US State Department "civil society" workshop assists ACRI
In a departure from its previous policy of avoiding projects involving controversial and highly politicized Israeli NGOs, the US State Department’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) invited political groups to participate in a small project to help NGOs “promote their message in the media.” Six NGOs were selected specifically for this project, including ACRI (funders include the EU, Christian Aid, and NIF), in order to improve their campaigning, which is directed at Israelis and is often presented in hostile and anti-Israel frameworks such as the United Nations. ACRI´s videos from the workshop consisted of short slogans, “to open our eyes to the world´s and Israel´s travesties against basic human rights.” ACRI´s annual report, released at the same time as the videos, consisted of a biased attack on Israeli policy and included the rhetoric of demonization — such as accusations of “apartheid“; the report also erases Palestinian terrorism.
The State Department did not issue invitations to Israeli NGOs involved in assisting victims of terror or similar civil society representatives.