UN Watch - An Israeli propaganda organization

8/19/2019 UN Watch - An Israeli propaganda organization

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Israeli Propaganda Organisations

UN WatchThe Geneva-based UN Watch, an accredited NGO that was granted special consulta ve statusat the UN’s Economic and Social Council, was established in 1993 by Morris Abram, formerpermanent US Representa ve to the UN in Geneva and honorary president of the AmericanJewish Commi ee. On 1 January 2001, AJC (EIN no. 13-5563393) assumed full control of theorganisa on through an agreement with the World Jewish Congress. 75

At the me, AJC noted that UN Watch’s main focus was ‘on monitoring the con nuingdiscriminatory treatment of Israel in the UN system and a tudes toward Jews in the world body,as well as those ma ers which concern American interests’. 76 However, it has since obscuredthis mission among several others. Indeed, according to its website, ‘UN Watch is foremostconcerned with the just applica on of UN Charter principles.’ 77

Since its acquisi on by AJC, UN Watch has waged several campaigns against UN o cials cri calof Israel. It lobbied against UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen for his perceived biastowards Pales nians, accusing him of unprofessionalism for his 2003 statement that Jeninrefugee camp ‘residents lived through a human catastrophe that has few parallels in recenthistory’. 78 Human Rights Watch had issued a report in 2002 charging that: ‘during their incursioninto the Jenin refugee camp, Israeli forces commi ed serious viola ons of interna onalhumanitarian law, some amoun ng prima facie to war crimes.’ 79

The NGO also took a hos le stance towards Jean Ziegler, who served as the UN’s SpecialRapporteur on the Right to Food from 2000 to 2008. In October 2005, it published a report onwhat it called Ziegler’s ‘An -American Bias’, including his cri cisms of Israel. 80

UN Watch’s own biases are clear: its Execu ve Director Hillel Neuer tweeted in 2014, duringIsrael’s military campaign in Gaza, that the people of Gaza and Israel were su ering because the‘radical Islamist ruler Hamas is turning Gaza into a giant suicide bomb’. 81

UN Watch’s interna onal advisory board includes several members who have expressed hos lea tudes towards Muslims and Islam. 82 For example, Swiss journalist Jean-Claude Buhrerresponded to a controversial Swiss Muslim convert’s support of Neo-Nazis by wri ng: ‘Thisis tantamount to a marriage between the swas ka and the (Islamic) crescent’. 83 He also oncesuggested that using the concept of Islamophobia was an a ront to freedom of speech. 84

Former Chess champion Garry Kasparov, also a board member, recently penned an editorial inthe Wall Street Journal arguing that Islamists were waging a ‘global war on modernity,’ se ng‘the me machine to the Dark Ages’. 85 In a much earlier op-ed, he said that Pales nians refugeesdo not deserve the right to return because they willingly le in 1948 ‘as a result of the Arabs’ ownenmity for Israel’. 86 He then went on to compare their plight with that of German occupa onforces in Eastern Europe a er World War II.

Other advisory board members are linked to an -Muslim groups, like Lord David Trimble, formerFirst Minister of Northern Ireland, who is one of the founding signatories of the Henry JacksonSociety, 87 as well as the Friends of Israel Ini a ve. 88


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Up un l 2007, AJC reported its annual contribu ons to UN Watch, which it cites on IRS formsas an a liate, in its itemised list of dona ons. Between 2003-2007, AJC reported grants toUN Watch totalling $1,844,083. However, AJC subsequently changed the way it reported itsgrantmaking (which dropped from $2,027,761 in 2007 to $283,739 in 2008), repor ng thefunds given to UN Watch inconsistently as a transac on with related organisa ons.

It is not clear whether or not UN Watch employees are included amongst the 300 or so whobene t from AJC’s approximately $25 million annual budget for salaries, other compensa on,and employee bene ts in the US and overseas. In 2013, AJC’s execu ve director, David Harris,received total compensa on of $886,482.

The IRS form of the US-based fundraising arm of UN Watch makes no men on of Israel in itsexplana on of the organisa on’s mission. Established in 2012, UN Watch – USA has so far raised$862,412. Its president is Alfred H. Moses, who served as president of AJC un l 2012.

In a 2008 speech, Moses claimed that calling for the return of Pales nian refugees amounted tothe delegi misa on of Israel, and rmly denied any connec on between Zionism and racism. 89 He also opposed equa ng an -Semi sm with Islamophobia, seemingly jus fying the la er bypoin ng out that, ‘intolerance breeds intolerance’. 90

NGO Monitor

NGO Monitor is an Israeli organisa on founded in 2007 to police civil society in Israel. According toHaaretz newspaper, NGO Monitor has engaged in a ‘McCarthyite’ campaign against progressivenon-governmental organisa ons, for example the New Israel Fund and + 972 Magazine .91 It haswaged a par cularly aggressive e ort against Zochrot, an Israeli group that recognises the Nakbaand supports the right of Pales nian refugees to return to their homeland. 92 It also focuses onrebu ng cri cism of Israel by interna onal human rights organisa ons, such as Human RightsWatch and Amnesty Interna onal.’ 93

While NGO Monitor’s campaign is to target the funders of civil society groups promo ng civilrights in both Israel and Pales ne, Haaretz reports that it receives thousands of shekels fromanonymous sources, including the quasi-government Jewish Agency. 94

In 2009, Ron Dermer, then advisor to the Israeli prime minister, ini ated legisla on to ban theforeign funding of Israeli human rights organisa ons, which ul mately stalled. However, accordingto Didi Remez of Haaretz, Gerald Steinberg, the president of NGO Monitor, subsequently tookover the ini a ve in partnership with the Ins tute for Zionist Strategies, led by Israel Harel, afounder of the Gush Emunim se ler movement. 95

Further explaining, Remez notes that NGO Monitor ‘is a par san opera on that suppresses itsperceived ideological adversaries through the sophis cated use of McCarthyite techniques –blacklis ng, guilt by associa on and selec ve ltering of facts.’ 96 It reportedly had a budget ofmore than 2 million shekels, or about $530,000, in 2010. 97

