Middle East Quarterly Winter 2015: Gerald M. Steinberg: Europeans Fund Anti-Israel Libels

The following by Gerald M. Steinberg is reposted here with permission of the Middle East Forum:

Europeans Fund Anti-Israel Libels

by Gerald M. Steinberg
Middle East Quarterly
Winter 2015 (view PDF)

Designed and promoted as a vehicle for drawing attention to the Palestinian narrative of the 1948 war, Zochrot's iNakba app features an interactive map and photos of pre-1948 Arab villages and encourages the "right of return" narrative through crowd sourcing. The app was timed to coincide with Israel's sixty-sixth Independence Day (May 15).

In May 2014, Zochrot—a radical Israeli nongovernmental organization (NGO)—was the focus of widespread mainstream media coverage featuring itsiNakba mobile application (app). Articles on the app and Zochrot were published in The New York Times, The Washington Post,Haaretz, The Christian Science Monitor, Time Magazine, and several prominent blogs. Most, including The New York Times, promoted Zochrot's agenda while others, such as The Washington Post, included some criticism.

NGO Monitor: Jewish Voice for Peace Seeks to Split Jews on Israel

PRESS RELEASE July 8, 2013  Contact: Lenny Ben-David NGO Monitor 054-216-8155 lenny.bendavid@ngo-monitor.org  Jewish Voice for Peace Seeks to Split Jews on Israel Jerusalem - NGO Monitor released today a detailed report of the goals, tactics, and opaque financing of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a U.S.-based advocacy organization dedicated to driving "a wedge" within the Jewish community to create the impression that the Jewish community is polarized over Israel.   "Since American Jews are important supporters of Israel, JVP's attempt to divide the Jewish community is aimed at undermining U.S. support for Israel," Yitzhak Santis, NGO Monitor's Chief Programs Officer and the report's author, warned. "JVP also works to weaken this support in U.S. mainline churches and on American campuses. Our researchers discovered that this summer, Jewish Voice for Peace is joining the American Friends Service Committee to train student activists at a BDS boot camp."

NGO Monitor: Speaking Out about "Breaking the Silence"

PRESS RELEASE June 25, 2013  Contact: Lenny Ben-David NGO Monitor 054-216-8155 lenny.bendavid@ngo-monitor.org  Speaking Out about "Breaking the Silence" Jerusalem - The intense international campaign by Breaking the Silence (BtS) resulted in a strong rebuttal from an official of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, and in this context, NGO Monitor is providing additional background information and analysis on BtS and this issue. As shown in NGO Monitor's detailed research reports, BtS presents a highly distorted perspective, distributing unverifiable "testimonies" by former IDF soldiers.

NGO Monitor: Spanish Gov't Funding of NGOs Campaigning Against Israel

PRESS RELEASE June 18, 2013  Contact: Lenny Ben-David NGO Monitor 054-216-8155 lenny.bendavid@ngo-monitor.org

Spanish Gov't Funding of NGOs Campaigning Against Israel Jerusalem - The Spanish government provided funding between 2009 and 2011 to political NGOs leading the campaigns to delegitimize Israel through demonization, boycotts, lawfare and other forms of political attacks, concluded an NGO Monitor report issued today. The report provides comprehensive and detailed evidence of the use and/or misuse of official Spanish funds, including regional governments.

Report: EU Funds Radical Groups Undermining Peace in the Middle East

PRESS RELEASE June 9, 2013  Contact: Lenny Ben-David NGO Monitor 054-216-8155 lenny.bendavid@ngo-monitor.org

NGO Monitor Report: Secret EU Funding for BDS Leader Jerusalem - In a new report presented to members of the European Parliament, NGO Monitor details the damaging impact of highly secretive EU funding for radical political advocacy NGOs. According to NGO Monitor, EU funds are going to organizations involved in anti-Israel boycotts and violent demonstrations, which undermine the EU's efforts to secure peace in the Middle East.   The report, Lack of Due Diligence and Transparency in European Union Funding for Radical NGOs, shows how EU-funded NGOs lead the campaigns to demonize Israel through the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) - actions that totally contradict the EU's proclaimed objectives of supporting peace and democratic development.

PRESS RELEASE May 20, 2013  Contact: Lenny Ben-David NGO Monitor 054-216-8155 lenny.bendavid@ngo-monitor.org

Report: U.S. Government Funding for Mideast Political NGOs Undermines U.S. Policy Jerusalem - A report presented to Members of Congress today by NGO Monitor shows that U.S. Government funding of several political NGOs in the Palestinian Authority and Israel contradicts U.S. policy, has a negative impact on the peace process, and lacks the independent oversight necessary to prevent abuses. Professor Gerald M. Steinberg, President of NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem-based research institute, is meeting this week with Members of Congress, congressional staff, Washington think tanks, journalists and foreign policy decision-molders. The 13-page report, The Negative Impact of U.S. Government Funding for Mideast Political NGOs, is written by Steinberg and Naftali Balanson, NGO Monitor Managing Editor. The 38-page appendicesinclude a directory of the political NGOs involved and correspondence with U.S. government agencies and officials.

Being A Liberal In Israel For Fun--And Profit

Back in May, I blogged about those who claim to come to aid Palestinian Arabs--but stay for the perks

Emily Williams for example, an American project manager at a medical NGO reveals:

Palestine is the best-kept secret in the aid industry

Thus, the article in This Week In Palestine describes a life in the West Bank and Gaza that "has all the comforts that internationals want:

While the vast majority of ex-pats living here genuinely believe in the cause of liberation, it is far from the only reason for our mass invasion. Since the International Solidarity Movement was established in 2001, over 200 NGOs have sprung up in the West Bank and Gaza.

Now it turns out that those idealistic leftists who protest about Palestinian rights are doing pretty well themselves: