in Gaza,” which deals with “how the closure of the Gaza Strip affects the realities of life for people with chronic diseases and their families.” The movie was produced “with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as part of a project in cooperation with the medico partner organization Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS).” The film blames Israel’s “occupation” and “sanctions” for the health situation in Gaza, failing to mention Hamas’ prioritization of terror infrastructure over healthcare and legitimate Israeli national security concerns. The film also omitted that the blockade was implemented in an effort to stop Palestinian weapons smuggling.
• On October 2, 2019, Medico announced “With deep concern we had to observe the arrest of Samer Al-Arbeed, who is working for our partner organisation UAWC.” According to the indictment against him, in August 2019, Samer Arbid, UAWC accountant and previously UAWC “financial officer,” commanded a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror cell that carried out a bombing against Israeli civilians, murdering 17-year old Rina Shnerb, and injuring her father and brother. According to the Israel Security Agency (Shabak), Arbid prepared and detonated the explosive device.
• In July 2019, Riad Othman, Medico’s Near East consultant, gave an interview to the German organization Rosa Luxemburg Foundation stating that one of the main objectives of Medico International is “to influence politics in Germany, to a lesser extent also in the European Union” (emphasis added). Specifically, regarding this part of its work in Israel, Othman stated that it “means providing legal assistance against the Israeli civil administration and encouraging the farmers through material support to stay in the C areas. In Germany, we have been campaigning for years for the federal government to address the discriminatory licensing regime – also condemned by the Israeli Supreme Court – and the problem of Palestinian access to resources.”
• In March 2019, Medico published an article mourning the death of Sajed Mizher, a 17-year-old Palestinian killed by the Israeli security forces, as  a “first aid volunteer” with the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS). Medico neglected to mention that Mizher was a “comrade“ of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist organization designated as such by the U.S., EU, Canada, and Israel). Mizher’s funeral procession featured many individuals wearing military gear, PFLP paraphernalia, and PFLP banners. Mizher’s body was also adorned in PFLP paraphernalia, as well as a PMRS orange reflective vest.  (For more details, see NGO Monitor’s blog “Palestinian NGO Medic Killed in Bethlehem Clashes Had Ties to PFLP Terror Group.”)
• In a June 2017 blog post on MI’s website, MI’s Head of Public Relations and Media Spokesperson, Katja Maurer, wrote: “The Israeli right is cleverly trying to cement the status quo and thus to turn it into a prospective solution. They do this first and foremost with accusations of antisemitism and the implication that behind the demand for harsh measures to enforce UN resolutions – binding under international law – is directed against the existence of the State of Israel and is therefore antisemitic. Such a reversal of political responsibility is possible only because the Israeli right understands the Shoa, and not European nationalism and the resulting disintegration of multinational states, as the explanation for the existence of the country… The experience of centuries-long persecution in Europe thus becomes a universal Jewish narrative. In contrast, other experiences remain underrepresented. Among these, that Jews in the Ottoman Empire could live relatively safely, in comparison to Europe in any case. Only the foundation of the State of Israel changed this, leading to the half voluntary half forced exodus of most Jews from Arab lands” (emphases added, NGO Monitor translation).
• In July 2016, MI Spokesperson Katja Maurer described Israel as a “non-liberal democracy” and claimed that “[t]he 1967 occupation has been wiped out of the collective memory, the green line is irrelevant.” The article ended with a plea for donations, on the premise that “[t]he measures with which our Israeli partners try to protect themselves against defamation, attacks and criminalization are costly.” (NGO Monitor translation).
• In a December 2015 article titled “Internal Colonization,” MI Near East Coordinator Riad Othman accuses Israel of “internal and external land grab” and “erosion of democratic values,” describing the Israeli government as “blatantly racist” and claiming that “[i]t is becoming increasingly apparent that democratic values and rights are not intended for all citizens of the country, but for those who belong to the Jewish majority… The actions of the Israeli government demonstrate what MI’s partners in Israel such as Breaking the Silence, Adalah or Physicians for Human Rights have long warned against” (NGO Monitor translation, emphasis added).

BDS

• In January 2025, Medico published an article calling for “terminating arms transfers” to Israel.
• In January 2024, Medico was a signatory on an open call to all UN Member States to “immediately halt the transfer of weapons, parts, and ammunition to Israel and Palestinian armed groups while there is risk they are used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law.” 
• On May 16, 2019, rejecting the German Bundestag’s resolution defining BDS campaigns as antisemitic, Medico published a statement saying that “BDS would also be critical in asking how the emotionalised discourse on Israeli colonialism superimposes and destroys a profound preoccupation with anti-Semitism and its history…. The accusation of antisemitism has degenerated into a cheap attempt of censorship, which calls for attention in a high-profile public space.”
  • Medico also wrote that German political foundations operating in the West Bank and Gaza “almost all work together with civil society organizations that have signed the BDS call” and that “hopefully, they will continue to cooperate with them in the future,” claiming that “the Israeli government and its German – in part: their ‘anti-German’ apologists, whose relationship with Israel is reminiscent of the Soviet Union’s loyalty to the DKP [German Communist Party], dream that cooperation with these organizations will be banned. Because then hardly any Palestinian partner remain.” (NGO Monitor translation)
  • In June 2019, Riad Othman, a Middle East speaker for Medico, stated that “Putting BDS centre stage directs the debate towards Israel and Palestine instead of focusing on homegrown antisemitism and racism, including that among communities of migrant origin in Germany.”

Medico International Switzerland

• In 2023, Medico International Switzerland’s income was CHF 1.5 million, of which 115,400 CHF came from Swiss municipalities and cantons.
• According to Medico International Switzerland, the organization runs four projects in “Palestine/Israel.”
  • Total budget in 2020 for projects in “Palestine/Israel” was CHF 144,843.
• Medico International Switzerland funds the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP), Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS), and Physicians for Human Rights- Israel (PHR-I).
• In 2019, Medico International Switzerland funded the production of the movie “Not just your picture” about “German-Palestinian siblings living in Germany” who travel through “Europe, telling … family’s story while pursuing a legal case against the State of Israel through the German courts.”