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Palestinian NGOs to Biden: Condemn Israel’s criminalization of human rights defenders

"We write to express our indignation concerning your administration’s subservient response to the outright and unabashed repression and criminalization of our work by Israeli authorities."

Editor’s Note: The heads of the six Palestinian civil society organizations that have been “outlawed” by the Israeli government sent the following letter to President Joe Biden on September 1 demanding the United States condemn and reject Israeli attacks against Palestinian civil society.

September 1, 2022

Dear Mr. President:

We, the directors of the six prominent Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations based in the occupied West Bank and arbitrarily outlawed by Israeli authorities over 10 months ago, write to express our indignation concerning your administration’s subservient response to the outright and unabashed repression and criminalization of our work by Israeli authorities.

In the latest escalation, Israeli forces raided all of our Ramallah-area offices early on August 18, forcing entry to our premises, confiscating files and office equipment, and welding shut and taping notices on our doors that ordered the forcible closure of the offices. Then, on August 21, several of us were summoned via phone by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) to appear for interrogation at Israel’s Ofer military base. Israeli officials delivered a clear message: cease operations or we will be arrested, prosecuted, and pay the price for continuing our human rights and humanitarian work.

This development follows a years long campaign to delegitimize and criminalize our organizations culminating in Israel’s Minister of Defense Benny Gantz signing an order last October designating our six Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations as “terrorist organizations” pursuant to a 2016 Israeli counterterrorism law; a law that is incompatible with human rights. Two weeks later, on November 3, 2021, Israel’s Chief Military Commander in the West Bank declared the organizations to be “unlawful associations” in the occupied West Bank under Israeli military law. [1]

The Israeli government’s repressive move met international backlash as the designation effectively criminalized the activities of our organizations and authorized Israeli authorities to close our offices, seize our assets, and arrest and jail our staff members. The European Union, which funds some of our programming and as a result has been targeted by disinformation campaigns seeking to eliminate that funding, acknowledged that similar past allegations “have not been substantiated.” [2] United Nations human rights experts strongly and unequivocally condemned the decision, declaring that the “designation is a frontal attack on the Palestinian human rights movement, and on human rights everywhere.” [3] Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International released a joint statement condemning the move noting that for decades “Israeli authorities have systematically sought to muzzle human rights monitoring and punish those who criticize its repressive rule over Palestinians.” [4]

In the days, weeks, and months that followed, your administration failed to act despite recognition by U.S. government officials and reports that Israeli authorities have for years pursued policies and tactics that work to constrain humanitarian and civil society space within all areas Israeli authorities exercise control. [5] Your administration failed to act despite your own Central Intelligence Agency’s reported assessment that information passed on by Israeli authorities  earlier this year did not substantiate the Israeli government’s claims. 

Now, over 10 months on, while all of us and our staff are under threat of imminent arrest and prosecution for allegations your own intelligence agency has reportedly deemed unsupported, your administration is still seemingly unwilling to substantively respond to the basic question of whether the Biden administration has any position, one way or the other, on the Israeli criminalization of our organizations. Your administration apparently will not even meet directly or respond to correspondence from us or our staff. The failure to reject or even rhetorically challenge the outright repression and criminalization of our work by Israeli authorities has enabled and propelled the Israeli government’s campaign to silence and eliminate our work. 

Recently, we have been buoyed by other states such as Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland and Sweden that released a joint statement in July on the Israeli designations stating that “no substantial information was received from Israel that would justify reviewing our policy towards the six Palestinian NGOs on the basis of the Israeli decision to designate these NGOs as ‘terrorist organizations.” [7] The nine countries declared, “in the absence of such evidence, we will continue our cooperation and strong support for the civil society in the oPT.” Members of Congress also called on your administration to publicly reject the Israeli designations and urge the Israeli government to reverse its decision. [8]

The Israeli government’s repressive tactics deployed against us seek to dismantle crucial mechanisms that work to uphold human rights and end Israel’s settler colonial and apartheid regime that systematically denies the Palestinian people their right to self-determination and the right of refugees to return. It is an attack against the global human rights movement.

Our organizations do vital human rights and humanitarian work that is necessary due to Israel’s decades-long belligerent occupation of Palestinian land that is actively and robustly supported by your administration. We work directly with Palestinian women and girls, children, peasant families, prisoners, and civil society activists, providing direct services and monitoring and exposing human rights abuses. We are researchers, social workers, lawyers, and advocates working to secure basic and fundamental human rights and accountability for the crimes of apartheid and persecution, war crimes, and other serious breaches of international law.

