NGO: Eritrean asylum seekers pressured to leave Israel

Published on February 15, 2013

Israel attempted to deport 25 Eritrean asylum seekers in violation of international conventions, according to an Israeli NGO supporting the rights of migrants.

EU court throws out NGO funding case brought by Israel-based group

Published on December 24, 2012

The European Court of Justice threw out a lawsuit filed nearly three years ago against the European Union that would have required the E.U. to release details of its funding of NGOs.

Chanukah in Chad

Published on December 10, 2012

It is late into the evening, and I just remembered – tonight is the first night of Chanukah, even in the seemingly God-forsaken town of Farchana on the eastern rim of Chad.

No suspects in Malmö JCC attack, police say

Published on November 16, 2012

Police in Malmö, Sweden have no suspects in September’s attack on the city’s Jewish community center.

Israeli NGO to advise UN on disabled kids

Published on August 24, 2012

The UN Economic and Social Council has named an Israeli NGO as a special consultant on assisting disabled children.

NGOs call on Israel to lift Gaza blockade

Published on June 14, 2012

Some 50 nongovernmental organizations called on Israel to lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Survey: EU hate crimes monitors lack reliable data

Published on April 17, 2012

More than half of the nongovernmental organizations monitoring hate crimes in the European Union have no working definition for what constitutes a hate crime, according to a new survey.

Egypt: U.S. aid cut may force Israel treaty review

Published on February 16, 2012

The Muslim Brotherhood has warned that Egypt may review its 1979 peace deal with Israel if the United States cuts aid to the country, a move that could undermine a cornerstone of Washington's Middle East policy.

Israeli lawmaker says McCarthy was right

Published on December 5, 2011

The Israeli lawmaker who sponsored a bill to limit funding to left-leaning NGOs said Joseph McCarthy “was right in every word he said.”

Knesset committee to vote on bill limiting foreign funding for NGOs

Published on November 9, 2011

A Knesset committee will vote on two bills imposing restrictions on foreign funding to nongovernmental organizations in Israel.

Knesset rejects bill authorizing NGO inquiries

Published on July 20, 2011

Israel's Knesset voted down a bill that would have established inquiries into human rights groups.

Knesset, ahead of vote, debating bill authorizing NGO inquiries

Published on July 20, 2011

Israel's Knesset is debating a controversial bill that would authorize parliamentary investigations of Israeli groups critical of the country's policies toward the Palestinians.

Knesset approves panels to probe left-wing NGOs

Published on February 2, 2011

The Knesset House Committee approved the establishment of parliamentary panels to probe the funding and activities of left-leaning human rights groups and NGOs. The vote to establish two commissions of inquiries passed the committee Wednesday by a vote of 10 to 6.

Opportunity knocks

By Rob Eshman
Published on January 19, 2011

Is it possible that when you clink glasses and say, “Happy New Year,” someone is actually listening? That’s what it felt like this week, with two enormous pieces of good news to start the year off. First there was outgoing Mossad director Meir Dagan’s assessment that Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons is not as close as was once thought, is perhaps even as far away as 2015. For the past decade, Israelis have been warning that Nuclear Mullahs are just around the corner. Even when they moved the End Times back, it was never more than a year or two. After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bristled at Dagan’s optimistic assessment, the spy chief reeled it in a year, but the fact remains: This is very good news.

Quash bill probing NGOs, Peres tells Knesset

Published on January 18, 2011

Israeli President Shimon Peres called on the Knesset to reject proposed legislation that establishes a committee to investigate the funding of left-leaning human rights groups. By a vote of 47-16, the Knesset earlier this month gave preliminary passage to the measure. The parliamentary panel would probe the funding and activities of left-wing and human rights organizations and NGOs. "The investigation of organizations and foundations, whether from the left or right, must be left to law enforcement authorities," Peres said in a statement Monday. "They possess expertise, are objective and hold the appropriate investigative tools. The establishment of such a parliamentary investigative committee harms Israeli democracy and is unnecessary."

NGO inquiry committee has wrong focus, framework

Published on January 12, 2011

Since the notorious NGO Forum of the 2001 Durban conference, nongovernmental organizations have implemented a coordinated strategy against Israel -- isolation and demonization in the international arena. Influential Israeli and Palestinian NGOs are very active in this strategy, and their claims and agendas should not be immune to criticism and debate in the democratic process. However, the Israeli Knesset vote to open an official inquiry into the funding of virulent political NGOs involved in delegitimization is more likely to polarize than to shed light or encourage informed criticism. The Knesset debate demonstrated the intense political nature of this initiative, as both ends of the ideological spectrum ignored the complex and substantive issues.

Hummus and Whiplash in Ramallah with Bassem Eid

By David Suissa
Published on August 10, 2010

It was the best hummus I’ve ever tasted. It came in a bowl, drenched in olive oil, with a few small garbanzos and shreds of parsley and hot green peppers sprinkled on top, and just the right amount of lemon juice. The elderly Palestinian man had made the hummus from scratch and served it to us with a salad plate, a bowl of falafels and a tall stack of hot pitas for just under 8 shekels.

ANALYSIS: Israel and NGOs Clash Over Gaza War Assessments

Published on August 26, 2009

The fighting in Gaza ended months ago, but the fight over the war rages on between Israel and NGOs.

Ideological Insults

By Michael J. Jordan
Published on September 13, 2001

As terror struck New York and Washington, D.C., Jewish activists were still recovering from the ideological bomb of a U.N. conference that lashed out at Israel as racist and apartheid.