The Jerusalem Center for Public A airs (JCPA), headed by Dore Gold, lists NGO Monitor as oneof its online publica ons, 98 giving it several links to the Israeli government. Gold is a former

advisor to Israeli Prime Ministers Benjamin Netanyahu and Ariel Sharon,99

and Lenny Ben-David,JCPA’s director of publica ons, previously served as former deputy chief of mission in the IsraeliEmbassy in Washington. 100


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JCPA also runs the Ins tute for Contemporary A airs (ICA), a ve-year, $1 million programmefounded jointly with the Wechsler Family Founda on (EIN no. 04-3533126), 101 which funds theJewish News Service (JNS) agency, a right-wing wire service launched in 2011 as an alterna veto the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 102 in addi on to the AJC, Commi ee for Accuracy in MiddleEast Repor ng (CAMERA), a pro-Israel media watch organisa on, Central Fund of Israel, David

Horowitz Freedom Center and Middle East Forum (MEF).According to the JCPA website, ICA ‘provides a unique venue that enables the foreign press andforeign diplomats in Israel to receive brie ngs by leading Israeli experts from the military, thepoli cal world, academia, and the media on security issues, Israeli strategy, regional players,and the war on terrorism. 103 ICA has hosted the following: Minister Natan Sharansky; MajorGeneral Giora Eiland, formerly the head of Military Planning and the Prime Minister’s Na onalSecurity Advisor; Major General Amos Gilad, Defence Minister advisor; Brigadier General YossiKuperwasser, Head of Assessment of Military Intelligence, MK Ephraim Sneh, formerly DeputyMinister of Defense and others.

ICA’s Steering Commi ee includes both Gold and Steinberg, the la er who has his owngovernment connec ons. Steinberg states on his CV that he sits on the steering commi ee forthe O ce of the Prime Minister’s Forum on An -Semi sm and is a consultant for the Israeligovernment. 104 An online biography also states that he is ‘a consultant to the Israeli Ministry ofForeign A airs and Na onal Security Council’. 105

Selected NGO Monitor advisory council members include the following: 106

• Ellio Abrams : the deputy na onal security advisor during the George W. Bushadministra on. He is currently a director of the Middle East Media Research Ins tute(MEMRI), and is listed as an author at the Gatestone Ins tute 107 and an outside expertat the Washington Ins tute for Near East Policy (WINEP). 108

• Alan Dershowitz : professor of law at Harvard Law School and also listed as an authorat the Gatestone Ins tute. 109 He has recently made an -Muslim statements, for examplethat ‘the only people today who are threatening violence against others for expressingpoli cal views are radical Muslims.’ 110 Earlier this year, he claimed that ‘violent an -Semi sm is all coming from Islamic extremists’. 111

• Douglas Murray : Bri sh neoconserva ve ac vist known for his an -Muslim views. In2006, he stated that ‘condi ons for Muslims in Europe should be made harder acrossthe board’. 112 He founded the Centre for Social Cohesion and is now associate director ofthe Henry Jackson Society, as well as an expert at the Gatestone Ins tute. 113

• R. James Woolsey : former director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He is currentlychairperson of the conserva ve think tank Founda on for Defense of Democracies(FDD),114 sits on the board of advisors for WINEP, 115 and is an interna onal patron of theHenry Jackson Society. 116


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Figure 2. Leading gures involved in the pro-Israel and an -Islam campaign in the US and UK 117

The Centre for Jewish Community Studies (CJCS) is the tax-exempt US fundraising arm of theJCPA. Between 2009-2013, it raised $8,868,135. Dore Gold is president of CJCS, Austrian-born

Israeli Manfred Gerstenfeld, former chairperson of JCPA’s steering commi ee, is chairperson,and Chaya Herskovic is director general of both JCPA and CJCS. 118

NGO Monitor also has an American tax-exempt charity to raise funds, previously known asthe American Friends of NGO Monitor but which changed its name in 2010 to Research +Evalua on = Promo ng Organisa onal Responsibility and Transparency, or REPORT Inc. (EIN No.26-2971061). 119 Although REPORT Inc. was granted tax-exempt status in 2009, as late as January2012, it reportedly s ll had not led any informa on to the IRS. 120 However, since then, it hasreported dona ons totalling $3,891,443 as of 2013.

Jerusalem-based photographer Dov Yarden is director general of REPORT Inc., as well as chiefexecu ve o cer of NGO Monitor, and Nina Rosenwald is vice president of the US branch. MaxBlumenthal has dubbed Rosenwald, who is a former member of the Na onal Board of AIPAC,‘the sugar mama of an -Muslim hate’ due to the claim she ‘uses her millions to cement thealliance between the pro-Israel lobby and the Islamophobic fringe’. 121 She runs the Abstrac onFund, which donated to American Friends of NGO Monitor in 2011.

Boston real estate developer Josh Katzen is president of REPORT Inc. He and his wife AmeliaKatzen are both members of the board of CAMERA, and serve respec vely as president andtreasurer of JNS. Josh Katzen is also vice chairperson of the na onal board of MEF, Daniel Pipe’sconserva ve, Israel-focused think tank. In turn, Pipes is a director of JNS.

UN Watch and NGO Monitor jointly published a report a er Israel’s 2014 military campaignin the Gaza Strip, cri cising the UN Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry on Gaza


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and interna onal NGOs’ coverage of the con ict. The report also focuses on the number andtype of rockets red from Gaza, interna onal support for Pales nians in Gaza and the abuse ofhumanitarian aid to Gaza. The report makes two references to the Israeli ‘siege’ of Gaza, whichis placed in quota ons marks (as is ‘occupa on’), and 453 men ons of ‘terror’. 122

In its 2014 annual report, NGO Monitor states that, ‘In parallel to the rockets and tunnelsa acks, par cularly in the south, the [interna onal rights] NGO network fought the poli caland informa onal dimensions of the war against Israel. As a counter, NGO Monitor publishedover 20 reports on NGO warfare, including analyses of B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch, AmnestyInterna onal and “NGO medical malprac ce”.’ 123

UN Watch and NGO Monitor funders

UN Watch is headquartered in Geneva and NGO Monitor in Israel. Neither publishes a listof donors. However, by searching through IRS tax documents on the Founda on Center’swebsite, 124 we were able to uncover 18 registered chari es that have supported UN Watchand/or NGO Monitor. Nevertheless, this informa on is certainly incomplete.

