Tundrabuggy (talk | contribs) →Criticism: The article does not say "more critical". It says it has "issued more reports." It may issue more reports because of the relative importance of HRW, not necessarily more critical |
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{{Short description|Pro-Israel non-governmental organization}} |
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{{Infobox Website |
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| name = NGO Monitor |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}} |
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| logo = |
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{{COI|date=March 2024}} |
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| screenshot = |
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{{Infobox organization |
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| caption = |
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| name = NGO Monitor |
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| url = http://www.ngo-monitor.org/ |
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| logo = [[File:Ngo monitor logo.jpg|250px]] |
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| commercial = No |
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| type = [[Non- |
| type = [[Non-profit organization|Non-profit]]<br/>[[Non-governmental organization|NGO]] |
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| founded_date = {{start date and age|2001}}<ref name="about">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ngo-monitor.org/articles.php?type=about |title=About NGO Monitor |publisher=NGO Monitor}}</ref> |
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| language = English |
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| founder = [[Gerald M. Steinberg]] |
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| registration = |
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| location = Jerusalem |
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| owner = [[Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs]] |
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| key_people = [[Gerald M. Steinberg]] (President); Naftali Balanson, Managing Editor; Anne Herzberg, Legal Advisor<ref name="about"/> |
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| launch date = |
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| area_served = Israel |
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| current status = |
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| focus = End promotion of "politically and ideologically motivated anti-Israel agendas" by certain NGOs.<ref name="about"/> |
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| revenue = |
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| revenue = US$ 385,000 (2008)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ngo-monitor.org/data/images/File/annual_report_web2008.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091009210711/http://www.ngo-monitor.org/data/images/File/annual_report_web2008.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 October 2009|title=2008 Annual Report|year=2008|publisher=NGO Monitor|access-date=9 June 2010}}</ref> |
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| num_employees = 13 (November 2010)<ref name="NGO Monitor Staff"/> |
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| homepage = [http://www.ngo-monitor.org/ ngo-monitor.org] |
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}} |
}} |
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<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Gerald M Steinberg.jpg|thumb|300px|Gerald M. Steinberg, President]] --> |
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'''NGO Monitor''' ('''Non-governmental Organization Monitor''') is a [[right-wing]] [[non-governmental organization]] based in [[Jerusalem]] that reports on international NGO activity from a pro-Israel perspective.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Rubin | first1=A. | last2=Sarfati | first2=Y. | last3=Akman | first3=C.A. | last4=Erdeniz | first4=G. | last5=Fishman | first5=L. | last6=Golan-Nadir | first6=N. | last7=Michaeli | first7=I. | last8=Tepe | first8=S. | title=The Jarring Road to Democratic Inclusion: A Comparative Assessment of State–Society Engagements in Israel and Turkey | publisher=Lexington Books | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-4985-2508-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LTTVDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA6 | page=6|access-date=2021-12-10|quote=Right-wing organizations Im Tirzu and NGO Monitor ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Stetter | first=Stephan | title=The Middle East and Globalization: Encounters and Horizons | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-137-03176-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xt7YAZOioLQC&pg=PA206 | access-date=2021-12-10|quote=Transnational NGOs usually do not become a conflict party and are less likely to be associated with one of the conflict parties-although, to pick but two examples, as the campaign of the right-wing NGO Monitor in Israel against the involvement of "external actors"|page=206}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Khalidi | first=Rashid | title=Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East | publisher=Beacon Press | year=2013 | isbn=978-0-8070-4476-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LHYPnxwPnlwC&pg=RA1-PT127 | access-date=2021-12-10|quote=Several other right-wing Israeli NGOs follow the same approach, including NGO Monitor}}</ref><ref name="jta.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.jta.org/2007/08/31/news-opinion/haaretz-columnist-dropped-by-british-zionists |title=Ha'aretz columnist dropped by British Zionists | publisher=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency|JTA]] |date=31 August 2007}}</ref> |
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The organization was founded in 2001 by [[Gerald M. Steinberg]] under the auspices of the [[Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs]], before becoming a legally and financially independent organization in 2007.{{cn|date=July 2023}} |
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'''NGO Monitor''' ('''Non-governmental Organization Monitor''') is an [[Israel|Israeli]] [[non-governmental organization]] with the stated aim of stopping "certain self-declared '[[Human_rights|humanitarian]] [[Non-governmental_organization|NGO]]s'" from promoting agendas which are perceived as [[Anti-Zionism|anti-Israel]].<ref name="about">{{cite web|url=http://www.ngo-monitor.org/articles.php?type=about|title=About NGO Monitor|work=NGO Monitor}}</ref> |
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NGO Monitor in its mission statement says it was founded to "to promote accountability, and advance a vigorous discussion on the reports and activities of humanitarian NGOs in the framework of the [[Arab-Israeli conflict]]." The organization further describes its objective as "to end to 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." <ref name="about" /> ''[[The Economist]]'' and ''[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]]'' identify NGO Monitor as a pro-Israel non-governmental organization.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9804231 Boycotting Israel: New pariah on the block], ''The Economist'', [[September 13]], [[2007]].</ref><ref>[http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/103936.html Ha'aretz columnist dropped by British Zionists], ''[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency|JTA]]'' Breaking News, [[August 31]], [[2007]].</ref> |
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NGO Monitor has been criticized by academic figures, diplomats, and journalists for allowing its research and conclusions to be driven by politics,<ref name=Friedman >{{cite news|last1=Friedman|first1=Matti|title=What the Media Gets Wrong About Israel|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/11/how-the-media-makes-the-israel-story/383262/3/|access-date=10 December 2014|publisher=The Atlantic|date=30 November 2014}}</ref><ref name=JPeters /><ref name="Edwards2012" /> for not examining right-wing NGOs,<ref name="Edwards2012" /> and for spreading misinformation.<ref name="EUobserver" /> NGO Monitor's stated mission is to "end the practice used by certain self-declared 'humanitarian NGOs' of exploiting the label 'universal human rights values' to promote politically and ideologically motivated agendas".<ref name="about"/> A number of academics have written that NGO Monitor's aims and activities are political in nature.<ref name="Edwards2012"/><ref name=NC>{{cite book|last=Chazan|first=Naomi|title=Israel in the World: Legitimacy and Exceptionalism|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0415624152|pages=79–80|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VXkerb_JH2UC&q=NGO+monitor+right+wing&pg=PA79}}</ref><ref name=JPeters/> |
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==Structure, staff and funding== |
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NGO Monitor is the central project of the Organization for NGO Responsibility, a self-described independent non-profit organization registered in Israel operating out of the [[Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs]]/Institute for Contemporary Affairs whose president is [[Dore Gold]], a former ambassador to the United Nations for Israel and advisor to [[Ariel Sharon]].<ref>Shlomo Greenwald. [http://www2.nysun.com/article/33165 Ford Foundation Is Criticized on Mideast Funding]. ''New York Sun''. May 23, 2006.</ref> Its editor is Gerald M. Steinberg, a professor at [[Bar-Ilan University]] in Israel.<ref name="forward">{{cite news |
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|title=Monitoring The Monitor |
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|author=Leonard Fein |
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|url=http://www.forward.com/articles/monitoring-the-monitor/ |
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|publisher=[[Jewish Daily Forward]] |
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|date=[[2005-05-20]] |
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}}</ref> It was formerly a joint project of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and [[B'nai Brith]] International founded jointly with the Wechsler Family Foundation.<ref>[http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=16540 IMRA: Follow up on ISM and the death of Rachel Corrie]</ref> Its staff includes:<ref name="about" /> |
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* Gerald M. Steinberg, Executive Director: Professor of Political Studies at Bar Ilan University, where he directs the Interdisciplinary Program on Conflict Management and Negotiation; also a Senior Research Associate at the BESA Center for Strategic Studies, a consultant to the [[Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] and [[National Security Council]], and a columnist.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.biu.ac.il/~steing/index.shtml|title=Professor Gerald M. Steinberg|work=Bar-Ilan University}}</ref> |
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* Sarah Mandel, Associate Editor. |
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* Anne Herzberg, Director of Research and Legal Advisor. |
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* Dan Kosky, Communications Director. |
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* Andre Oboler, Legacy Heritage Fellow. |
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The organization's leader, Gerald M. Steinberg, has reportedly worked for the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Office of the Prime Minister while heading NGO Monitor.<ref>[http://972mag.com/what-is-ngo-monitors-connection-to-the-israeli-government/90239/ ''What is NGO Monitor’s connection to the Israeli government?'']</ref> |
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NGO Monitor states that it was founded with funding from the Wechsler Family Foundation originally directed to the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.<ref>[http://www.jcpa.org/ica/index.htm JCPA: Institute for Contemporary Affairs]</ref> Nina Rosenwald, a member of the [[Council on Foreign Relations]] and the [[Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America|Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA)]]<ref>[http://www.hudson.org/learn/index.cfm?fuseaction=staff_bio&eid=Rosenwald Hudson Institute: Staff Bio]</ref>, is another NGO Monitor donor.<ref>[http://www.ngo-monitor.org/articles.php?cat_id=17 NGO Monitor: Founding Donor]</ref> |
