A few years ago, Bar-Ilan University professor Gerald Steinberg set up NGO Monitor to, in the words of its mission statement, “end the practice used by certain self-declared ‘humanitarian NGOs’ of exploiting the label ‘universal human rights values’ to promote politically and ideologically motivated anti-Israel agendas.”
Steinberg was on to something. NGO Monitor has since exposed the manipulation of some human rights campaigns to malign Israel unjustly and even to undermine its viability as a Jewish state.
The validity of NGO Monitor’s complaints about bias at Human Rights Watch, for instance, received stunning affirmation in the form of an October 19 New York Times op-ed by HRW’s founder, Robert Bernstein, taking his own organization to task for the perverse way in which “Israel, the repeated victim of aggression, faces the brunt of Human Rights Watch’s criticism.” In other instances, NGO Monitor has revealed the funding by European governments and reputable American philanthropies of NGOs that smear Israel with lies and classic antisemitic rhetoric.
So far, so good. But NGO Monitor appears to be throwing the baby out with the bath water. It is not sticking to its Web site’s slogan of “promoting critical debate and accountability of human rights NGOs in the Arab Israeli conflict.” Rather, it seems dead set on eliminating human rights monitoring of Israel entirely and smearing anyone who supports this vital activity. In so doing, NGO Monitor is running roughshod over some important organizations that are working to maintain Israel’s integrity in the context of its ongoing occupation of the West Bank.
Consider, if you will, NGO Monitor’s “October 2009 Digest,” posted on its Web site. One of the digest’s six items is titled “J Street’s NGO connections.” J Street? Isn’t that the moderate pro-Israel lobby that has received blessings from Shimon Peres and Tzipi Livni? Why is NGO Monitor looking at J Street? The item discusses the recent J Street conference. It notes, with appropriate hyperlinks, that J Street has connections with the New Israel Fund and hosted a speaker from B’Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories.
I click on NGO Monitor’s B’Tselem link and find that the organization “regularly minimizes Israeli security concerns” and that “its political agenda is evident in the minimal attention it gives to intra-Palestinian human rights abuses.” But Israeli security concerns and Palestinians killing Palestinians are not part of B’Tselem’s mandate. And even if one often disagrees with B’Tselem, as I sometimes do, it’s hard to deny that it is doing valuable work, usually in a credible fashion.
Yet NGO Monitor’s guilt by association doesn’t stop there: We began with J Street, moved to B’Tselem, then we are transported, through another link, to B’Tselem’s sources of funding, one of which is the Ford Foundation. Ford, we are told, “was among the main funders for extremist NGOs involved in the 2001 UN sponsored Durban conference” and is “still funding anti-Israel groups.” By now we are to understand, via insinuation and guilt by association, that J Street, B’Tselem and Ford are all somehow anti-Israel.
Now, for a moment of mandatory transparency: I’m a founding “Israeli supporter” of J Street, having signed on with many other prominent Israelis to a letter welcoming its launch. I also run an NGO that manages, along with a Palestinian partner, Web magazines cultivating Israeli-Palestinian dialogue and other Middle East-related exchanges. My NGO has, in recent years, received donations from the European Union, the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Institute and the Swedish International Development Agency, all of which are regularly attacked by NGO Monitor (though not because they support my projects; nor has my NGO been attacked, presumably because it invites Israeli right-wingers, as well as leftists and centrists, to participate in its dialogues).
A few years ago, I tried in vain to mediate between Steinberg and the Ford Foundation’s then-president, Susan Berresford, pointing out to Steinberg that Ford had abandoned its support of one or two truly bigoted groups, and that his critique of the other Ford-supported NGOs was often based on innuendo and guilt by association. Now Ford, under a new president, is ceasing to fund projects related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A Ford official recently told me that one of the reasons for this decision was the attack on its donor policies led by NGO Monitor. Thus does a major, longtime supporter of Middle East conflict-resolution projects depart from the scene.