The AJC changed the way it itemised support for UN Watch in 2007, subsequently incorpora ngthis informa on as a liated expenditure only intermi ently. Addi onally, in 2012, anorganisa on that calls itself United Na ons Watch – USA (EIN no. 45-1683502) also began lingtax reports. It reported income of $381,113 in 2012 and $481,299 in 2013.

The funders of NGO Monitor were even more di cult to uncover. Although an organisa onknown as American Friends of NGO Monitor has been receiving dona ons for many years, it is

not registered as a charity, thus has never reported any income to the IRS. REPORT Inc. beganling tax records in 2010, with a handwri en no ce of it being a ‘name change from AmericanFriends of NGO Monitor’. 125 And yet, several founda ons have con nued to make dona ons tothe unregistered American friends of group.

Furthermore, the organisa on in Israel is remarkably opaque. A Hebrew language expos é in Haaretz newspaper revealed that in 2010, three of NGO Monitor’s dona ons came fromundisclosed sources: ‘The rst one, for the sum of NIS 570,000 ($154,000), was passed throughthe Jewish Federa on of North America and the Jewish Agency; the second one, for NIS 100,000,was transferred through the Israeli non-pro t Matan – started in 1998 by local tycoon ShariArison, owner of Israel’s largest Bank – and the third dona on came through a Bri sh fundregistered in the Isle of Man, known for its favourable tax rates.’ 126

But despite the di cul es we encountered in researching their funders, by searching throughthe database of tax lings, we were s ll able to uncover 18 registered chari es in the US thathave nancially supported UN Watch and NGO Monitor. Table 1 lists these 18 chari es, inalphabe cal order. We have combined the amounts donated to both organisa ons between2009-2013 in column three.


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Table 1: Known funders of UN Watch and NGO Monitor (2009-2013) 127

Founda on Tax No.Dona ons to UN Watch andNGO Monitor (2009-2013)

Support for similar right-wing organisa ons

Abstrac on Fund 20-5327719 $10,000

Aish HaTorah/ Clarion FundCAMERA

David Horowitz Freedom CenterFounda on for Defence of DemocraciesFriends of Israel Ini a veMiddle East ForumMEMRI

American Jewish Commi ee 13-5563393 $1,216,843 American Friends of IDC

Ben and Esther RosenbloomFounda on

52-1258672 $56,000

American Jewish Commi eeCentral Fund for IsraelFriends of the IDFMiddle East ForumWINEP

CJM Founda on 13-7105559 $50,000

Jewish CommunityFedera on

94-1156533 $330,000

American Friends of IDCAmerican Friends of the Reut Ins tuteBirthright IsraelJewish Na onal Fund



Koret Founda on 94-1624987 $75,000

American Friends of IDCAmerican Jewish Commi eeBirthright IsraelFounda on for Defence of DemocraciesFriends of the IDFMiddle East ForumMEMRI

Lisa and Douglas GoldmanFund

94-3167546 $50,000 Birthright Israel

Middle East Forum 23-7749796 $130,000

American Friends of IDCAmerican Jewish Commi eeCAMERADavid Horowitz Freedom CenterFriends of Israel Ini a veMEMRI

MZ Founda on 94-3316088 $220,000

American Friends of Reut Ins tuteAmerican Jewish Commi eeBirthright IsraelCAMERACentral Fund of IsraelDavid Horowitz Founda onMiddle East Forum

WINEP


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Network for Good 68-0480736 $46,011Central Fund of IsraelFriends of the IDF

Paul E. Singer Founda on 27-2009342 $200,000

Aish HaTorah/ Clarion FundBirthright IsraelFriends of the IDFMEMRI

The Milstein FamilyFounda on

95-4824595 $28,000

Aish HaTorah/ Clarion FundAmerican Friends of IDCAmerican Friends of the Reut Ins tuteBirthright IsraelCAMERADavid Horowitz Freedom CenterFounda on for the Defense of DemocraciesFriends of the IDFMiddle East ForumWINEP

Newton and Rochelle Beckera liated chari es

20-3822168and 95-

4095134$70,200

Aish HaTorah/ Clarion FundAmerican Friends of the IDCCAMERACentral Fund of IsraelDavid Horowitz Freedom CenterFriends of the IDFFounda on for the Defense of DemocraciesFriends of Israel Ini a veMEMRIMiddle East ForumWINEP

The Shillman Founda on 04-3511089 $15,000CAMERAFriends of the IDF



The Snider Founda on 23-2047668 $20,000

CAMERACentral Fund of IsraelDavid Horowitz Freedom CenterFriends of the IDFMiddle East Forum

Vanguard CharitableEndowment Fund

23-2888152 $100,000

American Jewish Commi eeBirthright IsraelCAMERAFriends of the IDFMiddle East Forum

William P. Goldman andBrothers Founda on

13-6163100 $3,000

American Jewish Commi eeBirthright IsraelCAMERAFriends of the IDFMiddle East Forum

Although our research into the funders of UN Watch and NGO Monitor was limited due to theirnon-transparent nature, we were nevertheless able to create a broader picture of their largerfunding network by factoring in the dona ons to AJC as well. Figure 3 clearly shows that the

three organisa ons share a signi cant funding overlap.


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Figure 3. Funding overlap between AJC/UN Watch and NGO Monitor (2009-2013)

We were also able to uncover that all of these funders, except one, in turn support a networkof right-wing pro-Israel and Islamophobic organisa ons, amongst other causes, that are allinterrelated. These organisa ons are listed in column four of Table 1 .

