Norway Joins IHL NGO donor consortium supporting BDS and demonization

• As of June 1, 2016, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided NOK 5 million ($600,000 – screenshot below) to the Human Rights & International Humanitarian Law Secretariat (Secretariat), managed by the Institute of Law at Birzeit University (IoL-BZU) in Ramallah and NIRAS – a European consulting firm.
• The Secretariat funds non-governmental organizations (NGOs) active in BDS campaigns (boycott, divestment and sanctions) and other forms of demonization.
• Some grantees have also promoted antisemitic rhetoric and have apparent links to terror.
• The donor consortium, including Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, provides 80% of its four year budget ($10.38 million before Norway’s accession) to core NGO funding.
  • 13 out of 24 core fund recipients support BDS;
  • 11 out of 20 project fund recipients support BDS;
  • Core recipients promoting BDS receive $5.78 million of the $10.38 million.
• Norway’s decision stands in sharp contrast to the Dutch Parliament’s resolution (June 2016) calling for a review of its funding to the Secretariat over concerns about BDS support.
• The Swiss Parliament will vote on a similar resolution following criticism from journalists and a motion questioning Swiss funds to the Secretariat signed by 41 MPs from different parties. This criticism includes alleged involvement of officials from the PFLP terror organization (details below) and disproportionate salaries.

NGOs funded by the Secretariat include:

• BADIL (core funding in 2015: $260,000), a leader in Palestinian “right of return” and international anti-Zionist boycott campaigns.
  • According to its website, “BADIL has been fully committed to BDS campaigns from its very inception” (emphasis added).
  • BADIL “rejects current purposed settlements such as the Roadmap for Peace and the Arab Peace Initiative.”
  • Publishes antisemitic cartoons, as well as posters calling for the elimination of Israel. Examples of such imagery include:‎

2010	2015	2016

• Al-Haq (core funding in 2015: $710,000), a leader in anti-Israel demonization campaigns through lawsuits (“lawfare”) at the International Criminal Court, and BDS activities.
  • According to the Israeli High Court of Justice, Al Haq director, Shawan Jabarin, is also a senior activist in the Palestinian Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror organization (click to read a translation of the ruling, June 20, 2007). Jabarin has been denied entry into Jordan for this reason.
• Addameer (core funding in 2015: $230,000) lobbies international frameworks against Israel and supports BDS. A number of Addameer staff members have alleged connections to terror groups:
  • Addameer’s chairperson and co-founder, Abdul-latif Ghaith, was banned by Israel from travelling internationally due to his alleged membership in the PFLP. He was also banned from entering the West Bank in 2011-2015.
  • Khalida Jarrar, Addameer’s vice-chairperson, is a senior PFLP official. Jarrar was administratively detained on April 1, 2015 by Israeli security forces. On April 15, 2015 she was indicted for various offenses including active membership in a terrorist organization (the PFLP) and inciting violence through a call to kidnap Israeli soldiers.
  • Yousef Habash, serves as an Addameer board member. Israel prevented Habash from leaving the West Bank in 2011-2012. He is also a member of the BDS National Committee.
  • Ayman Nasser, an Addameer researcher, was arrested on October 15, 2012 for alleged links to the PFLP. On June 3, 2013 the Judea Military Court convicted Nasser, who admitted to being a member of the PFLP, for providing services to the organization.

Screenshot from Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website