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==Structure and staff== |
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NGO Monitor is the central project of the Organization for NGO Responsibility, an independent nonprofit organization registered in Israel. Its president is Gerald M. Steinberg, professor emeritus of Political Science at [[Bar-Ilan University]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Steinberg | first=Gerald | title=Gerald Steinberg, Author at ngomonitor | website=ngomonitor | date=2022-04-20 | url=https://www.ngo-monitor.org/expert/gerald/ | access-date=2022-06-22}}</ref> |
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Its staff includes:<ref name="about" /> |
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* [[Gerald M. Steinberg]], president |
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* Naftali Balanson, managing editor |
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* Anne Herzberg, legal advisor |
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* Dov Yarden, chief executive officer |
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* Arnie Draiman, online communications<ref name="NGO Monitor Staff">{{cite web |title=NGO Monitor Staff |url=http://www.ngo-monitor.org/articles/staff |access-date=17 June 2013}}</ref><ref name=OY2013/> |
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As of 2015, NGO Monitor advisory council members were said to include [[Elliott Abrams]], [[Alan Dershowitz]], [[Douglas Murray (author)|Douglas Murray]] and [[R. James Woolsey Jr.|R. James Woolsey]].<ref name=Bath15>{{cite report |last1=Marusek |first1=Sarah |last2=Miller |first2=David |date=2015 |isbn=9780957027459 |title=How Israel attempts to mislead the United Nations: Deconstructing Israel's campaign against the Palestinian Return Centre |publisher=Public Interest Investigations |url=https://researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/publications/how-israel-attempts-to-mislead-the-united-nations-deconstructing-}}</ref> |
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==Funding== |
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According to a report by [[Peace Now]], NGO Monitor is not transparent about its funding.<ref name="haaretz.co.il"/><ref name="jpost.com">[http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Peace-Now-95-percent-of-funding-for-right-wing-NGOs-hidden-from-public-437239 ''Peace Now: 95% of funding for right-wing NGOs hidden from public'']. Jerusalem Post, 14 December 2015</ref><ref>[http://peacenow.org.il/eng/sites/default/files/Right%20Wing%20Funding.pdf ''Funding Sources and Transparency For Nine Associations Identified with the Israeli Right Wing''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205061624/http://peacenow.org.il/eng/sites/default/files/Right%20Wing%20Funding.pdf |date=5 February 2016 }}. Ilan Sheizaf, September 2015</ref> The Wechsler Family Foundation is one of NGO Monitor's founding donors. Other acknowledged supporters are [[Nina Rosenwald]] and Newt Becker.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080412094358/http://www.ngo-monitor.org/articles.php?cat_id=17 ''Founding Donor'']. NGO Monitor. Archived on 12 April 2008</ref> Since its separation from the [[Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs]] (JCPA) and its formation as an independent organization in 2007, NGO Monitor has drawn on a wider range of funding sources. NGO Monitor has said it receives no governmental support and is funded by private donors and foundations, though it did receive some funds, in 2010 and 2011, via The [[Jewish Agency for Israel]] (JAFI), a quasi-governmental agency.<ref name=financial_reports>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130921183319/http://www.ngo-monitor.org/pdf/NGOM_signed_audit2010english.pdf ''The Amutah For Financial Responsibility (R.A.) Financial Statements as of December 31, 2010'']; [https://web.archive.org/web/20130921183319/http://www.ngo-monitor.org/data/images/File/NGOM_signed_audit2011english.pdf ''The Amutah for NGO Responsibility (R.A.) Financial Statements as of December 31, 2011'']. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130921183319/http://www.ngo-monitor.org/articles.php?cat_id=17 On the archived website]</ref> |
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In 2010, the organization received a $500,000 grant from Research + Evaluation = Promoting Organizational Responsibility and Transparency (REPORT), formerly known as American Friends of NGO Monitor (AFNGOM). Private donors in the U.S. were asked on NGO Monitor's website to donate via REPORT.<ref name=ngo_donation>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130921183319/http://www.ngo-monitor.org/articles.php?cat_id=17 ''TO MAKE A DONATION'']. NGO Monitor. Archived on 21 September 2013</ref> Other donors include The Center for Jewish Community Studies (part of JCPA),<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130921183319/http://documents.guidestar.org.il/PDF/newfiles/fin/2009/117-99-2010-0241982.pdf ''Financial Report 2009'']</ref> the Orion Foundation, Matan, Peter Simpson, Nir Ben Josef,<ref name=financial_reports/> Real Property Investment DR. Tuchmen,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130921183319/http://www.ngo-monitor.org/data/images/File/FinancialstatementsEnglish2012.pdf ''Financial Report 2012'']</ref> and [[Jewish Federations of North America]]<!-- and [[United Jewish Appeal]] (deleted because UJA folded in 1999 before NGO Monitor was founded)-->.<ref name=ngo_donation/> NGO Monitor's financial reports for 2009 to 2012, which include donations above NIS 20,000 (approximately $5,200 as of 2012), are available on its website.<ref name=ngo_donation/> |
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According to a February 2012 article by [[Uri Blau]] in ''Haaretz'', his examination of NGO Monitor's finances revealed that "the organization sought to block the publication of one contributor and to get hundreds of thousands of Shekels from anonymous sources".<ref name="haaretz.co.il">{{cite news |author=Uri Blau |url=http://www.haaretz.co.il/magazine/1.1636887 |script-title=he:העמותה שעוקבת אחר ארגוני השמאל לא רוצה שתדעו מי תורם לה |newspaper=Haaretz |language=he |trans-title=NGO Monitor: The association that tracks organizations of the Left does not want you to know who contributes to it |date=10 February 2012 |access-date=20 June 2013}}</ref> The donations in question were channeled through the [[Jewish Agency for Israel]] and Matan, and originated with undisclosed donors from outside Israel. In the same article, Jason Edelstein, NGO Monitor's communications director, is quoted as saying "all of our financial information is fully disclosed with the Registrar for Non-Profits as required by law".<ref name="haaretz.co.il"/> |
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A 2015 report published by the [[Peace Now]] movement discovered that NGO Monitor failed to file a legally required disclosure regarding the source of its funding, and that many of the group's funding sources are hidden from the public.<ref name="jpost.com"/><ref>[http://peacenow.org.il/eng/sites/default/files/Right%20Wing%20Funding.pdf ''Funding Sources and Transparency For Nine Associations Identified with the Israeli Right Wing''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205061624/http://peacenow.org.il/eng/sites/default/files/Right%20Wing%20Funding.pdf |date=5 February 2016 }}. Ilan Sheizaf, September 2015</ref> |
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NGO Monitor's U.S. sources of funding, as revealed by U.S. tax filings, have included the Abstraction Fund, [[American Jewish Committee]], Ben and Esther Rosenbloom Foundation, CJM Foundation, Jewish Community Federation, [[Koret Foundation]], Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund, [[Middle East Forum]], MZ Foundation, [[Network for Good]], Paul E. Singer Foundation, Milstein Family Foundation, Newton and Rochelle Becker affiliated charities, Shillman Foundation, Sinder Foundation, Vanguard Charitable Endowment Fund, and the William P. Goldman and Brothers Foundation.<ref name=Bath15/> |
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==Activities== |
==Activities== |
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===Legal activities=== |
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NGO Monitor maintains a directory of NGO's world-wide, <ref>[http://www.ngo-monitor.org/ngo_index.php?letter=A Directory of Non Governmental Agencies Alpha by Country]</ref> which generally includes a description, a quote from the organisation itself, who funds it, and if NGO-Monitor perceives the NGO as anti-Israel, includes a brief statement giving evidence. NGO-Monitor also contains considerable material in relation to the first [[Durban Conference]]<ref>[http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/durban_conference_0 NGO Monitor Reports on Durban at website]</ref>, the [[Durban strategy]] of divestment and boycott <ref>[http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/ngo_leadership_in_boycott_and_divestment_campaigns NGO Leadership in Boycott and Divestment Campaigns]</ref>, as well as considerable discussion regarding the upcoming Durban Review Conference.<ref>[http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/ngo_forum_at_durban_conference_ Durban Review Conference 2009 at NGO Monitor site]</ref> |
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[[Rashid Khalidi]] has called NGO Monitor an organisation that opposes legal means against Israel and at the same time a proponent of the use of legal means against those who criticise Israel.<ref name="Khalidi2013">{{cite book|author=Rashid Khalidi|title=Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LHYPnxwPnlwC&pg=RA1-PT127|access-date=30 May 2013|date=12 March 2013|publisher=Beacon Press|isbn=978-0-8070-4476-6}}</ref> Sabine Lang writes that NGO Monitor has focused on the use of legal means to limit funding to NGOs.<ref name="Lang2012">{{cite book|author=Sabine Lang|title=NGOs, Civil Society, and the Public Sphere|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vMl-Rgs8nRoC&pg=PA116|access-date=30 May 2013|date=15 October 2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-02499-1|pages=116–}}</ref> |
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Neve Gordon, writing in ''[[Law & Society Review]]'', describes the term as part of a campaign to portray human rights as a national security threat and to impede organizations that expose human rights abuses, using NGO Monitor's activities as one of its main examples.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Neve|last1=Gordon|title=Human Rights as a Security Threat: Lawfare and the Campaign against Human Rights NGOs|url=https://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/lasr.12074|journal=Law & Society Review|date=3 June 2014|issn=1540-5893|pages=311–344|volume=48|issue=2|doi=10.1111/lasr.12074}}</ref> |
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NGO Monitor has criticized several international human rights organizations, such as [[Christian Aid]] (for its alleged "extensive involvement in anti-Israel propaganda campaigns"<ref name="CAid">{{cite web|url=http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/christian_aid_uk_|title=Christian Aid (UK)|work=NGO Monitor}}</ref>), [[Human Rights Watch]] (for being "systematically and exceedingly biased"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article.php?id=492|title=Special Report: "Activity Summary of Human Rights Watch March 2003 - March 2004"|work=NGO Monitor}}</ref>), [[Amnesty International]],<ref name="HRG">{{cite web|url=http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article.php?id=541|title="Human Rights Groups are Working Against Peace"|work=NGO Monitor}}</ref> [[Oxfam]]<ref name="HRG" />, the [[Center for Constitutional Rights]] and [[Medecins Sans Frontieres]] (also known as Doctors Without Borders).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article.php?id=897|title=´Political Humanitarianism´ and Medical NGOs|work=NGO Monitor}}</ref> |