For example, the author of the above-men oned book on Hamas, Ma hew Levi , is a fellow atthe Washington Ins tute for Near East Policy, a think tank founded by former members of AIPAC,including Mar n Indyk, 128 and was a ‘founding director’ of WINEP’s terrorism programme from2001 to 2005. 129 The current president of the ins tute, Mar n J. Gross, sits on the na onal councilof the right-wing American Enterprise Ins tute. 130 WINEP’s chairperson, Howard P. Berkowitz,was formerly the na onal chairperson of the An -Defama on League and is scheduled to speak

at 2016’s AIPAC policy conference. 131

Levi also sits on the professional advisory board of the Interna onal Ins tute for Counter-Terrorism at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzilya, 132 as well as the board of advisors of theFounda on for Defense of Democracies in Washington. 133

WINEP, IDC and FDD are all recipients of funding from the same network of organisa onsinvolved in funding and circula ng the campaign against the PRC. Looking through the taxdocuments of the 18 known chari es that fund the AJC, UN Watch and NGO Monitor, we foundanother 11 right-wing pro-Israel and Islamophobic groups that also frequently receive funding.


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These include:

• Aish HaTorah/Clarion Fund : Aish HaTorah is a Jewish Orthodox organisa on thatstaunchly defends Israeli policies and features pro-se lement ar cles on its website. 134 Ronn Torossian, a spokesperson for Aish HaTorah in New York, once told writer Je reyGoldberg of The Atlan c magazine that, ‘I think we should kill a hundred Arabs or athousand Arabs for every one Jew they kill,’ adding that: ‘If someone from a townblows himself up and kills Jews, we should wipe out the town he’s from, kill them all.’ 135 According to the Tampa Bay Times , Aish HaTorah has es to the virulently an -MuslimClarion Fund, which is behind the notorious an -Islam lm Obsession : ‘Clarion’s address,according to Manha an directory assistance, is the same address as Aish HaTorahInterna onal,’ the group’s fundraising arm. 136

• American Friends of IDC (EIN no. 31-1577589): IDC Herzliya was the rst privateins tu on of higher educa on in Israel and houses one of Israel’s most in uen alsecurity ins tutes. It has close connec ons to the Israeli government and military. Theboard of directors of its Interna onal Ins tute for Counterterrorism includes ShabtaiShavit, former director of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service, and BoazGanor, former member of the advisory commi ee of the Israel Na onal Security Councilon Counter-Terrorism. 137 IDC founder Uriel Reichman told The Jerusalem Post in 2007that a central mission of the university is ‘strengthening and development of Israel’ssecurity forces.’ 138 The US fundraising arm reported contribu ons of $8,337,149 in 2013.

• Birthright Israel : Taglit-Birthright Israel is a Zionist organisa on based in West Jerusalemthat arranges and nances trips to Israel for Jewish young adults around the world aged18–26 years old, aiming to strengthen their rela ons with the State of Israel. SheldonAdelson, a casino billionaire from California who owns several right-wing Israeli mediaorganisa ons, annually gives Birthright about $30 million. 139 The Birthright IsraelFounda on (Ein no. 13-4092050) in New York alone reported an income of $74,221,738in 2013.

• Commi ee for Accuracy in Middle East Repor ng in America (Tax no. 52-1332702):CAMERA is based in Boston and its stated mission is to monitor media coverage ofIsrael. However, according to a 2015 report published by the Interna onal JewishAn -Zionist Network, in reality it ‘is an Islamophobic watchdog organisa on that bulliesmedia outlets into producing pro-Israel coverage’. 140 CAMERA’s website has an extensivedatabase of journalists that it has targeted over the years, including many prominentIsraelis. 141 In 2013, it reported contribu ons totalling $3,247,847.

• Central Fund of Israel (EIN no. 13-2992985): Based in New York, the Central Fundof Israel supports a Jewish state in historical Pales ne. 142 It channels dona ons toPales nian Media Watch, 143 and other right-wing Israeli groups including Im Tirtzu, 144 afar right extra-parliamentary youth movement that has campaigned against universi es,non-governmental organisa ons and peace groups in Israel. 145 Its IRS form does not listany trustees or board members, but VP Arthur Marcus signed the paperwork and thefounda on is registered at the same address as Marcus Brothers Tex les Inc. Accordingto Mondoweiss , members of the Marcus family run the fund: ‘Jay Marcus, a se ler inEfrat, is listed as the administrator of the Central Fund. A pro-Israel website lists theCentral Fund/Jay Marcus and then directs Jews to “browse” se lement communi es to

gure out to whom they wish to earmark their Central Fund contribu on.’146

It reportedincoming grants of $19,673,626 in 2013.


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• David Horowitz Freedom Center (EIN no. 95-4194642): Founded in 1988 by conserva veac vists David Horowitz and Peter Collier, a 2011 report by the Center for AmericanProgress listed the DHFC as part of the Islamophobia network in the United States. 147 Ithosted an -Muslim ac vist Geert Wilders in 2009. 148 Robert Spencer currently servesas its ‘Jihad Watch Director’. Spencer and Pamela Geller co-founded the an -Muslim

group Stop Islamisa on of America, which the Southern Poverty Law Centre classi esas a hate group. 149 They have both been banned from entering the UK. 150 In 2013, thecentre reported a budget of $5,889,609.

• Founda on for Defense of Democracies (EIN no. 13-4174402): FDD is a conserva vethink tank in Washington headed by Cli ord May, a former communica ons directorat the Republican Na onal Commi ee. 151 Founded in 2001, Eli Cli on of Salon newswebsite recently called it ‘Washington’s premiere hawkish think tank,’ repor ng that isheavily funded by Republican donors including Paul E. Singer and Sheldon Adelson. 152 Its stated mission on tax documents is ‘to conduct research and provide educa onon interna onal terrorism and related issues.’ The founda on reported a budget of

$7,482,797 in 2013.• Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (EIN no. 13-3156445): Based in New York, Friends

of the IDF is the US fundraising arm of the Israeli military, its largest single interna onaldonor. In 2013, the charity reported funds of $72,377,566.