NGO Monitor and an allied organization, the Institute for Zionist Strategies, recently sponsored a seminar in the Knesset that pushed for closer government regulation of human rights NGOs that monitor the occupation and their international donors. Nothing was mentioned, of course, about those American evangelicals who — often in the name of an antisemitic, end-of-days agenda — support West Bank settlers who violate Palestinian human rights. Or about the American Jewish foundations that financially support the ideological settlers’ agenda. Nor did Steinberg and IZS’s head, Israel Harel, fess up, in the interest of transparency, that when they themselves contribute articles to my Web magazines, they gladly accept payment from monies that were provided by the E.U., Ford Foundation, OSI and SIDA — the very donors they condemn.
It’s okay when the donor money goes to right-wingers.
Yossi Alpher co-edits the bitterlemons.org family of Internet publications. He is former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University.
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Finally someone has the guts to say that this emperor has no clothes. More here: http://bit.ly/5JA0OF
NGO Monitor only goes after NGOs that oppose the existence of Israel, but not after NGOs that support the existence of Israel. It is clearly unfair
Yossi Alpher is in denial! NGOs need to continue to be monitored. As a professional sociologist, I was shocked to hear the outright lies against Israel being stated as truths before a large audience at the 99th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association in San Francisco. "Session 423. Ford Panel in International Public Sociology. Production of Sociological Knowledge, Public Engagement of the Question for Peace and Justice in Palestine/Israel," on Monday, August 16, 2004." This session was organized by Gil Eyal of Columbia University. The panelists claimed that if a graduate student were to pursue research on peace between Israel and the Palestinians they would not obtain their graduate degrees, or if professors were to dedicate their research to this topic, they would not receive tenure or be fired. After a long wait, in the question and answer session, I stood up and pointed out that I had just reviewed, Negotiating Jerusalem, by Jerome M. Segal, Shlomit Levy, Nadar Izzat Sa’id, and Elihu Katz, Journal of Peace Research 39(2), March 2002, which is one of many examples of cooperative work seeking peace done by Israelis and Palestinians working together. Its published surveys of points of agreement for settlement between Israeli and the Palestinian attitudes had been used by President Clinton at Camp David. I also pointed out that I had been invited to moderate a discussion on peace possibilities between Israel and the Palestinians for The University of Chicago segment of the tour of a member of the Israel Knesseth and a Palestinian Mayor from the West Bank, segments of which were broadcast on television nationally in the USA. For my small intervention to add an element of truth to this propagandistic session, a group of highly-educated fanatics in the audience started lunging at me, and I had to exit the room quickly to avoid being assaulted. The next day a full professor from a major East Coast University walked up to me to thank me for my intervention and stated to me that she had felt most intimidated by the atmosphere at that session. I have not renewed my membership to the ASA since experiencing this example of the decomposition of my profession. Furthermore, as recently as last week in my neighborhood near Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, it broke my heart to watch young street activists, several of whom were of Jewish ethnic background, raise money for Amnesty International--an organization to which I used to contribute before its leadership undermined its moral integrity by its extreme bias against Israel. These young people were unaware of the many critiques of Amnesty International's reporting, and their identity to Jewishness seemed to be based on a ignorance of and hatred towards Judaism, lack of knowledge of Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, or any Judaeo-Arabic languages, their having never read the Torah, Talmud, Kabbalah, or other Jewish literature, and their absence of knowledge of Jewish history. When such young people's identity is based on such an absence of any positive content of their identity, how can it be caracterized other than as self-hatred?
'In so doing, NGO Monitor is running roughshod over some important organizations that are working to maintain Israel’s integrity in the context of its ongoing occupation of the West Bank.'
That really says all you need to know about Alpher and his cronies. I especially liked 'working to maintain Israel's integrity'. Too absurdly funny.
The very fact J-Street receives funds from the EU governments should be frowned upon. The Evangelicals are not governmental bodies and therefore they may donate to whomever they wish. But the EU seems to be very interested in promoting Jewish/Israeli organizations who have a very lefty ideology and even anti Zionst agenda, such as "Adalla" and "Yesh Gvul". These insidious donations are a slap in the face of all Israeli governments and they must stop. I don't think the EU would care too much if Israel was to supports Euro-skeptic movements, now would they?