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In January 2010, Steinberg brought a case before the [[European Court of Justice]] arguing that it was wrong of the [[European Commission]] to withhold some of the contents of over 200 financial documents that NGO Monitor had requested regarding the funding of Israeli and Palestinian NGOs.<ref name=EJC2012>{{cite web | title = Order Of The General Court (Fifth Chamber), Case T‑17/10 | date = 27 November 2012 | author = Court of Justice of the European Union| url = http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=131828&pageIndex=0&doclang=EN&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1 |access-date=26 December 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| author = Dan Izenberg | title = NGO Monitor turns to EU court for transparency | newspaper = The Jerusalem Post | date = 21 January 2010 | url = http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=166271 |access-date=26 December 2012 }}</ref> In November 2012, the court said that NGO Monitor could not receive the financial documents regarding 16 projects of [[human rights]] organizations in Israel, calling it "in part, manifestly inadmissible and, in part, manifestly lacking any foundation in law".<ref name=EJC2012/> The EU said "that the Middle East is an unstable region, and therefore such information may pose a danger to human rights groups".<ref name=HaarEU>{{cite news| author = Chaim Levinson | title = EU court rejects NGO Monitor petition to release details on Israeli rights groups | newspaper = Haaretz | date = 25 December 2012 | url = http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/eu-court-rejects-ngo-monitor-petition-to-release-details-on-israeli-rights-groups-1.489919 |access-date=26 December 2012 }}</ref> |
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The organisation has criticized the [[Ford Foundation]] for funding the [[Palestinian]] [[Al Mezan Center for Human Rights|Al Mezan Center]], which it claims was involved in "blatantly political anti-Israel activities".<ref>[http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article.php?id=53 NGO Monitor: Ford Foundation NGO Funding Update]</ref> Subsequent to this criticism, the Ford Foundation modified its policies regarding funding of NGOs. <ref>[http://www.netwmd.com/articles/article293.html netWMD: "Stunning Reversal"]</ref> |
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In 2013, NGO Monitor issued a report on the findings of the 2011 Israeli law requiring Israeli non-governmental organizations to disclose financial contributions from foreign donors and governments. The report assessed that foreign funding of Israeli NGOs totalled NIS 34,355,579 in 2012.<ref name=jp302155>{{cite news |author=Sam Sokol |url=http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=302155 |title=Groups spar with NGO Monitor over foreign funding |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=5 February 2013}}</ref> Steinberg called the new law an "international model for transparency". He also said, "the amount of foreign funding going to NGOs involved in polarizing activity in the context of the Arab–Israeli conflict [is] alarming."<ref name=jp302155/> The [[Association for Civil Rights in Israel]] (ACRI) spokesman Marc Grey said that ACRI's donors were already listed on its website, making the law "redundant", and that the donations allowed organizations to protect human rights and freedoms, adding, "the basis for Israel's relations with democratic countries is shared values – democracy and human rights above all – the State of Israel itself is a recipient of funds from these very same countries, in the framework of trade agreements, investments, loans, and donations."<ref name=jp302155/> A spokesman for [[B'Tselem]] said the information had been published on its website for years and that NGO Monitor is a group of "Israeli government apologists masquerading as an objective watchdog. They do not even practice what they preach in terms of their own transparency and their sloppy, third-rate research."<ref name=jp302155/> |
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NGO Monitor also claims that [[B'Tselem]], an NGO that calls itself "The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories", has political agenda and has falsified and distorted data. {{fact|Oct 2008}} According to NGO Monitor, B'Tselem employs "abusive and demonizing rhetoric designed to elicit political support for Palestinians".<ref>[http://www.ngo-monitor.org/editions/v2n12/v2n12-4.htm Betselem: Report Uses Outdated Sources and the Rhetoric of Demonization], ''NGO Monitor Analysis'' (Vol. 2 No. 12), [[August 15]] [[2004]].</ref> |
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===Criticisms of NGOs=== |
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==Criticism== |
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NGO Monitor criticized the [[Ford Foundation]] for funding the 2001 [[World Conference against Racism 2001|World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance]] in [[Durban]], [[South Africa]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article.php?id=53 |title=Ford Foundation NGO Funding Update - Implementation of Post-Durban Guidelines is Slow and Lacks Transparency |date=28 April 2005 |publisher=NGO Monitor}}</ref> The Ford Foundation has modified its policies regarding funding of NGOs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.netwmd.com/articles/article293.html |publisher=War to Mobilize Democracy (netWMD) |title='Stunning Reversal:' Ford Foundation Agrees to Stop Funding Anti-Israeli and Anti-Semitic Groups |author=Andrew L. Jaffee |date=21 November 2003 |access-date=12 November 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201092449/http://www.netwmd.com/articles/article293.html |archive-date=1 December 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It also has taken exception to such accusations and says its involvement in the Palestinian territories reflects its belief that a just solution to the conflict is vitally important to the region and the peoples directly affected and that it also funds groups such as the [[New Israel Fund]].<ref>{{cite news |author1=Bradford Smith |author2=Vice President |author3=Ford Foundation |url=http://forward.com/articles/6922/letter-october--/ |newspaper=The Forward |title=Ford Foundation Backs Proponents of Peace |date=24 October 2003}}</ref> |
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A 2005 article in ''[[Jewish Daily Forward]]'' takes issue with NGO Monitor's claim that Human Rights Watch (HRW) places “extreme emphasis on critical assessments of Israel” and has issued more reports about HRW than on any other of the 75 NGOs it concerns itself with. Leonard Fein in his article says that HRW devotes more attention to five other nations in the region — [[Iraq]], [[Sudan]], [[Egypt]], [[Turkey]] and [[Iran]] — than they did to Israel but that, despite extensive correspondence, editor Steinberg has failed to correct the misleading claim about HRW on the NGO Watch website. Fein argues that NGO- Monitor may not be free of the "narrow political and ideological preferences” of which it accuses HRW. <ref name="forward" /> |
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NGO Monitor also criticized B'Tselem, "The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ngo-monitor.org/editions/v2n12/v2n12-4.htm |title=Betselem: Report Uses Outdated Sources and the Rhetoric of Demonization, ''NGO Monitor Analysis'' (Vol. 2 No. 12) |date=15 August 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102104059/http://ngo-monitor.org/editions/v2n12/v2n12-4.htm |archive-date=2 January 2016 }}</ref> |
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NGO Monitor criticized the [[New Israel Fund]], which states that its primary objective is to strengthen Israel's democracy, for funding organizations that the NGO Monitor claims are engaged in a "campaign to delegitimize Israel." These claims were denied by the President of the New Israel Fund and law professor at [[Georgetown University Law Center]], [[Peter Edelman]], who described NGO Monitor's criticism as "un-democratic and un-Jewish" and "inherently and fundamentally flawed." <ref>[http://www.ngo-monitor.org/editions/v1n12/v1n12-3.htm NGO Monitor: Exchange of letters on NIF transparency and accountability]</ref> |
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NGO Monitor has criticized the New Israel Fund, which says its primary objective is "to strengthen Israel's democracy".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nif.org/about/new-israel-fund-principles |title=New Israel Fund Principles |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528072709/http://www.nif.org/about/new-israel-fund-principles |archive-date=28 May 2013 }}</ref> Larry Garber, then executive director of the New Israel Fund, and Eliezer Ya'ari, then NIF's Israel director and a retired Israeli air force major,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jewishtribune.ca/uncategorized/2008/09/24/new-israel-fund-director-responds-to-criticism |newspaper=The Jewish Tribune |title=New Israel Fund director responds to criticism |date=24 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006072725/http://www.jewishtribune.ca/uncategorized/2008/09/24/new-israel-fund-director-responds-to-criticism |archive-date=6 October 2014 }}</ref> wrote in an op-ed in ''The Jerusalem Post'' that if Israel accepts Steinberg's premises, then "Israel's credibility—and, more important, the nation's morality—will suffer."<ref>{{cite news |author1=Larry Garber |author2=Eliezar Ya'ari |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |title=Who's really damaging Israel's image? |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Whos-really-damaging-Israels-image |date=19 March 2006}}</ref> |
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In an article for [[Political Research Associates]], which describes itself as a progressive think tank devoted to supporting movements that are building a more just and inclusive democratic society<ref>[http://www.publiceye.org/about.html PublicEye.org: About PRA]</ref>, Jean Hardisty and Elizabeth Furdon describe NGO Monitor as a "conservative NGO watchdog group, NGO Monitor, which focuses on perceived threats to Israeli interests", adding that "the ideological slant of NGO Monitor's work is unabashedly pro-Israeli. It does not claim to be a politically neutral examination of NGO activities and practices."<ref>[http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v18n1/hardisty_ngo.html Policing Civil Society] Spring 2004, Political Research Associates</ref> |
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With the stated aim of encouraging critical debate on the role of NGOs in the Middle East conflict, NGO Monitor held a 2006 conference in Jerusalem with 21 humanitarian aid groups in attendance. A panel discussed the pros and cons of NGOs dealing with [[Hamas]].<ref name=EJP>{{cite news|url=http://www.ejpress.org/article/9479 |publisher=European Jewish Press |title=EU to discuss Middle East NGOs funding |date=7 July 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214001158/http://www.ejpress.org/article/9479 |archive-date=14 February 2012 }}</ref><ref name=JP>{{cite news |author=Yoav Appel | newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |title=Major NGOs skip 'unfair' monitoring conference |date=14 June 2006 |url=http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Major-NGOs-skip-unfair-monitoring-conference}}</ref> NGOs such as [[Amnesty International]], B'Tselem and [[Physicians for Human Rights]] were invited to speak but declined.<ref name=EJP /> Amnesty International said the conference did "not give a balanced ground for open and fair dialogue" while another human rights group accused NGO Monitor of "partiality".<ref name=JP/> |
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[[Ittijah]], the Union of Arab Community Based Organisations in Israel, labels NGO Monitor as "an organ of the American [[pro-Israel lobby]]." <ref>[http://www.ittijah.org/about/about01.html Ittijah: About Ittijah]</ref> Editorialist Leonard Fein claimed that NGO Monitor had refused to correct a mistaken claim about another NGO.<ref name="forward" /> |
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===Editing Wikipedia=== |
