JERUSALEM, May 31, 2018 (WAFA) – Aid and human rights groups lashed out at Israel this week for publishing a report falsely accusing them of promoting boycott of Israel because of their work with the Palestinians.
The Israeli government’s “The Money Trail” report, published this week, accuses more than a dozen European Union-funded non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of promoting “boycotts against Israel” and keeping “ties to terror” and calls on the EU to cut funding to these organizations that are critical of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza by claiming they support boycott of Israel.
The Norwegian People’s Aid and the EuroMed Rights, two of those mentioned in the report, issued statement strongly criticizing it.
The Norwegian People’s Aid said in a press release that “the Israeli government has made it clear that it is engaged in an aggressive and coordinated campaign against organizations critical of the occupation. The false accusations made by the Israeli authorities against Norwegian People’s Aid demonstrate the ever more challenging environment for those working with fundamental human rights and international law.”
It said that Norwegian People’s Aid has been accused, among other things, of advocating for a boycott of Israel.
“It is not the policy of Norwegian People’s Aid to work for a boycott of an individual state. Norwegian People’s Aid works to ensure respect for international law and human rights,” said the press release. “Nonetheless it is a matter of concern that organizations that support a boycott of Israel are criminalized and refused access to Israel and Palestine. This is a violation of the fundamental rights of free speech and association.”
Norwegian People’s Aid said it follows the same line as the EU when it concerns international law and the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. “Norwegian People’s Aid works to ensure that the Norwegian authorities follow the EU’s good example,” it said.
“Norwegian People’s Aid will always support the right of Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace and security, as well the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to independence and freedom from repression, occupation and forced exile,” it said.
EuroMed Rights president, Michel Tubiana, stated: “The report falsely charges EuroMed Rights and our Palestinian member organizations – Al Haq, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) and Al Mezan. Apart from the inaccuracies, misinformation and defamatory accusations against NGOs, the report brazenly reflects the Israeli government’s increasing efforts to silence peaceful criticism of its human rights record.”
He added: “It is not true that EuroMed Rights is funding Palestinian organizations, as EuroMed Rights is not a donor agency and it is further mistaken that the EU provides financial support to our activities on Israel/Palestine. Although we follow closely EU-Israel bilateral relations as part of our human rights work, allegations that we work ‘systematically in trying to suspend the association agreement between Israel and the EU’ are also false, as is largely reflected in our publicly available positions. Accusations against the internationally respected Palestinian organizations, Al Haq, PCHR and Al Mezan, are baseless; the report provides no supporting evidence and should be dismissed as factually wrong.”
EuroMed Rights said the report should be seen in the context of mounting harassment and smear campaigns against these organizations, their staff and cooperating partners.
”This report is yet another attempt by the Government of Israel to silence peaceful dissent against the occupation and to exclude human rights organizations from European funding and political fora. To avoid such misinformation further spreading across European countries, we call on the EU to clearly and publicly debunk this incendiary propaganda against European partners in Israel/Palestine,” said Tubiana.
M.K.