It is tough to look at all sides of the divide with a mind and heart that weighs the relative value of the position of an "other," fairly. I think Yossi Alpher is correct in his labeling to a point. J Street has been many different things to different people/politicians and while its positive merits have been sung by Israeli President Shimon Peres, its negatives have been loudly outlined recently by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren. I'm not sure that the old saying when there's too much heat get out of the kitchen, doesn't apply. But for me the issue isn't about right and left, but more about war and peace and our necessity as human beings to find a way to work together, (not only Israelis from the right and left, but Palestinians, Americans and others too), to create an environment that honestly promotes peace in our Holy Land.
Thanks to Dr Gurdin for briniging up the machinations of the American Sociopathic Association. The ASA should be investigated by the Forward and its tax exempt status as a 501c3 should be reviewed by the IRS, to see if it is acting as a agent of a foreign government
Dr. Gurdin has hit the nail on the head!!! A University degree does not bring with it ethics, morals or integrity. That should have been taught at home. Most Jews send their children off to universities and allow them to be indoctrinated by socialist professors that impart hatred of the USA, Israel, and free societies. We, Jews are a naive people when it comes to protecting ourselves from evil influences. Why is that? I, personally believe a tour of duty in the US or Israeli army would be far more beneficial to our children's psyche than four years of brainwashing at Columbia or Harvard.
The concept of Social(ist) Justice is a scam on the Jewish people perpetrated by people (Rabbis included) with a left wing agenda. It is one thing to help people. it is wrong to do it solely to enlist them in a political cause.
For "Larry Snider" It must hurt your butt quite a bit to alwauys straddle a fence. It is impossible to negotiate with a party that will only settle for your destruction.
This article is a howler! I nearly fell out of chair reading this....well, crap. The Ford Foundation is not anti-Jewish? J Street is a 'moderate pro-Israel lobby"? "Steinberg was on to something"?
Hey, Alpher, get your head out of your behind and look at reality. Israel has been unfairly slandered by HRW, Red Cross, Desmond Tutu, UN, etc. I have not seen such hatred, such venom, poured over the good, generous and virtuous state of Israel while true obscene brutalities are perpetrated all over G-d's good earth against the innocents: China, Burma, Cuba, Venezuela, in Palenstinian areas, etc. The 'human rights group' who defends innocents, who declare to the world and before G-d Himself, that they will protect or, at least, shed light on such atrocities, WILLFULLY FAIL. Don't give me this non-sense about Israel's brutality. The Palenstinians, Lebanoneses, etc. should pray to their god for thanks that Israel is their neighber and not China, Russia, or any other nation on earth which would have invaded and absolutely destroyed 'neighbors' for launching missiles and threatening the very existence of their state. By G-d, if America was in the same geographical spot and those aggressive actions were done to my country and I was leader then launched neutron bombs on the entire area and end those insults to our sovereignty. For this reason, Israel should be lauded for giving its very lifeblood for peace in a region which conspires for war. G-d bless Israel and G-d bless the United States of America. What a stupid article. This passes for journalism?
Tom the Catholic beat me to it. Alpher describing J Street as "J Street? Isn’t that the moderate pro-Israel lobby?" is really revealing is own far left-of-center ideological self-positioning.
And the claim of "closer government regulation of human rights" being promoted by NGO-Monitor? It was simply seeking to limit the funding these political groups - not human rights because somehow Jews don't seem to possess rights with these groups - from governments and quasi-governments. It's a simple matter of a foreign government subverting Israel's democracy through funding of radical groups. Did the US like Communist funding of front groups?
Alpher's half-truths are lies in the end.
"NGO Monitor has revealed the funding by European governments and reputable American philanthropies of NGOs that smear Israel with lies and classic antisemitic rhetoric." Absolutely incredible work by Steinberg. Taking down giants like HRW and Ford is amazing. Alpher is upset because his Group, J Street has been exposed for everyone to judge. Tough luck Yossi. There are many groups under the J Street umbrella that support the destruction of Israel. Steinberg won't give them a pass. You are just going to have to live with it.