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Kathleen Peratis, a member of the board of [[Human Rights Watch]], has criticized NGO Monitor for accusing Human Right Watch's "executive director, whose father fled Nazi Germany, of anti-Semitism". Peratis has further criticized NGO Monitor for not saying where or when HRW claims have been unverifiable.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/29/AR2006082901045.html ''The Washington Post'': Diversionary Strike On a Rights Group]</ref> Larry Garber and Elizier Yaari, in an op-ed for the ''Jerusalem Post'', wrote that if Israel accepted the premises of Gerald Steinberg, the director of NGO Monitor, then "Israel's credibility - and, more important, the nation's morality - will suffer."<ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1139395637431 ''The Jerusalem Post'': Who's really damaging Israel's image?]</ref> |
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NGO Monitor's online communications editor, Arnie Draiman, was indefinitely banned from editing Wikipedia articles about the Israeli-Arab conflict due to biased editing, concealing his place of work and using a second account in a way forbidden by Wikipedia policy.<ref name=OY2013>{{cite web|author1=Oded Yaron|title=Aligning text to the right: Is a political organization editing Wikipedia to suit its interests? - Features|url=https://www.haaretz.com/2013-06-17/ty-article/.premium/the-israeli-editing-wars-on-wikipedia/0000017f-f95b-d044-adff-fbfbb3b30000|website=haaretz.com|publisher=Haaretz|access-date=4 November 2016|date=17 June 2013}}</ref> Draiman was a major contributor to the articles on NGO Monitor and [[Gerald Steinberg]], and performed hundreds of edits on articles about human rights organizations, such as [[B'Tselem]], the [[New Israel Fund]], [[Human Rights Watch]], and many others that Steinberg opposes.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Haaretz|title=Biased Wikipedia editing in Israel raises concerns of political meddling - France 24|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20130617-biased-wikipedia-israel-political-meddling-arnie-draiman-monitor-ngo|website=France 24|access-date=4 November 2016|date=17 June 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003062705/http://www.france24.com/en/20130617-biased-wikipedia-israel-political-meddling-arnie-draiman-monitor-ngo|archive-date=3 October 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref> |
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==Reception== |
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Political research conducted at [[Lund University]] in 2019 rated NGO Monitor highly for "counter-democratic activities" and found that the organization was "heavily involved in [the] denunciation" of human rights NGOs by depicting them as "unprofessional and biased".<ref name=Kalm19/> In all of NGO Monitor's reports, it was found to criticize NGOs that "had a perspective of promoting Palestinian human rights and/or taking a critical stance toward Israeli Government policies vis-à-vis Palestinians". The research also found that NGO Monitor appeared to "be promoting pro-Israel views regarding the conflict in a partisan way" and that, organizationally, NGO Monitor "might be less independent" and "tied to strong political interests and actors".<ref name=Kalm19>{{cite journal |first1=Sara |last1=Kalm |first2=Lisa |last2=Strömbom |first3=Anders |last3=Uhlin |date=2019 |title=Civil Society Democratising Global Governance? Potentials and Limitations of "Counter-Democracy" |journal=Global Society |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=499–519 |doi=10.1080/13600826.2019.1640189 |doi-access=free }}</ref> |
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[[Leonard Fein]], writing for ''[[The Forward]]'' in 2005, said that NGO Monitor is "an organization that believes that the best way to defend Israel is to condemn anyone who criticizes it."<ref name="forward"/> |
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Yehudit Karp, a member of the International Council of the New Israel Fund and a former deputy attorney general of Israel, said that NGO Monitor has released information "it knew to be wrong, along with some manipulative interpretation".<ref>{{cite web |author=Yehudit Karp |date=6 March 2012 |url=http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-undisguised-agenda/ |title=NGO Monitor and Adalah: The thinly veiled agenda |publisher=Times of Israel}}</ref> |
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The New Israel Fund said in May 2011 that NGO Monitor "knowingly published false information in its newsletter" about the NIF funding of [[Coalition of Women for Peace]] (CWP). NIF said that NGO Monitor's director was given the correct information verbally in advance.<ref>{{cite press release|last=Paiss |first=Naomi |title=NGO Monitor Attacks New Israel Fund Based on Information It Knew to Be Wrong |date=12 May 2011 |publisher=New Israel Fund |location=Washington, D.C. |url=http://nif.org/media-center/press-releases/1054-ngo-monitor-attacks-new-israel-fund-based-on-information-it-knew-to-be-wrong |access-date=21 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106162834/http://www.nif.org/media-center/press-releases/1054-ngo-monitor-attacks-new-israel-fund-based-on-information-it-knew-to-be-wrong |archive-date=6 November 2013 }}</ref> NGO Monitor responded by asserting that its report was based on NIF grant information.<ref>{{cite web |author=Gerald M. Steinberg |url=http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/letter_to_nif_israel_executive_director |title=Letter to Rachel Liel - NIF-Israel Executive Director |date=13 May 2011 |publisher=NGO Monitor}}</ref> NIF's rejoined that its public records lag the end of the reporting year by several months, but reiterated that updated information was given to NGO Monitor verbally. NIF also said that it asked CWP to remove mention of NIF's name from the CWP website.<ref>{{cite press release|last=Paiss |first=Naomi |title=More (to put it charitably) mistakes from NGO Monitor |date=15 May 2011 |publisher=New Israel Fund |location=Washington, D.C. |url=http://nif.org/media-center/press-releases/1055-more-to-put-it-charitably-mistakes-from-ngo-monitor |access-date=21 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209082148/http://nif.org/media-center/press-releases/1055-more-to-put-it-charitably-mistakes-from-ngo-monitor |archive-date=9 February 2014 }}</ref> |
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[[Yoaz Hendel]], a former adviser to Likud leader [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] who is now a columnist at ''[[Yediot Aharonot]]'', said that NGO Monitor is a "serious voice in the field".<ref name=handel>{{cite web |url=http://www.ngo-monitor.org.il/data/images/File/YAHendel310812.jpg |script-title=he:בעיטת קרן |trans-title=Corner Kick |publisher=NGO Monitor |language=he}} image of a clipping from ''Yediot Acharanot'' from September 2012</ref> |
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In July 2009, HRW issued a statement saying, "NGO Monitor ... conducts no field investigations and condemns anyone who criticizes Israel".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/en/node/84956 |title=Visit to Saudi Arabia and False Allegations of Human Rights Watch 'Bias' |date=6 August 2009 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |access-date=4 December 2016 |archive-date=15 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315205544/http://www.hrw.org/en/node/84956 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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Uriel Heilman, a managing editor for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) and a senior reporter for ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'', wrote in an online opinion column that there were a "couple of disingenuous (read: inaccurate) elements" in the May 2009 digest of NGO Monitor. Heilman rhetorically asked whether the situation itself was "enough for Steinberg and NGO Monitor's followers without Steinberg having to stretch the truth?" Steinberg later conceded that the statement's phrasing was confusing and revised it.<ref>{{cite news |author=Uriel Heilman |url=http://www.jta.org/2009/06/17/news-opinion/the-telegraph/playing-fast-and-loose-with-the-facts-at-ngo-monitor-updated |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |title=Playing fast and loose with the facts at NGO Monitor |date=17 June 2009}}</ref> |
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Kathleen Peratis, a member of the board of Human Rights Watch, called into question the research methodology underlying an op-ed by Steinberg for not saying specifically where or when HRW statements have been unverifiable.<ref name="Kathleen Peratis">{{cite news |author=Kathleen Peratis |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/29/AR2006082901045.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=Diversionary Strike On a Rights Group |date=30 August 2006}}</ref> In 2006, she criticized NGO Monitor for accusations against HRW and its "executive director, whose father fled Nazi Germany". Peratis took issue with an op-ed by Steinberg titled "Ken Roth's Blood Libel",<ref>{{cite web |author=Gerald M. Steinberg |title=Ken Roth's Blood Libel |date=26 August 2006 |url=http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Ken-Roths-blood-libel |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref> and argues those like NGO Monitor "who want selective exemption of Israel from the rules of war" may not "have faced the implications of getting what they wish for".<ref name="Kathleen Peratis"/> |
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In 2009, David Newman criticized NGO Monitor for concentrating "almost entirely with a critique of peace-related NGOs and especially those which focus on human rights, as though there were no other NGOs to examine". He said that NGO Monitor, which he called a right-wing organization, had consistently refused requests to investigate the activities and funding of right-wing NGOs, many of which, Newman said, were facilitating illegal activity in the West Bank.<ref name=DNJP>{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Article.aspx?id=161865|last=Newman|first=David|title=Borderline Views: Who's monitoring the monitor?|access-date=6 May 2012|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date=30 November 2009}}</ref> |
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In January 2010, 13 Israeli human rights organizations released a common statement calling NGO Monitor and [[Im Tirtzu]] "extremist", and criticised an "unbridled and incendiary attack" by them against human rights groups.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.acri.org.il/pdf/lettertoperes310110.pdf |date=31 January 2010 |title=Re: Assault and delegitimization of human rights organizations in Israel – warning and request of meeting}} letter to Shimon Peres, President of Israel; Reuven Rivlin, Knesset Speaker; and Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel signed by the CEOs of 13 NGOs</ref> |
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The 2013 [[Menachem Begin Heritage Center#Research and education|Menachem Begin Prize]] was awarded to NGO Monitor, "a leading organization defending the State of Israel and the Jewish people." The Begin Prize is awarded for "extraordinary act(s) for the benefit of the State of Israel and/or the Jewish People." [[Natan Sharansky]] said, "NGO Monitor is the leading organization defending the State of Israel and the Jewish people."<ref name =Sharnaksy>[http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Features/Continuing-Menachem-Begins-legacy-333321?prmusr=CsukKT0DlUgpXVwQToiZbKfOpYgdNc5rYMKkLMKm%2feRiaGVaRqu18vQaOaQ3LKtb Continuing Menachem Begin’s legacy, Jerusalem Post, 28 November 2013]</ref> |
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Ambassador Andrew Stanley, the EU representative to Israel, took issue with NGO Monitor's description of EU policy as operating in secret, writing, "as Prof. Steinberg is fully aware from the various conversations we have had with him, funding of projects by the European Union worldwide is carried out by open and public calls for proposals published on EU websites, including the website of the Delegation of the European Union to the State of Israel."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Letters/January-19-More-on-NGO-funding|title=January 19: More on NGO funding - Opinion - Jerusalem Post|website=www.jpost.com|date=19 January 2011 |access-date=2019-11-05}}</ref> |