• Middle East Media Research Ins tute (EIN no. 52-2068483): Yigal Carmon, a formerIsraeli military intelligence o cer, and Meyrav Wurmser, an Israeli-born Americanpoli cal scien st, cofounded MEMRI in 1998 to provide free English language transla onsof Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Pashto and Turkish media reports. The Centre for AmericanProgress has called it ‘the Islamophobia network’s go-to place for selec ve transla onsof Islamist rhetoric abroad’. 153 One of its directors is Steve Emerson, a media ‘terrorismexpert’ who in January 2015 falsely told Fox News that Birmingham is a ‘Muslim-onlycity’ where non-Muslims ‘don’t go’ and subsequently apologised. 154 MEMRI reported anincome of $4,847,860 in 2012, the last year it led taxes.

• Middle East Forum (EIN no. 23-7749796): MEF is a right-wing think-tank based inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania that was founded in 1994 by Daniel Pipes, a scholar of theMiddle East who since the mid-1980s has worked largely as a right-wing essayist andac vist. According to former MEF board member Jerry Sorkin, MEF began to adopta par cularly extreme and pro-Israel posi on a er the 9/11 a acks in New York andWashington, 155 becoming increasingly strident about the supposed threat posed byIslam and Muslims in America. The Center for American Progress has argued thatboth the MEF and Pipes are part of a network of ‘misinforma on experts’ that ‘peddlehate and fear of Muslims and Islam’. 156 MEF also acts as a funder to various right-wingcauses, including Nina Rosenwald’s Gatestone Ins tute, currently chaired by former USambassador to the United Na ons John Bolton. 157 In turn, Rosenwald’s founda on theAbstrac on Fund generously nances MEF. The la er reported an income of $5,594,514in 2013.

• Washington Ins tute for Near East Policy (EIN no. 52-1376034): Based in Washington,WINEP is some mes referred to as AIPAC’s think tank. 158 Its board of advisors includesformerly high-ranking US security o cials, such as: R. James Woolsey, former director ofthe Central Intelligence Agency; Richard Perle, former Assistant Secretary of Defence; andRobert McFarlane, former Na onal Security Advisor. In 2013, it reported contribu onsamoun ng to $10,392,217.


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In order to present a simple visual of how these various groups are part of a larger fundingnetwork, we focused on the six organisa ons that are most commonly funded by the 18 chari esthat support UN watch and NGO Monitor, as illustrated in Figure 4 . The six organisa ons are:Friends of the IDF, DHFC, MEF, CAMERA, FDD and Birthright Israel

Figure 4. Network of groups supported by funders of UN Watch and NGO Monitor

In addi on to the Central Fund of Israel, there are several other pro-se lement causes thata few of these founda ons support. For example, the Abstrac on Fund and Klarman FamilyFounda on have both nanced Friends of Ir David (EIN no. 11-3466176). Ir David in Israel,also known as Elad, seeks to Judaise east Jerusalem. Joyce Anelay, UK Conserva ve ForeignO ce Minister, told The Independent newspaper in March 2015 that: ‘We are aware of the linkbetween the Elad group and the Israel An qui es Authority. We are concerned that this link has

led to Israel An qui es Authority’s support of radical se ler ac vi es in and around the Old Cityunder the guise of tourism and protec on of Jewish history.’ 159

The Paul E. Singer Founda on has supported the Israel Independence Fund (EIN no. 20-8676286).According to Haaretz , the fund is headed by New York venture capitalist Kenneth Abramowitz,who is also na onal chairperson of American Friends of Likud (EIN no. 13-3935945). ‘He alsoappears on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “list of millionaires” − i.e., poten al donorsto Likud’s 2007 primaries.’ 160 According to the fund’s tax documents, it transfers most of themoney it raises to a Cincinna -based organisa on called Hashomer, which was the name of aJewish mili a set up in 1909.

Finally, MZ Founda on has funded the New York-based One Israel Fund (EIN no. 11-3195338).The fund was ini ally launched in 1994 as the American Friends of Yesha, referring to the YeshaCouncil in Israel, which is the umbrella organisa on of municipal councils of Jewish se lements


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in the occupied territories. The fund’s Security Projects programme provides ‘preven vesecurity’ equipment to Israeli se lers in the occupied West Bank, 161 and programme directorMarc Provisor asserts that ‘There is no green line’. 162

In addi on to UN Watch and NGO Monitor, there is also a smaller campaign in the UnitedKingdom against the PRC led by CiF Watch and BBC Watch. CiF Watch, now known as UK MediaWatch, was launched in 2009 in response to The Guardian newspaper’s coverage of Israel inits Comment is Free sec on. BBC Watch was ini ally created in 2000 by Bri sh- Israeli lawyerTrevor Asserson to monitor the Bri sh Broadcas ng Company, and was re-launched in 2012.Both projects are nanced by CAMERA. 163

Although we could not determine the total budgets of UN Watch and NGO Monitor, Figure 5 illustrates the amount of funds that AJC has to work with in comparison to the PRC, in addi onto MEF and CAMERA.

Figure 5. Annual income of three pro-Israel organisa ons vs the PRC


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Endnotes75 ‘UN Watch, AJC seal partnership’, American Jewish Commi ee, 4 January 2001. h p://www.ajc.org/site/

apps/nl/content2.asp?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=849241&ct=866815. Accessed 3 July 2015.76 ‘UN Watch, AJC seal partnership’, American Jewish Commi ee, 4 January 2001.77 ‘Mission and History’, UN Watch, n.d. h p://www.unwatch.org/site/c.bdKKISNqEmG/b.1313591/k.954F/

Mission__History.htm. Accessed 3 July 2015.78 ‘UNRWA Commissioner General Peter Hansen: A Pro le of Unprofessionalism’, Behind the News in Israel, 14

November 2003. h p://israelbehindthenews.com/unrwa-commissioner-general-peter-hansen-a-pro le-of-unprofessionalism/4121/. Accessed 3 July 2015.

79 ‘Jenin: IDF military opera ons’, Human Rights Watch, May 2002. h p://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/israel3/israel0502.pdf. Accessed 3 July 2015.

