An official document obtained by Al Jazeera shows how Israel allegedly collected information on charities in 2013, singling out some of the world’s most well-known humanitarian organisations for their perceived positions on the Israel-Palestine conflict. The spreadsheet, accessed via an Israeli ministry website, listed more than 150 charities with basic details, but a “comments” column labeled 15 with statements such as “critic of Israel” for France-based Premiere Urgence Internationale, “involved in anti-Israel campaigning” for Geneva-based Defence for Children International, and “highly involved in BDS” for Spain’s Mundubat.
The document purportedly suggested Oxfam was “active in global BDS efforts” and encouraged NGOs to join “violations of international law” by supporting projects in the occupied West Bank. An Oxfam spokesperson told Al Jazeera the comments “appear to reflect allegations and interpretations, rather than an objective assessment,” adding that the charity does not support the BDS movement and upholds international law, noting that Israeli settlements “violate international humanitarian law.”
Tania Hary, executive director of the Israeli NGO Gisha, which advocates for Palestinian freedom of movement, said the document “has nothing to do with security” but is “further proof that the Israeli government has been tracking the activities of organisations that do life-saving work for Palestinians living under Israel’s brutal occupation for decades.”
The spreadsheet was obtained from the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, then known as Israel’s Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Social Services. Many comments cite NGO Monitor, an Israel-based group that describes itself as a nonpartisan research institute but which Mayssoun Sukarieh, a senior lecturer at King’s College London, called a “right-wing” organisation “that monitors people who are pro-Palestine.”
The document was created in October 2013, when the BDS movement against Israel was gaining momentum. That year, physicist Stephen Hawking refused to attend a conference in Israel over the occupation, several student bodies adopted academic boycotts, and Canada’s largest Protestant church began a campaign against goods made in Israeli settlements.
Experts said the file shows Israel’s methodology in monitoring charities and the BDS movement four years before it passed a law barring entry to anyone supporting the campaign. Giovanni Fassina, director of the European Legal Support Center, said Israel has been “blacklisting” groups and individuals “for a long time” using a network that includes groups like NGO Monitor, and the document “shows the start of that process.”
Other charities with comments include Denmark’s DanChurchAid, Sweden’s Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, UK-based Medical Aid for Palestinians, Germany’s Medico International, Norwegian Refugee Council, Palestine Solidarity Association of Sweden, and World Vision International. Medico’s Riad Othman told Al Jazeera the document signaled an “overreaction on the part of Israel,” adding that while Medico has not supported the boycott movement, it has defended the right of others to call for a boycott.
The Palestine Solidarity Association of Sweden said it was a “known fact” Israeli officials closely monitor networks that support the Palestinian cause, viewing the nonviolent BDS movement as a “strategic threat.” The NGO sector’s relationship with Israel has been further strained during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians since October 2023, according to health officials.
Source: www.aljazeera.com