March 18, 2013

Prof Joel Peters

Dear Prof. Peters,

I am writing in reference to the book "The European Union and the Arab Spring", which you edited, and specifically to your chapter on Israel, in which you wrote:

"Im Tirzu and NGO Monitor have launched high profile campaigns with the aim of delegitimizing the activities of Israeli civil society and human rights organisations, especially those advocating the rights of Arab citizens of Israel and or address the question of violations of human rights in the Occupied Territories."

This allegation contains fundamental errors regarding NGO Monitor which need to be corrected on the public record. In particular:

1) NGO Monitor is a research and analysis organization with no connection to Im Tirtzu or its political activities.

2) The claim that NGO Monitor’s activities are undertaken" with the aim of delegitimizing the activities of Israeli civil society and human rights organisations…" is entirely without foundation. Our aims and objectives (holding political advocacy NGOs accountable, providing checks and balances, researching and publishing on these issues) are clearly spelled out, and any attribution beyond this is subjective and based on the author’s imagination.

3) The use of such allegations by political advocacy NGOs whose activities we analyze, and by their supporters, can itself be interpreted as an attempt to silence and delegitimize critical public debate.

We note that your false allegations in this book have been copied onto the NGO Monitor wikipedia entry, thus further falsifying the record.

Therefore, I am hereby formally requesting that you acknowledge these errors immediately and in writing, and send this letter to anyone that repeats or quotes this section.

Sincerely,

Prof Gerald M. Steinberg