80 ‘Jean Ziegler’s campaign against America’, UN Watch, October 2005. h p://www.unwatch.org/a /cf/%7B6DEB65DA-BE5B-4CAE-8056-8BF0BEDF4D17%7D/Jean_Zieglers_Campaign_Against_America.pdf.Accessed 3 July 2015.

81 ‘Hillel Neuer’, Twi er 12 July 2014. h ps://twi er.com/HillelNeuer/status/488065079321968641. Accessed 3July 2015.

82 Other board members, however, including Professor Gert Weisskirchen, Ambassador Mark P. Lagon andKatrina Lantos Swe , have opposed discrimina on against Muslims.

83 Jay Bushinsky, ‘Swiss probe an -U.S. neo-Nazi / Suspected nancial es to al Qaeda’, San Fancisco Chronicle ,12 March 2002. h p://www.sfgate.com/news/ar cle/Swiss-probe-an -U-S-neo-Nazi-Suspected-2866316.php. Accessed 3 July 2015.

84 Jean-Claude Buhrer, ‘L’ONU contre les droits de l’homme?’, Poli que Interna onale, 2004. h p://www.poli queinterna onale.com/revue/ar cle.php?id_revue=117&id=661&content=synopsis. Accessed 3 July 2015.

85 Garry Kasparov, ‘The Global War on Modernity’, The Wall Street Journal , 20 January 2015. h p://www.wsj.com/ar cles/garry-kasparov-the-global-war-on-modernity-1421800948. Accessed 3 July 2015.

86 Garry Kasparov, ‘The Western Media Distort The Mideast Picture’, The Wall Street Journal , 9 April 2001.h p://www.wsj.com/ar cles/SB98676262810593246. Accessed 3 July 2015.

87 Tom Gri n, Hilary Aked, Sarah Marusek and David Miller. The Henry Jackson Society and the degenera onof Bri sh neoconserva sm: liberal interven onism, Islamophobia and the ‘War on terror’ , (Public InterestInves ga ons, 2015). h p://www.thecordobafounda on.com/a ach/spinwatch%20report_web.pdf.Accessed 3 July 2015.

88 ‘Founder members’, Friends of Israel, n.d. h p://www.friendso sraelini a ve.org/about-advisors.php.Accessed 3 July 2015.

89 Alfred H. Moses, ‘A Na on that dwells alone: Durban and Beyond’, UN Watch, 27 May 2008. h p://blog.unwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/durban-ii-keynote-adress.pdf. Accessed 3 July 2015.

90 Alfred H. Moses, ‘A Na on that dwells alone: Durban and Beyond’, UN Watch, 27 May 2008.91 Uri Blau, ‘ה ע מ ו ת ש ה ע ו ק ח ת ר ר ג ו נ ה י ש מ ל ל ר ו צ ש ה ת ד ע מ ו ת י ו ר ל ם ,’ה Haaretz , 2 October 2015. h p://www.haaretz.co.il/

magazine/1.1636887. Accessed 3 July 2015.92 Gerald Steinberg, ‘Why does Germany fund demoniza on of Israel?’, The Jerusalem Post , 23 April 2014. h p://

www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Why-does-Germany-fund-demoniza on-of-Israel-350236.Accessed 3 July 2015.

93 Josh Nathan-Kazis, ‘Fledgling Jewish News Service Rocks Boat With Strident Pro-Israel Message’, Forward,

28 June 2013. h p://forward.com/news/israel/179453/ edgling-jewish-news-service-rocks-boat-with-stri/.Accessed 3 July 2015.94 Uri Blau, ‘ה ע מ ו ת ש ה ע ו ק ח ת ר ר ג ו נ ה י ש מ ל ל ר ו צ ש ה ת ד ע מ ו ת י ו ר ל ם ,’ה Haaretz , 2 October 2015.95 Didi Remez, ‘Bring on the transparency’, Haaretz , 26 November 2009. h p://www.haaretz.com/print-edi on/

opinion/bring-on-the-transparency-1.3326. Accessed 2 July 2015.96 Ibid.97 Noam Sheizaf, ‘Foreign in uence, transparency problems of NGO Monitor’, +972 Magazine , 20 February

2012. h p://972mag.com/ques ons-regarding-foreign-in uence-transparency-of-ngo-monitor/35854/.Accessed 3 July 2015.

98 ‘About the Jerusalem Center for Public A airs’, Jerusalem Center for Public A airs, n.d. h p://www.jcpa.org/about-jun04.htm. Accessed 3 July 2015.

99 ‘Dore Gold ar cles’, Jerusalem Center for Public A airs, n.d. h p://jcpa.org/publica on/dore-gold-ar cles/.Accessed 3 July 2015.

100 ‘Lenny Ben-David’, Jerusalem Center for Public A airs, n.d. h p://jcpa.org/researcher/lenny-ben-david/.Accessed 3 July 2015.


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101 ‘About the Jerusalem Center for Public A airs’, Jerusalem Center for Public A airs, n.d.102 Josh Nathan-Kazis, Forward , 28 June 2013.103 Ibid104 ‘CV Prof. Gerald M. Steinberg’, Bar Ilan University, October 2004. h ps://faculty.biu.ac.il/~steing/con ict/

CV.pdf. Accessed 3 July 2015.105 ‘Gerald Steinberg’, The Na onal Forum, n.d. h p://www.onlineopinion.com.au/author.asp?id=4345.

Accessed 3 July 2015.106 ‘Interna onal advisory board members’, NGO Monitor, n.d. h p://www.ngo-monitor.org/ar cle.php?viewall=yes&id=2028. Accessed 3 July 2015.

107 ‘Authors’, Gatestone Ins tute, n.d. h p://www.gatestoneins tute.org/authors/. Accessed 3 July 2015.108 ‘Outside authors: Ellio Abrams’, Washington Ins tute for Near East Policy, n.d. h ps://www.

washingtonins tute.org/experts/view/ellio -abrams. Accessed 3 July 2015.109 ‘Authors’, Gatestone Ins tute, n.d.110 Billy Hallowell, ‘Famed A orney Alan Dershowitz Clashes With Muslim Blogger Over This “Sweeping” Claim

About “Radical Muslims”,’ The Blaze , 5 May 2015. h p://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/05/05/famed-a orney-alan-dershowitz-delivers- rst-amendment-lesson-before-clashing-with-muslim-blogger-over-this-key-claim-about-radical-muslims/. Accessed 2 July 2015.

