| Revision as of 23:41, 30 April 2006 view sourceTomstoner (talk | contribs)252 edits adding criticism of NIF← Previous edit | Revision as of 00:08, 18 May 2006 view source Tomstoner (talk | contribs)252 edits Have trimmed this article to give some semblence of neutral POV. As written it was grostesquely one-sided and read as a polemic against NGO MonitorNext edit → | ||
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| ==Criticism of NGO Monitor== | ==Criticism of NGO Monitor== | ||
| Critics dismiss NGO Monitor as politically motivated and biased. At ], Jean Hardisty and Elizabeth Furdon describe it 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." | Critics dismiss NGO Monitor as politically motivated and biased. At ], Jean Hardisty and Elizabeth Furdon describe it 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." ], the Union of Arab Community Based Organisations in Israel, labels NGO Monitor as "an organ of the American pro-Israel lobby." | ||
| ] and ] say that NGO Monitor should not be taken seriously, accusing it of deliberately spreading false and misleading information about organizations in an attempt to discredit them. They claim that NGO Monitor has unsuccessfully attempted to stifle critical dialogue, describe its actions as "relentless", and claim "it is important that they be exposed as part of an extremist, right-wing institution." | |||
| At the US-based ], an editorial by Mohammed Salah Al-Attar (translated from ] by Nida Younis) states: "The stands of the Israeli NGO’s monitor springs from the overwhelming well-known stands of the Israeli official and political parties on different topics: the relation with the ] people and its national aspirations and existence in its home land; and the peace issues in the country and worldwide. On these bases, the monitor establishes controversies and contradictory concepts which are characterized by suggesting a mixture of doubts on the UN NGO’s and the human organizations. Furthermore, it exploits the accusation of ], opposition to Israel and the Jewish people and deceptive systematic illusions to falsify stands. In addition, it does not mirror facts on the ground. Therefore, the Palestinian side seems to hold the responsibility for the continuous violations and ]s which are actually committed by the ]." | |||
| ], the Union of Arab Community Based Organisations in Israel, labels NGO Monitor as "an organ of the American pro-Israel lobby working closely with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs" and goes on to claim that the "NGO Monitor has taken upon itself the task of defending the policies of the state of Israel, no matter what they are or whom they hurt, by demonizing everyone who opposes those policies, no matter how they go about doing so. It consistently implies that criticism of Israel is evidence of anti-Israel, anti-Semitic and anti-Jewish intentions." | |||
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| The NGO Monitor sends out its reports in ] and does not respond to requests for removal from its email list or provide any options for unsubscribing on its website. | |||
| --><!--We're going to need a reliable source for this claim.--> | |||
| ==Staff== | ==Staff== | ||
Revision as of 00:08, 18 May 2006
NGO Monitor is a project with the stated aim of monitoring non-governmental organizations operating in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. It is a program of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, and was formerly a joint project with B'nai Brith International..
NGO Monitor describes its goal as "end the practice used by certain self-declared 'humanitarian NGOs' of exploiting the label 'universal human rights values' to promote politically and ideologically motivated anti-Israel agendas."
NGO Monitor has criticized several international human rights organisations, including Christian Aid for its alleged "extensive involvement in anti-Israel propaganda campaigns" and Human Rights Watch whose reports it found to be "systematically and exceedingly biased" , Amnesty International , Oxfam and Medecins Sans Frontieres
It has also accused the Ford Foundation of funding NGOs, such as the Palestinian human rights organization Al Mezan Center, allegedly involved in "blatantly political anti-Israel activities". Subsequent to this criticism, the Ford Foundation modified its policies regarding funding of NGOs.
NGO Monitor has also been critical of the New Israel Fund for its support of groups hostile to Israel.
Praise of NGO Monitor
Describing it as a "friend of Israel", the Jewish Watch Dog site calls it "a branch of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs that was founded to promote accountability, and advance a vigorous discussion on the reports and activities of humanitarian NGOs in the framework of the Arab-Israeli conflict." David Bedein of David Horowitz' magazine FrontPageMag.com describes it as a "watchdog organization".
NGO Monitor's reports appear regularly on the "Around the World" section of the "Hotbeds of Prejudice" subpage of the Israeli Hasbara Committees website .
Criticism of NGO Monitor
Critics dismiss NGO Monitor as politically motivated and biased. At Political Research Associates, Jean Hardisty and Elizabeth Furdon describe it 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." Ittijah, the Union of Arab Community Based Organisations in Israel, labels NGO Monitor as "an organ of the American pro-Israel lobby."
Staff
Apart from interns, its staff includes:
- Dr. Dore Gold, Publisher (a former Israeli ambassador, currently President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon)
- Gerald M. Steinberg, Editor (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)
- Simon Plosker, Managing Editor (formerly public affairs officer for the Board of Deputies of British Jews and British Aliyah Movement co-ordinator)
- Aharon Etengoff, Webmaster and Senior Researcher (formerly of the Photography & Film and Public Relations Departments of the IDF Spokesperson’s Office)
Organizations reviewed by NGO Monitor
- Adalah
- Advocacy Project
- Al-Haq
- Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights
- Alternatives
- American Near East Rescue Aid
- Amnesty International
- Arab Association of Human Rights
- Ard el Atfal and Ard el Insan
- Association for the Defence of the Rights of the Internally Displaced (ADRID)
- B'Tselem
- CARE
- Caritas
- Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine
- Christian Aid (UK)
- Christian Peacemaker Teams
- Defence for Children International / Palestine Section
- Direct Relief International
- Doctors Without Borders
- Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network
- Ford Foundation
- Galilee Society
- Grassroots International
- Habitat International Coalition
- HaMoked – Center for the Defense of the Individual
- HDIP
- Hebron Restoration Committee
- Human Rights Association
- Human Rights Watch
- IBDAA
- International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development - Rights and Democracy (ICHRDD)
- I'lam
- International Commission of Jurists
- International Federation of Human Rights
- International Solidarity Movement
- Israel Committee against House Demolitions
- Ittijah
- Jerusalem Media and Communication Center
- Law
- Machsom Watch
- Medecins du Monde
- Medical Aid for Palestinians (UK)
- MENGOS
- Mennonite Central Committee
- Miftah
- New Israel Fund
- Organization of Solidarity of the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America (OSPAAAL)
- Oxfam Belgium
- Palestine Children's Relief Fund
- Palestine Children's Welfare Fund
- Palestinian Center for Human Rights
- Physicians for Human Rights-Israel
- Palestinian NGO Network
- PENGON
- PYALARA
- Rabbis for Human Rights
- Save the Children Fund
- Terre des Hommes
- War On Want (UK)
- World Organization Against Torture (OMCT)
- World Vision International
- Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees
- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
- UN Commission on Human Rights (Geneva)
- UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
- USAID
- YMCA / YWCA
- Zeina
External links
- NGO Monitor home page
- Ambassador Dore Gold's biography
- The Electronic Intifada
- The Israeli NGO's Monitor: Aims, purposes and mixture of claims, deformation of facts and illusions (Al-Jazeerah) (Cannot format link)