Emboldened and enabled by billions of dollars in unconditional United States military funding and weapons and unquestioning diplomatic efforts that obstruct any meaningful accountability, rather than end the persecution of the Palestinian people or end discriminatory policies and practices that privilege Jewish Israelis and systematically repress Palestinians, the Israeli regime is undoubtedly committed to authoritarian control of Palestinians and a belligerent occupation with no end it sight.

We call on you and your administration to immediately:

  1. Condemn the latest Israeli government actions aimed at delegitimizing and criminalizing Palestinian human rights defenders and civil society organizations;
  2. Reject the Israeli government’s unsubstantiated allegations against our Palestinian civil society organizations and demand Israeli authorities rescind the designations under both Israeli civilian law and military law;
  3. Work collectively with other states to demand Israel rescind the designations and take diplomatic action, in concert with European counterparts, that serves to protect our targeted Palestinian organizations, our staff, premises, and assets;
  4. End any U.S. efforts to undermine the right of Palestinians and Palestinian civil society organizations to pursue justice and accountability, including at the International Criminal Court; and
  5. End complicity and financial and diplomatic support to the Israeli apartheid regime.

While the Israeli government’s latest unlawful and aggressive incursion targeting each of our civil society organizations poses an existential threat to Palestinian civil society, we know that our work investigating and exposing human rights violations can never truly be stopped.

Sincerely, 

Khaled Quzmar
General Director
Defense for Children International – Palestine

Sahar Francis
General Director
Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association

Fuad Abu Saif
General Director
Union of Agricultural Work Committees

Shawan Jabareen
General Director
Al-Haq


Ubai Aboudi
Executive Director
Bisan Centre for Research and Development

Tahreer Jaber
General Director
Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees

CC: Secretary of State Mr. Antony Blinken

Notes

[1] Nir Hasson, Two weeks on, Israeli army extends Palestinian NGO terror designation to West Bank, Haaretz.com, Nov. 7, 2021, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2021-11-07/ty-article/.premium/two-weeks-on-israeli-army-extends-palestinian-ngo-terror-designation-towest-bank/0000017f-f8e0-d460-afff-fbe6a14f0000

[2] Joseph Krauss, Israel outlaws Palestinian rights groups, alleging terrorism, Associated Press, Oct. 22, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-israel-terrorism-96464d7d14c3a1a0b5adb75a45aa6a5e

[3]  UN experts condemn Israel’s designation of Palestinian human rights defenders as terrorist organisations, Oct. 25, 2021, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/10/un-experts-condemn-israels-designation-palestinian-human-rights-defenders

[4] Human Rights Watch & Amnesty International, Joint Statement: Designation of Palestinian civil society groups as terrorists a brazen attack on human rights, Oct. 22, 2021, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/10/israel-opt-designation-of-palestinian-civil-society-groups-as-terrorists-a-brazen-attack-on-human-rights

[5] See U.S. State Department 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Israel, West Bank and Gaza, https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/israel-west-bank-and-gaza/; U.S. State Department 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Israel, West Bank and Gaza, https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/israel-west-bank-and-gaza/; U.S. State Department 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Israel, West Bank and Gaza, https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/israel/; and Letter from Naz Durakoglu, Department of State Bureau of Legislative Affairs, to Rep. James McGovern (Jan. 20, 2022) (on file)

[6] Isaac Scher, CIA unable to corroborate Israel’s ‘terror’ label for Palestinian rights groups, The Guardian, Aug. 22, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/22/cia-report-israel-palestinian-rights-groups

[7]  Joint statement on the Israeli designation of six Palestinian civil society organisations as terrorist organisations, Jul. 12, 2021 https://www.government.nl/documents/diplomatic-statements/2022/07/12/joint-statement-on-the-israeli-designation-of-palestinian-civil-society-organisations-as-terrorist-organisations

 [8] See Letter from Rep. Ayanna Pressley et al. to Secretary of State Antony Blinken & Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines (Jul. 18, 2022), https://pressley.house.gov/media/press-releases/pressley-leads-letter-state-dept-regarding-israeli-government-s-criminalization; and Condemning the repressive designation by the Government of Israel of six prominent Palestinian human rights and civil society groups as terrorist organizations, H.Res. 751, 117th Congress (2021), https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-resolution/751

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While the messaging from Israeli leadership has been that there will be NO negotiations with Palestinians in the foreseeable future, pandering shills in the US continue to claim that the two-state solution is somehow still on the table.