111 Melissa Clyne, ‘Dershowitz: Radical Islam Is Only An -Semi sm “That Ma ers Now”’, Newsmax , 17 February2015. h p://www.newsmax.com/Newsmax-Tv/islam-extremism-an -semi sm-violence/2015/02/17/id/625195/. Accessed 3 July 2015.

112 Douglas Murray, ‘What are we to do about Islam? A speech to the Pim Fortuyn Memorial Conferenceon Europe and Islam’, The Social A airs Unit, 3 March 2006. Archived at: h p://web.archive.org/web/20080201133647/h p://www.sociala airsunit.org.uk/blog/archives/000809.php. Accessed 3 July 2015.

113 ‘Dis nguished Senior Fellows’, Gatestone Ins tute, n.d. h p://www.gatestoneins tute.org/experts/.Accessed 3 July 2015.

114 ‘Our team: R. James Woolsey’, Founda on for Defense of Democracies’, n.d. h p://www.defenddemocracy.org/about-fdd/team-overview/r-james-woolsey/. Accessed 3 July 2015.

115 ‘Board of Advisors’, The Washington Ins tute for Near East Policy, n.d. h ps://www.washingtonins tute.org/about/board-of-advisors. Accessed 3 July 2015.

116 ‘Interna onal Patrons’, The Henry Jackson Society, n.d. h p://henryjacksonsociety.org/about-the-society/interna onal-patrons-2/. Accessed 3 July 2015.

117 Nina Rosenwald appears with former Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, copyright The AradFounda on.

118 ‘Our key people’, Jerusalem Centre for Public A airs’, n.d. h p://www.jcpa.org/jcbrd.htm. Accessed 3 July2015.

119 Benjamin Doherty, ‘What can public records tell us about NGO Monitor’s funding sources?’, ElectronicIn fada , 10 February 2012. h ps://electronicin fada.net/blogs/benjamin-doherty/what-can-public-records-tell-us-about-ngo-monitors-funding-sources. Accessed 3 July 2015.

120 Ali Abunimah ‘Why hasn’t NGO Monitor’s US fundraiser led legally required public disclosures with InternalRevenue Service?’, Electronic In fada , 15 January 2012, h ps://electronicin fada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/why-hasnt-ngo-monitors-us-fundraiser- led-legally-required-public-disclosures. Accessed 3 July 2015.

121 Max Blumenthal, ‘The Sugar Mama of An -Muslim Hate’, The Na on , 13 June 2012. < h p://www.thena on.com/ar cle/168374/sugar-mama-an -muslim-hate#>. Accessed 29 March 2015.

122 Edited by Gerald M. Steinberg and Anne Herzberg, ‘Filling in the Blanks: Documen ng Missing Dimensionsin UN and NGO Inves ga ons of the Gaza Con ict’, NGO Monitor and UN Watch, 2014. h p://www.ngo-monitor.org/2014_Gaza_Con ict.pdf. Accessed 3 July 2015.

123 ‘Annual report 2014’, NGO Monitor, 2014. h p://www.ngo-monitor.org/data/images/File/NGO%20Monitor%202014%20Annual%20Report%20-%20LR.pdf. Accessed 3 July 2015.

124 ‘990 Finder’, Founda on Center, n.d. h p://founda oncenter.org/ ndfunders/990 nder/125 990 tax report led by REPORT Inc. in 2010. Accessed at: h p://990s.founda oncenter.org/990_pdf_

archive/262/262971061/262971061_201012_990.pdf. Accessed 3 July 2015.126 Noam Sheizaf, +972 Magazine, 20 February 2012.127 IRS tax documents accessed at the Founda on Center. h p://990s.founda oncenter.org128 John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, ‘The Israel Lobby’, London Review of Books , Vol. 28 No. 6 · 23 March

2006. h p://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/john-mearsheimer/the-israel-lobby. Accessed 3 July 2015.129 ‘Fellows: Ma hew Levi ’, Washington Ins tute for Near East Policy, n.d. h p://www.washingtonins tute.

org/experts/view/levi -ma hew. Accessed 3 July 2015.130 ‘2014 Annual report’, American Enterprise Ins tute, December 2014. h ps://www.aei.org/wp-content/

uploads/2014/12/2014-Annual-Report-.pdf. Accessed 3 July 2015.


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131 ‘Con rmed speakers’, AIPAC Policy Conference, n.d. h p://www.policyconference.org/ar cle/con rmedSpeakers.asp

132 ‘Professional Advisory Board’, IDC Herzliya, n.d. h p://www.ict.org.il/Content.aspx?ID=30. Accessed 3 July2015.

133 ‘FDD Team’, Founda on for Defense of Democracies, n.d. h p://www.defenddemocracy.org/about-fdd/team-overview/category/csif-board-of-advisors. Accessed 3 July 2015.

134 Israeli Foreign Ministry, ‘Are Israeli Se lements Legal?’, Aish HaTorah, 12 January 2018. . Danielle Shachar, ‘Living on Anne Frank Street’, Aish HaTorah, 27 December2014. . Both Accessed 28 March 2015.

135 Je ery Goldberg, ‘The Jewish Extremists Behind “Obsession”’, The Atlan c , 27 October 2008. .Accessed 25 March 2015.

136 Meg Laughlin, ‘Senders of Islam movie “Obsession” ed to Jewish charity’, Tampa Bay Times , 26 September2008. . Accessed 25 March 2015.

