Swiss Freeze Funding Of Pro-Palestinian NGO Over Anti-Semitic Cartoon

No one can accuse Switzerland of being overly pro-Israel, but apparently there are things that even the Swiss will not stand for--such antisemitic cartoons:

The Swiss government froze its funding stream for a pro-Palestinian NGO because an anti-Semitic cartoon appeared on its website, according to a report in the Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger on Wednesday.


Switzerland, Holland, Sweden and Denmark, which together fund the NGO Development Center (NDC), have contributed $270,000 since 2008 to BADIL: Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights.

Gerald Steinberg, head of watchdog organization NGO Monitor, noted that by withholding their funding of BADIL the NDC was acknowledging a key point: "NGOs sometimes misuse the foreign government funding they receive in order to pursue radical political agendas"

The cartoon in question was posted in Fall 2010 and was a caricature of a Jewish man holding a blood-soaked pitchfork and keys while standing over a dead Arab child.

BADIL, advocates boycott, sanctions and divestment (BDS) against Israel--a BADIL spokesman blamed the publication of the cartoon on a "slip up".

Some might say that the only slip up was getting caught.

Switzerland has been busy--they also refused to fuel Iranian planes.

Technorati Tag: NGO and Palestinians and Switzerland.