Key Issue:BDS in the Churches
A large international network of Protestant and Catholic aid societies serve as funding agents for governments’ humanitarian foreign aid programs. Some of these provide taxpayer money to a variety of highly politicized NGOs active in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Catholic
A large international network of Catholic aid societies serve as funding agents for the humanitarian foreign aid programs of many governments. Some provide taxpayer funds to politicized NGOs active in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
- Broederlijk Delen (Belgium) – A Catholic NGO that claims to “work in the Christian spirit and take autonomous initiatives to fight world poverty, injustice and discrimination, and achieve just political, social and economic structures.” Funds a number of NGOs that are highly active in the global political warfare campaigns against Israel, and signed the 2012 report “Trading Away Peace” that repeats the BDS agenda.
- Caritas Internationalis (Vatican) – The organizational umbrella of 164 official Vatican affiliated Catholic aid and humanitarian organizations worldwide. Caritas Internationalis holds strongly partisan positions regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict, and eleven of Caritas’ chapters demonstrate serious partiality against Israel in their consistent funding of radicalized anti-Israel NGOs and other activities related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
- Cordaid (Netherlands) – The Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid annually receives large sums of funding from the Dutch government, a portion of which it then grants to highly politicized NGOs active in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
- MISEREOR (Germany) – Aid framework of the Catholic Church in Germany and a member of the CIDSE network of Catholic aid organizations. Funds highly politicized NGOs including Zochrot, Breaking the Silence, and Palestinian Center for Human Rights.
- Trócaire (Ireland) – Is the official overseas development agency of the Catholic Church of Ireland. Trócaire funds highly politicized and biased non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that support boycotts, divestments and sanctions (BDS) and utilize demonizing rhetoric against Israel, including BADIL, Who Profits, and Al-Haq.
- Ziviler Friedensdienst (German)y)- is a federally funded German Church aid organization. The group lists partners including St. Yves, Kairos Palestine, Holy Land Trust, and Combatants for Peace.
Protestant
Protestant aid societies are country-specific and are utilized by their respective national governments as third party agents for the distribution of humanitarian foreign aid, some of which is allocated to politicized NGOs active in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Ongoing pro-BDS efforts by activists within some Protestant denominations and the continued allocation of mainly European government funds via church aid societies to politicized Israeli and Palestinian NGOs highlight the need for continued close examination of both funders and grant recipients.
- Bread for the World-EED (Germany) – Claims to be “the globally active development and relief agency of the Protestant Churches in Germany.” BfW-EED itself engages in highly politicized activities, while simultaneously funding other biased NGOs active in the Arab-Israel conflict including Who Profits, Adalah, and Defense for Children International- Palestine Section.
- Church of Sweden (Sweden) –Focuses on international advocacy, stating that “advocacy work targets those with economic and political power in Sweden, the EU and the UN.” Church of Sweden does not have a separate aid body and therefore is both a religious institution and a recipient/distributor of aid.
- Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (Finland) – One of the largest partner organizations of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. Claims to “support[] the diaconal work of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL),” the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), and others that contribute to international efforts to demonize Israel.
- HEKS (Hilfswerk der Evangelischen Kirchen Schweiz) (Switzerland) – Aims to provide “humanitarian and emergency aid and fights the causes of hunger, injustice and social deprivation.” Funds highly biased and politicized NGOs active in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
- Lutheran World Federation (International) – Founded in 1947 by Lutheran churches in Lund, Sweden, as “a global communion of 144 churches in the Lutheran tradition, representing over 72 million Christians in 79 countries.” The LWF Jerusalem Program is the division that operates in the Palestinian territories, and receives significant support and funding.
Unaffiliated
- Act For Peace (Australia) – Founded in 1948 as the aid agency of the Australian Council for the World Council of Churches (WCC) and acts as the international aid agency of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA). Seeks “to achieve safety, justice and dignity in communities threatened by conflict and natural disaster.”
- Christian Aid (UK) – Assumes a highly biased and politicized approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Its publications systematically ignore Palestinian responsibility in the conflict and minimize Israel’s right to self-defense. Christian Aid’s partner organizations include some of the most radical NGOs operating in the region.
- Church World Service (United States) – Lobbies churches, policymakers and the general public in the U.S. “to give voice to the issues that affect hunger people and promote sustainable solutions.” 56.2% of its 2014 revenue was provided by the U.S. government.
- DanChurchAid (Denmark) – A member of the Act Alliance and the World Council of Churches, both of which play key roles in mobilizing BDS campaigns. Publishes one-sided condemnations of Israel that erase the context of Palestinian terrorism, and partners with highly politicized NGOs active in the Arab-Israeli conflict including BADIL, Breaking the Silence, and B’Tselem.
- Diakonia (Sweden) – Exploits international law, demonizes Israel, and promotes anti-Israel lawfare campaigns and a narrative based solely on Palestinian victimization. It funds some of the most highly biased and politicized NGOs involved in the conflict, including Al-Haq, B’Tselem, Sabeel, and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-I).
- Finn Church Aid (Finland) – According to its website, FCA “is the largest Finnish development cooperation organisation and the second largest provider of humanitarian aid.” Founding member of the ACT Alliance, which promotes BDS campaigns against Israel. Also partners with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), and sponsors events of highly politicized NGOs such as Zochrot.
- Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (United States) – Founded in 1999 by an ecumenical group of American Christians “to inform American Christians of the plight of Palestinian Christians.” HCEF frequently draws a moral equivalence between the acts of terrorists and Israeli counterterror operations.
- ICCO (Interchurch Organization for Development and Cooperation) (Netherlands) – A Dutch church-based NGO that receives large-scale funding from the Dutch government, which views ICCO as an important partner in the Middle East. Research shows that ICCO pursues a biased and politicized agenda regarding Israel, as seen in its statements, publications, promotion of BDS that immorally single out Israel, and funding for radical NGOs including Electronic Intifada.
- Norwegian Church Aid (Norway) – Describes itself as a “diakonal organization working for global justice” seeking to “[p]rotect the dignity of the destitute, poor and oppressed, and join hands with them in their struggle for basic rights.” Supports the Kairos Palestine document, which denies Jewish historical connections to the land of Israel and promotes BDS campaigns.