137 ‘ICT Sta ’, IDC Herzliya, n.d. h p://www.ict.org.il/Workers.aspx. Accessed 2 July 2015.138 Aviv Re g Gur, ‘It’s all in the plans’, The Jerusalem Post , 11 June 2007. h p://www.jpost.com/Features/Its-

all-in-the-plans. Accessed 2 July 2015.139 Nathan Gu man, ‘Sheldon Adelson Is a Philanthropist Like No Other’, Forward , 3 November 2014. h p://

forward.com/news/israel/208220/sheldon-adelson-is-a-philanthropist-like-no-other/. Accessed 2 July 2015.140 Business of Backlash: The A ack on the Pales nian Movement and Other Movements for Jus ce ,

Interna onal Jewish An -Zionist Network, 15 March. p63. h p://www.ijan.org/resources/business-of-backlash/. Accessed 2 July 2015.

141 ‘Names in the news’, Commi ee for Accuracy in Middle East Repor ng in America, n.d. h p://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=8. Accessed 8 July 2015.

142 The New York Times reported in 2010 that the Central Fund of Israel has ‘raised tens of thousands ofdollars to help erect temporary structures’ in an Israeli se lement in the occupied West Bank to keep‘the community going un l o cials li ed the building ban’ on further construc on. Jim Rutenberg, MikeMcin re and Ethan Bronner, ‘Tax-Exempt Funds Aid Se lements in West Bank’, The New York Times , 5 July2010. www.ny mes.com/2010/07/06/world/middleeast/06se le.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0. Accessed 2July 2015.

143 ‘Support us’, Pales nian Media Watch, n.d. h p://palwatch.org/pages/donate1.aspx. Accessed 2 July 2015.144 Barak Ravid, ‘Foreign Ministry working with righ sts against Pales nian incitement’, Haaretz , 7 May 2010.

h p://www.haaretz.com/print-edi on/news/foreign-ministry-working-with-righ sts-against-pales nian-incitement-1.288828. Accessed 2 July 2015.

145 Michael Felsen, ‘Im Tirtzu’s Zionism without democracy’, Haaretz , 7 January 2013. h p://www.haaretz.com/opinion/im- rtzu-s-zionism-without-democracy.premium-1.492403. Accessed 2 July 2015.

146 Philip Weiss, ‘N.Y. Fabric Store Is Home to Tax-Deduc ble Fund for ‘Urgent Security Needs’ of Jewish Se lers’,Mondoweiss , 10 December 2008. h p://mondoweiss.net/2008/12/nadia-matar-a-de ant-se ler-who-was-evicted-from-that-disputed-house-in-hebron-last-week-has-sent-out-a-de ant-email-th. Accessed 2 July2015.

147 Wajahat Ali, Eli Cli on, Ma hew Duss, Lee Fang, Sco Keyes and Faiz Shakir, Fear, Inc. The Roots ofthe Islamophobia Network in America , Center for American Progress, August 2011. h p://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/08/pdf/islamophobia.pdf. Accessed 1 July 2015.

148 Sonia Scherr, ‘Dutch Lawmaker Brings His An -Muslim Spiel to U.S.’, Southern Poverty Law Center 20October 2009. h p://www.splcenter.org/blog/2009/10/20/dutch-lawmaker-brings-his-an -muslim-spiel-to-us/. Accessed 2 July 2015.

149 ‘Ac ve An -Muslim Groups’, Southern Poverty Law Center, n.d. h p://www.splcenter.org/node/3502/ac vegroups. Accessed 2 July 2015.

150 ‘US bloggers banned from entering UK’, BBC News , 26 June 2013. h p://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23064355. Accessed 2 July 2015.

151 ‘FDD Team’, Founda on for Defence of Democracies, n.d. h p://www.defenddemocracy.org/about-fdd/team-overview/. Accessed 2 July 2015.

152 Eli Cli on, ‘Home Depot founder’s quiet $10 million right-wing investment,’ Salon , 5 August 2013. h p://www.salon.com/2013/08/05/home_depot_founder%E2%80%99s_quiet_10_million_right_wing_investment/. Accessed 2 July 2015.

153 Wajahat Ali et al (2001), Center for American Progress, August 2011. p94.154 ‘Apology for “Muslim Birmingham” Fox News claim’, BBC News , 12 January 2015. h p://www.bbc.co.uk/

news/uk-england-30773297. Accessed 2 July 2015.


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155 Eyal Press, ‘Neocon Man’, The Na on , 10 May 2004. h p://www.thena on.com/ar cle/neocon-man.Accessed 2 July 2015. Accessed 2 July 2015.

156 Wajahat Ali et al (2001), Center for American Progress, August 2011.157 ‘Experts’, Gatestone Ins tute, n.d. h p://www.gatestoneins tute.org/experts/. Accessed 1 July 2015.158 MJ Rosenberg, ‘Who funds Muslim-bai ng in the US?‘, Aljazeera , 27 August 2011. h p://www.aljazeera.

com/indepth/opinion/2011/08/201182713537929189.html. Accessed 2 July 2015.

159 Jon Stone, ‘Israeli se lers are using archaeological digs as cover to take Pales nian land, Bri sh governmentsays’, The Independent , 23 March 2015. h p://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israeli-se lers-are-using-archaeological-digs-as-cover-to-take-pales nian-land-bri sh-government-says-10127250.html. Accessed 1 July 2015.

160 Uri Blau, ‘New “alterna ve Zionist fund” suppor ng right-wing se ler groups’, Haaretz , 6 January 2012.h p://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/new-alterna ve-zionist-fund-suppor ng-right-wing-se ler-groups-1.405848. Accessed 2 July 2015.

161 ‘Security’, One Israel Fund, n.d. h ps://www.oneisraelfund.org/projectsnew/default.asp?id=8. Accessed 2July 2015.

162 Tammy Mark, ‘An Evening of Support and a Call to Ac on’, One Israel Fund, n.d. . Accessed 25 March 2015.

163 ‘About us’, BBC Watch, n.d. h p://bbcwatch.org/about-us/. Accessed 2 July 2015.164 Yoni Mendel, +972 Magazine , 4 June 2015.


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spin watchPublic Interest Investigations

How Israel attempts to misleadthe United NationsDeconstructing Israel’s campaign againstthe Palestinian Return Centre

Sarah MarusekDavid Miller

J u l y

2 0 1 5

Documents

UN Watch - An Israeli propaganda organization