But if Israel does not allow Palestinian society to exist in ANY form, then what gives?

It is most unfortunate that the Zionist Joe Biden declares that he stands for human rights for all in the US but has a hands off policy when it comes to Israel. Until the US stops the total complicity with Israel and quits whitewashing the crimes of the latter there will be no peace or justice for the Palestinians. The Israeli’s not only shut down and threaten human rights organizations but kill US citizens with total impunity. Only real pressure will get some justice and I don’t think it will happen with more that half a million settlers in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.

Does anyone believe that Israel will give an inch? It is take, take, take with them.

Two states is a dead end anymore, hope for a one state solution with equal rights for all.

Remember the Teamsters and Jimmy Hoffa? After the labor union was found to have ties to organized crime it was put under federal supervision ( https://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/justice-department-teamsters-union-supervision-ends-114281 “The U.S. government is ushering in a new era for the Teamsters, ending its 25-year supervision of a union once infamous for its ties to organized crime.” ) The government didn’t say that unions needed to be eliminated; no, they just insisted that they clean up their act.

Suppose – just for the sake of argument – that there’s some kind of problem with the human rights organizations Israel wants to shut down, suppose there is indeed someone funneling money to Hamas or whatever. The solution is to do the same thing the U.S. government did with the Teamsters: put them under supervision, demand more transparency and fix the problems. Doesn’t TheOnlyJewishStateInTheWorld want a robust human rights sector?

If it makes these people feel good, sending this letter does no harm, but it’s a waste of time when U.S. government positions and policies on Israel have absolutely nothing to do with “what’s true,” “what’s right,” or “what’s just.”

Face reality: you can’t buy Joe Biden or virtually any member of Congress with facts. They’re worth bupkus compared to the combination of campaign $ and the votes that it takes to win primary and general elections—after which they will depend on Israel for help in protecting America from perceived or real international threats.

Any change in America’s Israel policy requires explosive growth in grassroots support that’s reinforced with wealth from the sympathetically rich.

Activists and the victims of Israeli apartheid should focus their energy on the mainstream media, demanding news reports and objective analysis that will transform their current fringe into a solid and critical mass with clout.

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Israel lobby fury as Jewish leftist elected to Labour’s ruling body | The Electronic Intifada
“Israel lobby fury as Jewish leftist elected to Labour’s ruling body”
By Asa Winstanley, Sept. 2/22, Lobby Watch. 
“Britain’s Israel lobby reacted with fury on Thursday night as left-wing Jewish activist Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi was elected to the Labour Party’s ruling body.
“A veteran Palestine solidarity activist, Wimborne-Idrissi won a seat on the National Executive Committee (NEC) which sets internal rules governing the UK opposition party, including disciplinary matters. She is a leading member of Jewish Voice for Labour, a group launched in 2017 to defend then leader Jeremy Corbyn against false and politicized accusations of anti-Semitism.
“During the Corbyn years, the NEC was often used to purge left-wing & pro-Palestinian members falsely accused of anti-Semitism. Speaking exclusively to The Electronic Intifada on Friday, Wimborne-Idrissi promised to use her position to represent Labour members still under threat of expulsion.
“She said her victory was ‘a testament to the widespread support in the party for the kind of politics that JVL has been putting forward.’
“’There’s a lot of left-wing members still left in the party,’ Wimborne-Idrissi added. ‘They want someone to speak for them on Labour’s ruling body. That’s exactly what I intend to do.’
She said that the ‘response to my election from several organizations that claim to represent British Jews is frankly disappointing. They’ve launched an attack on the only Jewish candidate to be elected on this occasion. That discredits them.’
“Wimborne-Idrissi’s hard-fought victory represented a bright spark in an otherwise disappointing set of internal elections for Labour’s left on Thursday. The right-wing ‘Labour to Win’ slate won an extra seat away from the left.
Luke Akehurst was re-elected as part of this right-wing slate. For years a professional Israel lobbyist, Akehurst runs the ‘We Believe in Israel’ organization & formerly worked in public relations for the arms industry.
“Grassroots Labour activists criticized the allegedly left-wing group Momentum online for what one described as ‘sectarianism and political cowardice demoralizing the Labour left.’ (cont’d)