‘Critic to Israel’: Document reveals how Israel scrutinised global NGOs
The file, a spreadsheet accessed via an Israeli ministry website, listed more than 150 charities and basic details, such as the director’s name at the time, the organisation’s address, telephone number, email, and area of work. In a “comments” column, 15 were remarked upon with statements such as “critic of Israel” in the case of France-based Premiere Urgence Internationale, “involved in anti-Israel campaigning” for the Geneva-based Defence for Children International, and “highly involved in BDS”—meaning the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign—to describe Mundubat in Spain. The document suggested Oxfam was “active in global BDS efforts” and encouraged NGOs to join “violations of international law” by supporting projects in the occupied West Bank “even if they have not been approved by the Israeli Civil Administration”.
Oxfam told Al Jazeera the comments “appear to reflect allegations and interpretations, rather than an objective assessment” of its work. “As a long-established humanitarian organisation operating under rigorous compliance and accountability standards, we reject assertions that are not supported by credible evidence. Oxfam does not support or promote the BDS movement.” The spokesperson said the charity upholds international law and added that Israeli “settlements violate international humanitarian law”.
According to Tania Hary, executive director of Gisha, an Israeli NGO that advocates for the freedom of movement for Palestinians, the document “has nothing to do with security”. Rather, she said, it is “further proof that the Israeli government has been tracking the activities of organisations that do life-saving work for Palestinians living under Israel’s brutal occupation for decades”. Gisha was not among those named in the file.
The spreadsheet was obtained online via the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, then known as Israel’s Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Social Services. The ministry did not reply to Al Jazeera’s request for comment. Many of the comments cite as their source NGO Monitor, an Israel-based organisation that describes itself as a nonpartisan research institute.