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[[Michael Edwards (international development specialist)|Michael Edwards]] lists NGO Monitor among a group of organisations who use deficiencies in NGO accountability as a pretext for politically motivated attacks to silence views with which they disagree. Edwards writes that they "single out liberal or progressive groups for criticism while ignoring the same problems, if that is what they are, among NGOs allied with conservative views".<ref name="Edwards2012">{{cite book|author=Michael Edwards|title=NGO Accountability: "Politics, Principles and Innovations"|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QIkM5htEZ98C&pg=PT7|access-date=29 May 2013|date=4 May 2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-56042-2|page=7}}</ref> According to Joel Peters, NGO Monitor's activities include "high profile campaigns with the aim of delegitimizing the activities of Israeli civil society and human rights organisations, especially those advocating the rights of Arab citizens of Israel and/or address the question of violations of human rights in the Occupied Territories",<ref name=JPeters>{{cite book|last=Peters|first=Joel|title=The European Union and the Arab Spring: Promoting Democracy and Human Rights in the Middle East|year=2012|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-0739174456|page=85|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3IgxQPm0kpMC&q=%22right%20wing%22%20ngo%20monitor&pg=PA85}}</ref> to which NGO Monitor responded, "Our aims and objectives (holding political advocacy NGOs accountable, providing checks and balances, researching and publishing on these issues) are clearly spelled out."<ref>{{cite web |author=Gerald M. Steinberg |url=http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/letter_to_prof_joel_peters_author_the_european_union_and_the_arab_spring |date=18 March 2013 |title=Letter to Prof. Joel Peters, author: The European Union and the Arab Spring |publisher=NGO Monitor}}</ref> |
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According to [[Naomi Chazan]], NGO Monitor is closely linked to a "tightly knit, coordinated set of associations" whose goal is to undermine liberal voices in Israel and entrench a negative image of them by "continuously hammer[ing] away at their key message—in this instance, the abject disloyalty of certain civil society organizations and their funders and their collusion with Israel's most nefarious external detractors". According to Chazan, "by reinforcing this mantra by every available means, innuendo could be transformed into fact".<ref name="NC"/> |
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In an editorial published by [[The Forward]], [[J.J. Goldberg]] called NGO Monitor "one of the smoothest left-bashing operations."<ref>{{cite web |author=JJ Goldberg |url=http://forward.com/articles/199099/turning-israel-day-parade-into-right-wing-echo-cha/ |date=29 May 2014|title=Turning Israel Day Parade Into Right-Wing Echo Chamber Rolling Down Fifth Ave |publisher=The Forward}}</ref> |
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Ilan Baruch, Israel's former ambassador to South Africa, said in a September 2018 report by the Policy Working Group (PWG) that NGO Monitor "disseminates misleading and tendentious information, which it presents as factual in-depth research". NGO Monitor's efforts are designed to "defend and sustain [Israeli] government policies that help uphold Israel's occupation of ...the Palestinian territories".<ref name="EUobserver">{{Cite news|url=https://euobserver.com/foreign/142973|title=Former diplomats raise alarm on Israeli lobby group|last=Rettman|first=Andrew|date=2018-09-28|access-date=2018-10-01|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://policyworkinggroup.org.il/report_en.pdf|title=SHRINKING SPACE, NGO Monitor: Defaming human rights organizations that criticize the Israeli occupation|date=September 2018|website=Policy Working Group}}</ref> The Dutch government has also criticised NGO Monitor, singling out the unreliability of its accusations against human rights defenders. Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said "the government is familiar with the accusations by NGO Monitor against a broad group of Israeli and Palestinian human rights organisations, as well as with criticism of the conduct of NGO Monitor itself", citing the PWG report. "This research shows that many of NGO Monitor's accusations are based on selective citations, half-facts and insinuations, but not necessarily on hard evidence", Blok added.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dutch government criticises pro-Israel lobby group NGO Monitor's 'half-facts and insinuations'|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200117-dutch-government-criticises-pro-israel-lobby-group-ngo-monitors-half-facts-and-insinuations/|publisher=MEMO|date=17 January 2020|access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref> |
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==Political orientation== |
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NGO Monitor attempted in 2010 to cut the funding of ''[[The Electronic Intifada]]'' by the Dutch foundation Interchurch Organisation for Development Cooperation by asserting that the website was "anti-Semitic and frequently compares Israeli policies with those of the Nazi regime." It also said that EI's executive director campaigned to delegitimize and demonize Israel. The ICCO's website praised Electronic Intifada as "an internationally recognized daily news source", functioning as a counterweight to pro-Israeli reportage. The ICCO's chairman, Marinus Verweij, stated in reply: |
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<blockquote>''Electronic Intifada'' ... has become an important source of information from the occupied Palestinian territories. Newspapers such as ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and the ''[[Financial Times]]'' have frequently used material from the Electronic Intifada, and the rights of Palestinian people to a decent way of living are central in the news brought by the EI. The EI reports frequently about the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by the State of Israel. In no way is the EI anti-Israel or anti-Semitic.<ref>{{cite web|author=Benjamin Weinthal |url=http://www.jpost.com/International/Dutch-will-look-into-NGO-funding-of-anti-Semitic-website |title=Dutch will look into NGO funding of anti-Semitic website |work=[[Jerusalem Post]] |date=26 November 2010}}</ref></blockquote> |
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EI's [[Ali Abunimah]], answering the accusations, noted that in the "scurrilous" claims, not one piece of evidence from the over 12,000 articles printed by EI since its inception in 2001 had been cited by the NGO.<ref>[[Ali Abunimah]], [http://jfjfp.com/?p=19540 'Escalation of efforts to undermine the solidarity movement,'] [[Jews for Justice for Palestinians]] 7 December 2010.</ref> |
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In a 2009 opinion column written for ''The Jerusalem Post'', [[Larry Derfner]] asserted that "NGO Monitor doesn't have a word of criticism for Israel, nor a word of acknowledgment, even grudging, for any detail in any human rights report that shows Israel to be less than utterly blameless. In fact, on the subject of Israel's human rights record, NGO Monitor doesn't have a word of disagreement with the Prime Minister's Office."<ref name="JP-Derfner-2009-07-22">{{Cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Rattling-the-Cage-The-smearing-of-human-rights-organizations |title=Rattling the Cage: The smearing of human rights organizations |last=Derfner |first=Larry |date=22 July 2009 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=21 June 2013}}</ref> |
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John H. Richardson, writing for [[Esquire (magazine)|''Esquire'']] magazine's website in 2009, called NGO Monitor a "rabidly partisan organization that attacks just about anyone who dares to criticize Israel on any grounds". It notes that Steinberg is dedicated to fighting "the narrative war" and has made a "special project" of attacking Human Rights Watch.<ref name=Esquire>{{Cite news |last=Richardson |first=John |url=http://www.esquire.com/the-side/richardson-report/marc-garlasco-nazi-controversy-101309 |title=Why Is This Good Man Getting Hung Out to Dry? |work=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]] |date=October 2009 |access-date=29 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091015073334/http://www.esquire.com/the-side/richardson-report/marc-garlasco-nazi-controversy-101309 |archive-date=15 October 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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Didi Remez, a former spokesperson for the [[Peace Now]] group and former consultant to BenOr Consulting,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.benor.co.il/benor/team.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616184210/http://www.benor.co.il/benor/team.asp |title=Who We are |publisher=Ben-Or Consulting |archive-date=16 June 2008}}</ref> which was co-founded by [[Jeremy Ben-Ami]] of [[J Street (advocacy group)|J Street]],<ref>{{cite news |author=Ben Birnbaum |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/30/jewish-group-pays-pr-firm-co-owned-by-president/ |title=Jewish group pays PR firm co-owned by its president |work=The Washington Times |date=30 December 2010}}</ref> said NGO Monitor "is not an objective watchdog: It is a partisan operation that suppresses its perceived ideological adversaries through the sophisticated use of McCarthyite techniques – blacklisting, guilt by association and selective filtering of facts".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/bring-on-the-transparency-1.3326 |author=Didi Remez |title=Bring on the transparency |newspaper=Haaretz |date=26 November 2009}}</ref> |
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In an [[op-ed]] published in 2005 by ''[[The Forward]]'', [[Leonard Fein]], a former professor of politics and Klutznick Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies at [[Brandeis University]], takes issue with NGO Monitor's statement that Human Rights Watch places "extreme emphasis on critical assessments of Israel" and has issued more reports about HRW than on any other of the 75 NGOs it concerns itself with. Fein wrote that HRW has devoted more attention to five other nations in the region—[[Iraq]], [[Sudan]], [[Egypt]], [[Turkey]] and [[Iran]]—than it has to Israel; but that, despite extensive correspondence, Steinberg has failed to correct the "misleading" statement about HRW on the NGO Watch website. Fein argues that NGO Monitor may not be free of the "narrow political and ideological preferences" of which it accuses HRW.<ref name="forward">{{Cite news |
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|title=Monitoring The Monitor|author=Leonard Fein|url=http://www.forward.com/articles/3517/|newspaper=[[The Forward]]|date=20 May 2005}}</ref> ''[[The Forward]]'' wrote that NGO Monitor says it has increased Human Right Watch's reporting on Hamas, [[Hezbollah]] and the [[Palestinian Authority]], while Human Rights Watch has rejected the statements and said it was dealing with counterterrorism in a post-9/11 world.<!-- Preceding sentence needs cleanup.--><ref name="forward.com">{{cite news |title=Human Rights Watch To Increase Focus on Terrorism |author=Marc Perelman |date=29 July 2005 |newspaper=The Forward |url=http://forward.com/articles/2462/human-rights-watch-to-increase-focus-on-terrorism/}}</ref> |
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In a 2004 article for the [[Political Research Associates]], Jean Hardisty and Elizabeth Furdon call NGO Monitor a "conservative NGO watchdog group ... which focuses on perceived threats to Israeli interests", adding that "the ideological slant of NGO Monitor's work is unabashedly pro-Israeli. It does not claim to be a politically neutral examination of NGO activities and practices."<ref>{{cite web |author1=Jean Hardisty |author2=Elizabeth Furdon |url=http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v18n1/hardisty_ngo.html |title=Policing Civil Society:NGO Watch |date=Spring 2004 |publisher=Political Research Associates |work=The Public Eye |volume=18 |issue=1}}</ref> |
