Washington, DC - Israel's Peace Now movement and Americans for Peace Now strongly condemn the vicious attacks on the New Israel Fund, on its Chair, Naomi Chazan, and on the NIF's grantee organizations who are quoted in the United Nations' fact-finding mission's report on last year's Gaza war. In recent days, an Israeli right wing organization launched a vile campaign to discredit the New Israel Fund, its chair and some of its grantee organizations. This attack includes ad hominem attacks against Professor Chazan in newspaper ads that show the former Knesset Member with a horn on her forehead.
Peace Now and APN are deeply disturbed by the content of this campaign and shocked by its style, which is reminiscent of dark times in our people's history.
The NIF grantees that are quoted in the UN report on Operation Cast Lead were performing their duty as Israeli human rights organizations by monitoring and reporting on controversial policies of their government and their military. Such human rights organizations are an integral part of any vibrant democracy and as such, they are an integral - and vital - part of Israel's civil society.
The New Israel Fund is an asset to Israel's democracy, as are its grantee organizations. Attempts to silence them should not be tolerated by the Israeli public and by friends of a free and democratic Israel worldwide.
We call on all Israelis and on American friends of Israel to join us in denouncing and rejecting these contemptuous attempts to muzzle Israel's civil society groups, to quell dissenting voices in Israeli society and to demonstrate civility when discussing and debating issues of public policy.
Peace Now is Israel's leading peace movement. APN is America's leading Jewish organization advocating for peace for Israel.
For more information, contact Ori Nir at onir@peacenow.org.
Tweet
Email a friend
feed
twitter
facebook
Readers of the above article might also want to examine Richard Silverstein's take on the appalling behavior of those attacking NIF and such organizations. Here is the link to the piece:
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2010/02/01/new-israel-fund-leaders-depicted-in-prison-uniforms/
The report from a right-wing Israeli that the U.N. Human Rights ("Wrong" per Ms Huffington) Committee got most of its condemnatory material from Peace Now was most disturbing. Any explanation other than "We told it like it is."?
Sol, Thanks for the note.
Peace Now provides a great deal of information not otherwise available to the Israeli public about what takes place in the settlements. Astonishingly, even the Israeli government has repeatedly turned to Peace Now for information.
I do think though that you may be confusing a recent campaign against the New Israel Fund with criticism of Peace Now. I am not familiar with any report alleging that the UN Human Rights Council got condemnatory material from Peace Now.
New Israel Fund offered a powerful response to the allegations against it, here.