The BDS Life and Times of Omar Shakir
Omar Shakir’s background and history of anti-Israel activity exemplifies the organization’s troubling ideological approach to Israel and retreat from the universal principles of human rights.
Omar Shakir’s background and history of anti-Israel activity exemplifies the organization’s troubling ideological approach to Israel and retreat from the universal principles of human rights.
Professor Gerald M. Steinberg writes about UN-OCHA's propaganda war against Israel.
In October 2018, the Danish Foreign Minister announced a new policy regarding Danish support for Israeli and Palestinian civil society organizations, stating that projects that promote BDS, organizations that question Israel’s right to exist, and those with ties to terror will not be eligible to receive funds
Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands jointly fund Israeli and Palestinian NGOs through the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Secretariat (the “Secretariat”).
In July 2016, a Norwegian court declared the Global Network for Rights and Development bankrupt after another court ordered a NOK 376,000 settlement to a former employee. In September 2018, GNRD founder Loai Deeb was indicted by the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (ØKOKRIM) for laundering approximately NOK 100 million.
For many years, the network of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) claiming a human rights agenda has consistently sought to delegitimise Israel’s counterterrorism strategy. This phenomenon was prominent during the 2008–2009 and 2014 Gaza wars, when these groups issued hundreds of statements condemning Israel, and in campaigns calling for UN commissions of inquiry (e.g. the Goldstone and Schabas/Davis investigations) into Israeli ‘war crimes’.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has used millions of European taxpayer funds, primarily from the UK, for a campaign that exploits the Israeli justice system and is aimed at circumventing appropriate diplomatic channels.
On May 15, 2018, Adalah and seven other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) sent a letter to US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo to “Investigate Israel’s Use of Lethal Force in Gaza and Halt Foreign Assistance to Israeli Military Units.” The letter adopts a BDS (boycott, divestments, and sanctions) agenda against Israel, in stark contrast to the signatories’ donors’ policies.
On April 3, 2018, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued an “analysis” of the March 30, 2018 events along the Israel-Gaza border. Like other HRW responses, this latest publication lacks credible methodology and manipulates the presentation of facts and law to advance a political narrative rather than engage in professional human rights research.
A number of government-funded Palestinian and European NGOs repeatedly manipulate human rights through the use of “resistance” rhetoric, blurring the lines between violence and nonviolence, denigrating security concerns, and legitimizing attacks against civilians. Some of these groups also have ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) – a designated terrorist organization by the EU, U.S., Canada, and Israel.