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[[Ittijah]], Union of Arab Community-Based Organisations in Israel, has said NGO Monitor represents the interests and the say of the Israeli state rather than civil society's voice based on human rights values. Ittijah further states that NGO Monitor is guided by the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Israel)|Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ittijah.org/?intLanguage=2&chrSystem=item&intPMenu=319&intMenu=319&intMenuType=2&intCategory=386&intItem=1769&intItemType=2&intItemDisplayType=4 |title=Ittijah: Statement on Israel's Pronouncement to Boycott |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727022923/http://www.ittijah.org/?intLanguage=2&chrSystem=item&intPMenu=319&intMenu=319&intMenuType=2&intCategory=386&intItem=1769&intItemType=2&intItemDisplayType=4 |archive-date=27 July 2011 }}</ref> |
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According to Naomi Chazan, former New Israel Fund president, NGO Monitor is "tied to the national-religious right".<ref name=NC /> |
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In an op-ed published in ''[[The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles|Jewish Journal]]'' in 2016, Noam Shelef wrote that NGO Monitor's leaders are affiliated with the Israeli government, and that the organization only scrutinizes progressive critics of government policies.<ref>{{cite news|last=Shelef|first=Noam|url=http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/false_equivalence_in_israel|title=False equivalence in Israel|work=Jewish Journal |
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|date=29 January 2016|access-date=20 August 2019}}</ref> |
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==Associated Press "ban"== |
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According to former [[Associated Press]] reporter [[Matti Friedman]], the AP bureau in Jerusalem gave "explicit orders to reporters...to never quote [NGO Monitor] or its director, an American-raised professor named Gerald Steinberg." Friedman continues, "In my time as an AP writer moving through the local conflict, with its myriad lunatics, bigots, and killers, the only person I ever saw subjected to an interview ban was this professor."<ref>{{cite news | title =What the Media Gets Wrong About Israel | newspaper =The Atlantic | date =30 November 2014 | url =https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/11/how-the-media-makes-the-israel-story/383262/?single_page=true | access-date = 4 December 2014}}</ref> |
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The AP responded by saying, "There was no 'ban' on using Prof. Gerald Steinberg. He and his NGO Monitor group are cited in at least a half-dozen stories since the 2009 Gaza war."<ref>{{cite news | title =AP statement on Mideast coverage | newspaper =Associated Press | date =1 December 2014 | url =http://www.ap.org/content/press-release/2014/ap-statement-on-mideast-coverage | access-date =4 December 2014 | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20141204110131/http://www.ap.org/content/press-release/2014/ap-statement-on-mideast-coverage | archive-date =4 December 2014 | df =dmy-all }}</ref> |
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Examining the evidence, law professor [[David Bernstein (law professor)|David Bernstein]] surmises that while there may not have been a written ban, there was a clear bias by the AP in terms of what it chose not to cover and which sources it chose not to use, that the problem "might not primarily be who is being quoted, but whether NGO influence and possible bias are considered newsworthy to begin with."<ref name="BernsteinMonitor">{{cite news |last1=Bernstein |first1=David |title=Who is right about the AP's alleged blacklisting of pro-Israel watchdog NGO Monitor? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/12/03/who-is-right-about-the-aps-alleged-blacklisting-of-pro-israel-watchdog-ngo-monitor/ |access-date=18 June 2019 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=3 December 2014}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
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* [[Criticism of Amnesty International]] |
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* [[Criticism of Human Rights Watch]] |
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* [[NGOWatch]] |
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* [[Palestinian NGOs Network]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{ |
{{Reflist}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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===Official Links=== |
===Official Links=== |
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* [http://www.ngo-monitor.org NGO Monitor home page] |
* [http://www.ngo-monitor.org NGO Monitor home page] |
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* [http://blog.ngo-monitor.org/ NGO Monitor Blog] |
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===Articles pertaining to NGO Monitor=== |
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* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1187502427238&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull "Watchdog groups brace for 'Durban 2'"] - an article containing analysis from NGO Monitor appearing in ''The Jerusalem Post''. |
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* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1188197178903&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull "Right of Reply"] - an op-ed about NGO Monitor appearing in ''The Jerusalem Post''. |
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* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1162378355936&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull "One on One: Fact, fiction and fabrication"] - an interview with Sarah Mandel, Associate Editor at NGO Monitor, appearing in ''The Jerusalem Post''. |
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===Publications=== |
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[[Category:Political organizations based in Israel]] |
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* ''Best Practices for Human Rights and Humanitarian NGO Fact-Finding''; Gerald Steinberg, Anne Herzberg, Jordan Berman; {{ISBN|9004218114}} [https://www.amazon.com/Practices-Humanitarian-Fact-Finding-Nijhoff-Specials/dp/9004218114/] |
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[[Category:Non-governmental organizations involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict]] |
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* ''The Goldstone Report 'Reconsidered': A Critical Analysis''; Gerald Steinberg and Anne Herzberg; {{ISBN|9659179308}} [https://www.amazon.com/The-Goldstone-Report-Reconsidered-Critical/dp/9659179308/] |
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[[Category:Jewish political organizations]] |
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===News articles related to NGO Monitor=== |
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* [http://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=169703 NGO Monitor slams German agency for Durban II coverage] by Benjamin Weinthal, ''The Jerusalem Post'', 25 February 2010 |
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* [http://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=166271 NGO Monitor turns to EU court for transparency] by Dan Izenberg, ''The Jerusalem Post'', 21 January 2010 |
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* [http://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=162080 Right of Reply: Who's afraid of NGO Monitor?] by Naftali Balanson, ''The Jerusalem Post'', 2 December 2009 |
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* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/13/AR2009011302785.html?hpid=topnews Israel, Aid Groups Have Long Feuded] By Craig Whitlock, ''The Washington Post'', 14 January 2009 |
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{{Authority control}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngo Monitor}} |
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[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in Israel]] |
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[[Category:Non-governmental organizations involved in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict]] |
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[[Category:Jewish community organizations]] |
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[[Category:Organizations established in 2001]] |
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[[Category:Political science organizations]] |
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[[Category:Regulation of non-governmental organizations]] |
Revision as of 16:52, 6 May 2024
Founded | 2001[1] |
---|---|
Founder | Gerald M. Steinberg |
Type | Non-profit NGO |
Focus | End promotion of "politically and ideologically motivated anti-Israel agendas" by certain NGOs.[1] |
Location |
|
Area served | Israel |
Key people | Gerald M. Steinberg (President); Naftali Balanson, Managing Editor; Anne Herzberg, Legal Advisor[1] |
Revenue | US$ 385,000 (2008)[2] |
Employees | 13 (November 2010)[3] |
Website | ngo-monitor.org |
NGO Monitor (Non-governmental Organization Monitor) is a right-wing non-governmental organization based in Jerusalem that reports on international NGO activity from a pro-Israel perspective.[4][5][6][7]
The organization was founded in 2001 by Gerald M. Steinberg under the auspices of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, before becoming a legally and financially independent organization in 2007.[citation needed]
NGO Monitor has been criticized by academic figures, diplomats, and journalists for allowing its research and conclusions to be driven by politics,[8][9][10] for not examining right-wing NGOs,[10] and for spreading misinformation.[11] NGO Monitor's stated mission is to "end the practice used by certain self-declared 'humanitarian NGOs' of exploiting the label 'universal human rights values' to promote politically and ideologically motivated agendas".[1] A number of academics have written that NGO Monitor's aims and activities are political in nature.[10][12][9]
The organization's leader, Gerald M. Steinberg, has reportedly worked for the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Office of the Prime Minister while heading NGO Monitor.[13]
Structure and staff
NGO Monitor is the central project of the Organization for NGO Responsibility, an independent nonprofit organization registered in Israel. Its president is Gerald M. Steinberg, professor emeritus of Political Science at Bar-Ilan University.[14]
Its staff includes:[1]
- Gerald M. Steinberg, president
- Naftali Balanson, managing editor
- Anne Herzberg, legal advisor
- Dov Yarden, chief executive officer
- Arnie Draiman, online communications[3][15]
As of 2015, NGO Monitor advisory council members were said to include Elliott Abrams, Alan Dershowitz, Douglas Murray and R. James Woolsey.[16]
Funding
According to a report by Peace Now, NGO Monitor is not transparent about its funding.[17][18][19] The Wechsler Family Foundation is one of NGO Monitor's founding donors. Other acknowledged supporters are Nina Rosenwald and Newt Becker.[20] Since its separation from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) and its formation as an independent organization in 2007, NGO Monitor has drawn on a wider range of funding sources. NGO Monitor has said it receives no governmental support and is funded by private donors and foundations, though it did receive some funds, in 2010 and 2011, via The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), a quasi-governmental agency.[21]
In 2010, the organization received a $500,000 grant from Research + Evaluation = Promoting Organizational Responsibility and Transparency (REPORT), formerly known as American Friends of NGO Monitor (AFNGOM). Private donors in the U.S. were asked on NGO Monitor's website to donate via REPORT.[22] Other donors include The Center for Jewish Community Studies (part of JCPA),[23] the Orion Foundation, Matan, Peter Simpson, Nir Ben Josef,[21] Real Property Investment DR. Tuchmen,[24] and Jewish Federations of North America.[22] NGO Monitor's financial reports for 2009 to 2012, which include donations above NIS 20,000 (approximately $5,200 as of 2012), are available on its website.[22]
