Publicly EU denounces BDS, then passes €MILLION$ to pro-BDS organizations

 

Despite the often repeated, publicly given anti-BDS declarations, the EU continues funding millions of euros to pro-BDS organizations that promote anti-Israel protests, accuses Israel of perpetrating “massacres,” “cultural genocide,” “apartheid” and regularly issues posters and caricatures demonizing the Jewish State, some of which are virulently antisemitic.

By Mordechai Sones

 

Organizations receiving European Union funding to promote goals such as peace, cooperation and human rights, exploit the largesse to promote the anti-Israel boycott campaign (BDS) and legal warfare operations that deny Israel’s legitimacy to exist as a Jewish state, according to a study conducted by the NGO Monitor research institute.

ACF International personnel using EU vehicle – Photo: Regavim

Despite official EU statements affirming opposition to BDS, NGO Monitor examined a number of EU funding mechanisms targeting Israel, Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, and found that 29 of the 100 EU grants totaling 16.7 million euros (out of 67.1 million euros) were allocated to projects involving pro-BDS organizations.

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42 out of 180 surveyed grant beneficiaries support BDS in various ways, including participation in events and activities, signing petitions and initiatives and/or membership in formal BDS frameworks. Only organizations explicitly supporting BDS were included in NGO Monitor’s report.

Some organizations use the EU logo in their publications and websites, thus usurping EU prestige to project the appearance of legitimacy. This allows them to associate the EU with their political agenda, such as BDS and rejecting normalization with Israel.

Because EU aid mechanisms are complex – there is no coordination between organizations – it is impossible to know the exact amount transferred to them. In many cases, funding is half and even approaches 75% of the total organizational budget.

Additionally, NGO Monitor examined only a few local financing programs. International funding, humanitarian funding, or financing allocated to other areas are not included in the report. It is therefore likely that the total amount transferred from the EU to BDS-supporting organizations is even higher than indicated.

 

View original Arutz Sheva publication at:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/224171