Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Funding Treason
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1171894478646&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Manipulating 'civil society'
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GERALD M. STEINBERG , THE JERUSALEM POST Feb. 20, 2007
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The differences between Europe and the Israeli government over the status
of the West Bank - Judea and Samaria - are well known. In London, Paris
and Brussels, this area is viewed as "occupied territory," while for
Jerusalem, the area is "disputed."
A similar debate is taking place within Israeli society, as groups with
different ideologies challenge the government's policies, including the
expansion or removal of settlements and the route of the security barrier.
This discussion is important, legitimate and extremely complex.
But when foreign governments team up with and provide financial support to
private Israeli groups in order to oppose policies that are set by
democratically elected leaders, this is a problem. It is also a violation
of sovereignty, and a clear example of neocolonialism.
Nevertheless, the recent discovery that the British Embassy in Tel Aviv is
funding an Israeli non-governmental organization (NGO) known as "Bimkom -
Planners for Planning Rights" - is not surprising. The ostensible focus of
the "research" is on the impact of the security barrier on Palestinian
villages caught in the middle, and since Bimkom is a political
organization, the outcome is a forgone conclusion.
In this way, the British government will receive an analysis from an
Israeli group that supports London's position against the route of the
barrier. The same information could have been obtained through official
government channels, (i.e., intelligence) but without the important
political dimension. (The Danish government provided Bimkom with $200,000
for a project on "Palestinian neighborhoods.")
For years, European governments have used the same approach by providing
funding to well-known Israeli domestic political groups, such as Peace
Now, B'Tselem, and the Peres Center. The Swiss Foreign Ministry and the
European Union, among others, supported the failed public relations
campaign to sell the Israel public the Geneva Initiative - a track-two
peace proposal led by Yossi Beilin and his Palestinian counterparts.
And under the misleading label of "partners for peace," the EU Delegation
in Tel Aviv is funding a group known as the Israeli Committee Against
House Demolitions, which promotes anti-Israel boycotts and divestment. It
also funds Israeli-Arab groups, such as Mossawa and Adallah, which
ostensibly advocate for social and economic justice for the Arabs of
Israel, but have done their fair share to demonize the Jewish state.
WHAT IS new in the case of Bimkom is the response of the Foreign Ministry,
which stated: "It is interference by Britain in an internal Israeli
matter. How would they react in London if our embassy was to fund research
on a British organization that is trying to promote an agenda that is
critical of [the government]?"
The language is a diplomatic and understated - indeed, almost English -
reaction to a fundamental defect in European policy toward Israel. A more
blunt response might have provided a hypothetical examples - such as an
advertising campaign funded by the US government in London or Paris
promoting a hard-line anti-abortion position. Or a propaganda effort on
the Northern Ireland conflict, or in support of separatist movements in
France (Corsica) or Spain (ETA).
Furthermore, the scale of European government funding for Israeli and
Palestinian political organizations that claim to promote human rights,
peace and democracy is huge, and largely hidden. The massive
Euro-bureaucracy has created a complex network of funding agencies for
"civil society" in the region, and no central index or reporting system
exists.
Until last year, the EU office in Tel Aviv violated its own principles of
transparency and kept the list of Israeli NGO beneficiaries secret,
ostensibly due to threats of violence. NGO Monitor's investigations led to
a change in this instance, but funding for Palestinian NGOs is still
largely covert.
THE CHANGE in Israeli government policy and a willingness to confront such
anti-democratic manipulation, particularly by European governments
(including non-EU countries such as Norway and Switzerland), marks an
important step. Going beyond the terse statement, the Israeli
representatives should bring a detailed file on the funding provided for
politicized NGOs to every meeting between heads of state, foreign
ministers and government officials.
If Europe expects to play a more important role in regional security and
diplomacy, it cannot also continue to provide funding designed to
undermine the Israeli government's positions, both internally and in the
international arena.
In Europe, the amorphous entities known as "civil society organizations"
and NGOs also need close scrutiny. These bodies are unelected, and their
officials are not accountable.
In democratic societies, government officials who provide funds to these
entities generally use this as a means to promote their own interests and
objectives, without checks and balances or transparency. In closed
non-democratic societies, such as Syria, Egypt and the Palestinian
Authority, foreign government assistance for NGOs that promote democracy,
tolerance, and human rights may have a positive impact, but only if this
support is carefully monitored to prevent abuse. Europe's failure to
provide such monitoring exacerbates the damage.
Israel, as a vibrant democracy, does not need, and should not be the
target of "civil society initiatives" engineered by foreign governments,
whether well-meaning or hostile. From this perspective, the example of
Bimkom, the security barrier, and the British Embassy is small but highly
illustrative.
The time has come to end this misguided and patronizing policy.
The writer heads the Program on Conflict Management at Bar-Ilan University
and is the executive director of NGO Monitor.
2, Anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3367480,00.html
3. Police chief must go!
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3366604,00.html
4. Yediot leftist enters the university of DUH:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3366869,00.html
5. More about the Jews for a Second Holocaust:
http://www.melaniephillips.com/articles-new/?p=486
and also
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/contentions/index.php/ottolenghi/168
6. More scholarship from Ben Gurion University:
Ben Gurion University Anti-Israel 'Against the Wall' activist Koby Snitz
injured in Bil'in
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2007/02/16/bilin-16-02-07/
Protester claims he was beaten on head with rifle butt in Bil'in
7. More on Israel's system of judicial tyranny:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1171894469567&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
8. Goobers again:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3367036,00.html
9. Petition to get Blood Libel professor from Bar-Ilan canned:
http://www.petitiononline.com/silv56yh/petition.html