According to a February 2012 article by Uri Blau in Haaretz, his examination of NGO Monitor's finances revealed that "the organization sought to block the publication of one contributor and to get hundreds of thousands of Shekels from anonymous sources".[17] The donations in question were channeled through the Jewish Agency for Israel and Matan, and originated with undisclosed donors from outside Israel. In the same article, Jason Edelstein, NGO Monitor's communications director, is quoted as saying "all of our financial information is fully disclosed with the Registrar for Non-Profits as required by law".[17]
A 2015 report published by the Peace Now movement discovered that NGO Monitor failed to file a legally required disclosure regarding the source of its funding, and that many of the group's funding sources are hidden from the public.[18][25]
NGO Monitor's U.S. sources of funding, as revealed by U.S. tax filings, have included the Abstraction Fund, American Jewish Committee, Ben and Esther Rosenbloom Foundation, CJM Foundation, Jewish Community Federation, Koret Foundation, Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund, Middle East Forum, MZ Foundation, Network for Good, Paul E. Singer Foundation, Milstein Family Foundation, Newton and Rochelle Becker affiliated charities, Shillman Foundation, Sinder Foundation, Vanguard Charitable Endowment Fund, and the William P. Goldman and Brothers Foundation.[16]
Activities
Legal activities
Rashid Khalidi has called NGO Monitor an organisation that opposes legal means against Israel and at the same time a proponent of the use of legal means against those who criticise Israel.[26] Sabine Lang writes that NGO Monitor has focused on the use of legal means to limit funding to NGOs.[27]
Neve Gordon, writing in Law & Society Review, describes the term as part of a campaign to portray human rights as a national security threat and to impede organizations that expose human rights abuses, using NGO Monitor's activities as one of its main examples.[28]
In January 2010, Steinberg brought a case before the European Court of Justice arguing that it was wrong of the European Commission to withhold some of the contents of over 200 financial documents that NGO Monitor had requested regarding the funding of Israeli and Palestinian NGOs.[29][30] In November 2012, the court said that NGO Monitor could not receive the financial documents regarding 16 projects of human rights organizations in Israel, calling it "in part, manifestly inadmissible and, in part, manifestly lacking any foundation in law".[29] The EU said "that the Middle East is an unstable region, and therefore such information may pose a danger to human rights groups".[31]
In 2013, NGO Monitor issued a report on the findings of the 2011 Israeli law requiring Israeli non-governmental organizations to disclose financial contributions from foreign donors and governments. The report assessed that foreign funding of Israeli NGOs totalled NIS 34,355,579 in 2012.[32] Steinberg called the new law an "international model for transparency". He also said, "the amount of foreign funding going to NGOs involved in polarizing activity in the context of the Arab–Israeli conflict [is] alarming."[32] The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) spokesman Marc Grey said that ACRI's donors were already listed on its website, making the law "redundant", and that the donations allowed organizations to protect human rights and freedoms, adding, "the basis for Israel's relations with democratic countries is shared values – democracy and human rights above all – the State of Israel itself is a recipient of funds from these very same countries, in the framework of trade agreements, investments, loans, and donations."[32] A spokesman for B'Tselem said the information had been published on its website for years and that NGO Monitor is a group of "Israeli government apologists masquerading as an objective watchdog. They do not even practice what they preach in terms of their own transparency and their sloppy, third-rate research."[32]
Criticisms of NGOs
NGO Monitor criticized the Ford Foundation for funding the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban, South Africa.[33] The Ford Foundation has modified its policies regarding funding of NGOs.[34] It also has taken exception to such accusations and says its involvement in the Palestinian territories reflects its belief that a just solution to the conflict is vitally important to the region and the peoples directly affected and that it also funds groups such as the New Israel Fund.[35]
NGO Monitor also criticized B'Tselem, "The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories".[36]
NGO Monitor has criticized the New Israel Fund, which says its primary objective is "to strengthen Israel's democracy".[37] Larry Garber, then executive director of the New Israel Fund, and Eliezer Ya'ari, then NIF's Israel director and a retired Israeli air force major,[38] wrote in an op-ed in The Jerusalem Post that if Israel accepts Steinberg's premises, then "Israel's credibility—and, more important, the nation's morality—will suffer."[39]
With the stated aim of encouraging critical debate on the role of NGOs in the Middle East conflict, NGO Monitor held a 2006 conference in Jerusalem with 21 humanitarian aid groups in attendance. A panel discussed the pros and cons of NGOs dealing with Hamas.[40][41] NGOs such as Amnesty International, B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights were invited to speak but declined.[40] Amnesty International said the conference did "not give a balanced ground for open and fair dialogue" while another human rights group accused NGO Monitor of "partiality".[41]
Editing Wikipedia
NGO Monitor's online communications editor, Arnie Draiman, was indefinitely banned from editing Wikipedia articles about the Israeli-Arab conflict due to biased editing, concealing his place of work and using a second account in a way forbidden by Wikipedia policy.[15] Draiman was a major contributor to the articles on NGO Monitor and Gerald Steinberg, and performed hundreds of edits on articles about human rights organizations, such as B'Tselem, the New Israel Fund, Human Rights Watch, and many others that Steinberg opposes.[42]
Reception
Political research conducted at Lund University in 2019 rated NGO Monitor highly for "counter-democratic activities" and found that the organization was "heavily involved in [the] denunciation" of human rights NGOs by depicting them as "unprofessional and biased".[43] In all of NGO Monitor's reports, it was found to criticize NGOs that "had a perspective of promoting Palestinian human rights and/or taking a critical stance toward Israeli Government policies vis-à-vis Palestinians". The research also found that NGO Monitor appeared to "be promoting pro-Israel views regarding the conflict in a partisan way" and that, organizationally, NGO Monitor "might be less independent" and "tied to strong political interests and actors".[43]
Leonard Fein, writing for The Forward in 2005, said that NGO Monitor is "an organization that believes that the best way to defend Israel is to condemn anyone who criticizes it."[44]
Yehudit Karp, a member of the International Council of the New Israel Fund and a former deputy attorney general of Israel, said that NGO Monitor has released information "it knew to be wrong, along with some manipulative interpretation".[45]
The New Israel Fund said in May 2011 that NGO Monitor "knowingly published false information in its newsletter" about the NIF funding of Coalition of Women for Peace (CWP). NIF said that NGO Monitor's director was given the correct information verbally in advance.[46] NGO Monitor responded by asserting that its report was based on NIF grant information.[47] NIF's rejoined that its public records lag the end of the reporting year by several months, but reiterated that updated information was given to NGO Monitor verbally. NIF also said that it asked CWP to remove mention of NIF's name from the CWP website.[48]
Yoaz Hendel, a former adviser to Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu who is now a columnist at Yediot Aharonot, said that NGO Monitor is a "serious voice in the field".[49]
In July 2009, HRW issued a statement saying, "NGO Monitor ... conducts no field investigations and condemns anyone who criticizes Israel".[50]
Uriel Heilman, a managing editor for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) and a senior reporter for The Jerusalem Post, wrote in an online opinion column that there were a "couple of disingenuous (read: inaccurate) elements" in the May 2009 digest of NGO Monitor. Heilman rhetorically asked whether the situation itself was "enough for Steinberg and NGO Monitor's followers without Steinberg having to stretch the truth?" Steinberg later conceded that the statement's phrasing was confusing and revised it.[51]
Kathleen Peratis, a member of the board of Human Rights Watch, called into question the research methodology underlying an op-ed by Steinberg for not saying specifically where or when HRW statements have been unverifiable.[52] In 2006, she criticized NGO Monitor for accusations against HRW and its "executive director, whose father fled Nazi Germany". Peratis took issue with an op-ed by Steinberg titled "Ken Roth's Blood Libel",[53] and argues those like NGO Monitor "who want selective exemption of Israel from the rules of war" may not "have faced the implications of getting what they wish for".[52]
In 2009, David Newman criticized NGO Monitor for concentrating "almost entirely with a critique of peace-related NGOs and especially those which focus on human rights, as though there were no other NGOs to examine". He said that NGO Monitor, which he called a right-wing organization, had consistently refused requests to investigate the activities and funding of right-wing NGOs, many of which, Newman said, were facilitating illegal activity in the West Bank.[54]
In January 2010, 13 Israeli human rights organizations released a common statement calling NGO Monitor and Im Tirtzu "extremist", and criticised an "unbridled and incendiary attack" by them against human rights groups.[55]
The 2013 Menachem Begin Prize was awarded to NGO Monitor, "a leading organization defending the State of Israel and the Jewish people." The Begin Prize is awarded for "extraordinary act(s) for the benefit of the State of Israel and/or the Jewish People." Natan Sharansky said, "NGO Monitor is the leading organization defending the State of Israel and the Jewish people."[56]
Ambassador Andrew Stanley, the EU representative to Israel, took issue with NGO Monitor's description of EU policy as operating in secret, writing, "as Prof. Steinberg is fully aware from the various conversations we have had with him, funding of projects by the European Union worldwide is carried out by open and public calls for proposals published on EU websites, including the website of the Delegation of the European Union to the State of Israel."[57]
Michael Edwards lists NGO Monitor among a group of organisations who use deficiencies in NGO accountability as a pretext for politically motivated attacks to silence views with which they disagree. Edwards writes that they "single out liberal or progressive groups for criticism while ignoring the same problems, if that is what they are, among NGOs allied with conservative views".[10] According to Joel Peters, NGO Monitor's activities include "high profile campaigns with the aim of delegitimizing the activities of Israeli civil society and human rights organisations, especially those advocating the rights of Arab citizens of Israel and/or address the question of violations of human rights in the Occupied Territories",[9] to which NGO Monitor responded, "Our aims and objectives (holding political advocacy NGOs accountable, providing checks and balances, researching and publishing on these issues) are clearly spelled out."[58]
According to Naomi Chazan, NGO Monitor is closely linked to a "tightly knit, coordinated set of associations" whose goal is to undermine liberal voices in Israel and entrench a negative image of them by "continuously hammer[ing] away at their key message—in this instance, the abject disloyalty of certain civil society organizations and their funders and their collusion with Israel's most nefarious external detractors". According to Chazan, "by reinforcing this mantra by every available means, innuendo could be transformed into fact".[12]
In an editorial published by The Forward, J.J. Goldberg called NGO Monitor "one of the smoothest left-bashing operations."[59]
Ilan Baruch, Israel's former ambassador to South Africa, said in a September 2018 report by the Policy Working Group (PWG) that NGO Monitor "disseminates misleading and tendentious information, which it presents as factual in-depth research". NGO Monitor's efforts are designed to "defend and sustain [Israeli] government policies that help uphold Israel's occupation of ...the Palestinian territories".[11][60] The Dutch government has also criticised NGO Monitor, singling out the unreliability of its accusations against human rights defenders. Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said "the government is familiar with the accusations by NGO Monitor against a broad group of Israeli and Palestinian human rights organisations, as well as with criticism of the conduct of NGO Monitor itself", citing the PWG report. "This research shows that many of NGO Monitor's accusations are based on selective citations, half-facts and insinuations, but not necessarily on hard evidence", Blok added.[61]
Political orientation
NGO Monitor attempted in 2010 to cut the funding of The Electronic Intifada by the Dutch foundation Interchurch Organisation for Development Cooperation by asserting that the website was "anti-Semitic and frequently compares Israeli policies with those of the Nazi regime." It also said that EI's executive director campaigned to delegitimize and demonize Israel. The ICCO's website praised Electronic Intifada as "an internationally recognized daily news source", functioning as a counterweight to pro-Israeli reportage. The ICCO's chairman, Marinus Verweij, stated in reply:
Electronic Intifada ... has become an important source of information from the occupied Palestinian territories. Newspapers such as The Washington Post and the Financial Times have frequently used material from the Electronic Intifada, and the rights of Palestinian people to a decent way of living are central in the news brought by the EI. The EI reports frequently about the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by the State of Israel. In no way is the EI anti-Israel or anti-Semitic.[62]
EI's Ali Abunimah, answering the accusations, noted that in the "scurrilous" claims, not one piece of evidence from the over 12,000 articles printed by EI since its inception in 2001 had been cited by the NGO.[63]
In a 2009 opinion column written for The Jerusalem Post, Larry Derfner asserted that "NGO Monitor doesn't have a word of criticism for Israel, nor a word of acknowledgment, even grudging, for any detail in any human rights report that shows Israel to be less than utterly blameless. In fact, on the subject of Israel's human rights record, NGO Monitor doesn't have a word of disagreement with the Prime Minister's Office."[64]
John H. Richardson, writing for Esquire magazine's website in 2009, called NGO Monitor a "rabidly partisan organization that attacks just about anyone who dares to criticize Israel on any grounds". It notes that Steinberg is dedicated to fighting "the narrative war" and has made a "special project" of attacking Human Rights Watch.[65]
Didi Remez, a former spokesperson for the Peace Now group and former consultant to BenOr Consulting,[66] which was co-founded by Jeremy Ben-Ami of J Street,[67] said NGO Monitor "is not an objective watchdog: It is a partisan operation that suppresses its perceived ideological adversaries through the sophisticated use of McCarthyite techniques – blacklisting, guilt by association and selective filtering of facts".[68]
In an op-ed published in 2005 by The Forward, Leonard Fein, a former professor of politics and Klutznick Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies at Brandeis University, takes issue with NGO Monitor's statement that Human Rights Watch places "extreme emphasis on critical assessments of Israel" and has issued more reports about HRW than on any other of the 75 NGOs it concerns itself with. Fein wrote that HRW has devoted more attention to five other nations in the region—Iraq, Sudan, Egypt, Turkey and Iran—than it has to Israel; but that, despite extensive correspondence, Steinberg has failed to correct the "misleading" statement about HRW on the NGO Watch website. Fein argues that NGO Monitor may not be free of the "narrow political and ideological preferences" of which it accuses HRW.[44] The Forward wrote that NGO Monitor says it has increased Human Right Watch's reporting on Hamas, Hezbollah and the Palestinian Authority, while Human Rights Watch has rejected the statements and said it was dealing with counterterrorism in a post-9/11 world.[69]
In a 2004 article for the Political Research Associates, Jean Hardisty and Elizabeth Furdon call NGO Monitor a "conservative NGO watchdog group ... which focuses on perceived threats to Israeli interests", adding that "the ideological slant of NGO Monitor's work is unabashedly pro-Israeli. It does not claim to be a politically neutral examination of NGO activities and practices."[70]
Ittijah, Union of Arab Community-Based Organisations in Israel, has said NGO Monitor represents the interests and the say of the Israeli state rather than civil society's voice based on human rights values. Ittijah further states that NGO Monitor is guided by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[71]
According to Naomi Chazan, former New Israel Fund president, NGO Monitor is "tied to the national-religious right".[12]
In an op-ed published in Jewish Journal in 2016, Noam Shelef wrote that NGO Monitor's leaders are affiliated with the Israeli government, and that the organization only scrutinizes progressive critics of government policies.[72]
Associated Press "ban"
According to former Associated Press reporter Matti Friedman, the AP bureau in Jerusalem gave "explicit orders to reporters...to never quote [NGO Monitor] or its director, an American-raised professor named Gerald Steinberg." Friedman continues, "In my time as an AP writer moving through the local conflict, with its myriad lunatics, bigots, and killers, the only person I ever saw subjected to an interview ban was this professor."[73]
The AP responded by saying, "There was no 'ban' on using Prof. Gerald Steinberg. He and his NGO Monitor group are cited in at least a half-dozen stories since the 2009 Gaza war."[74]
Examining the evidence, law professor David Bernstein surmises that while there may not have been a written ban, there was a clear bias by the AP in terms of what it chose not to cover and which sources it chose not to use, that the problem "might not primarily be who is being quoted, but whether NGO influence and possible bias are considered newsworthy to begin with."[75]
See also
- Criticism of Amnesty International
- Criticism of Human Rights Watch
- NGOWatch
- Palestinian NGOs Network
References
- ^ a b c d e "About NGO Monitor". NGO Monitor.
- ^ "2008 Annual Report" (PDF). NGO Monitor. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
- ^ a b "NGO Monitor Staff". Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^ Rubin, A.; Sarfati, Y.; Akman, C.A.; Erdeniz, G.; Fishman, L.; Golan-Nadir, N.; Michaeli, I.; Tepe, S. (2016). The Jarring Road to Democratic Inclusion: A Comparative Assessment of State–Society Engagements in Israel and Turkey. Lexington Books. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-4985-2508-4. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
Right-wing organizations Im Tirzu and NGO Monitor ...
- ^ Stetter, Stephan (2012). The Middle East and Globalization: Encounters and Horizons. Palgrave Macmillan US. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-137-03176-1. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
Transnational NGOs usually do not become a conflict party and are less likely to be associated with one of the conflict parties-although, to pick but two examples, as the campaign of the right-wing NGO Monitor in Israel against the involvement of "external actors"
- ^ Khalidi, Rashid (2013). Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East. Beacon Press. ISBN 978-0-8070-4476-6. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
Several other right-wing Israeli NGOs follow the same approach, including NGO Monitor
- ^ "Ha'aretz columnist dropped by British Zionists". JTA. 31 August 2007.
- ^ Friedman, Matti (30 November 2014). "What the Media Gets Wrong About Israel". The Atlantic. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ^ a b c Peters, Joel (2012). The European Union and the Arab Spring: Promoting Democracy and Human Rights in the Middle East. Lexington Books. p. 85. ISBN 978-0739174456.
- ^ a b c d Michael Edwards (4 May 2012). NGO Accountability: "Politics, Principles and Innovations". Routledge. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-136-56042-2. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
- ^ a b Rettman, Andrew (28 September 2018). "Former diplomats raise alarm on Israeli lobby group". Retrieved 1 October 2018.
- ^ a b c Chazan, Naomi (2012). Israel in the World: Legitimacy and Exceptionalism. Routledge. pp. 79–80. ISBN 978-0415624152.
- ^ What is NGO Monitor’s connection to the Israeli government?
- ^ Steinberg, Gerald (20 April 2022). "Gerald Steinberg, Author at ngomonitor". ngomonitor. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ^ a b Oded Yaron (17 June 2013). "Aligning text to the right: Is a political organization editing Wikipedia to suit its interests? - Features". haaretz.com. Haaretz. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
- ^ a b Marusek, Sarah; Miller, David (2015). How Israel attempts to mislead the United Nations: Deconstructing Israel's campaign against the Palestinian Return Centre (Report). Public Interest Investigations. ISBN 9780957027459.
- ^ a b c Uri Blau (10 February 2012). העמותה שעוקבת אחר ארגוני השמאל לא רוצה שתדעו מי תורם לה [NGO Monitor: The association that tracks organizations of the Left does not want you to know who contributes to it]. Haaretz (in Hebrew). Retrieved 20 June 2013.
- ^ a b Peace Now: 95% of funding for right-wing NGOs hidden from public. Jerusalem Post, 14 December 2015
- ^ Funding Sources and Transparency For Nine Associations Identified with the Israeli Right Wing Archived 5 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Ilan Sheizaf, September 2015
- ^ Founding Donor. NGO Monitor. Archived on 12 April 2008
- ^ a b The Amutah For Financial Responsibility (R.A.) Financial Statements as of December 31, 2010; The Amutah for NGO Responsibility (R.A.) Financial Statements as of December 31, 2011. On the archived website
- ^ a b c TO MAKE A DONATION. NGO Monitor. Archived on 21 September 2013
- ^ Financial Report 2009
- ^ Financial Report 2012
- ^ Funding Sources and Transparency For Nine Associations Identified with the Israeli Right Wing Archived 5 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Ilan Sheizaf, September 2015
- ^ Rashid Khalidi (12 March 2013). Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East. Beacon Press. ISBN 978-0-8070-4476-6. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
- ^ Sabine Lang (15 October 2012). NGOs, Civil Society, and the Public Sphere. Cambridge University Press. pp. 116–. ISBN 978-1-107-02499-1. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
- ^ Gordon, Neve (3 June 2014). "Human Rights as a Security Threat: Lawfare and the Campaign against Human Rights NGOs". Law & Society Review. 48 (2): 311–344. doi:10.1111/lasr.12074. ISSN 1540-5893.
- ^ a b Court of Justice of the European Union (27 November 2012). "Order Of The General Court (Fifth Chamber), Case T‑17/10". Retrieved 26 December 2012.
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External links
Official Links
Publications
- Best Practices for Human Rights and Humanitarian NGO Fact-Finding; Gerald Steinberg, Anne Herzberg, Jordan Berman; ISBN 9004218114 [1]
- The Goldstone Report 'Reconsidered': A Critical Analysis; Gerald Steinberg and Anne Herzberg; ISBN 9659179308 [2]
- NGO Monitor slams German agency for Durban II coverage by Benjamin Weinthal, The Jerusalem Post, 25 February 2010
- NGO Monitor turns to EU court for transparency by Dan Izenberg, The Jerusalem Post, 21 January 2010
- Right of Reply: Who's afraid of NGO Monitor? by Naftali Balanson, The Jerusalem Post, 2 December 2009
- Israel, Aid Groups Have Long Feuded By Craig Whitlock, The Washington Post, 14 January 2009