{"id":1241,"date":"2026-07-21T07:19:57","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T07:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/?p=1241"},"modified":"2026-07-21T07:19:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T07:19:57","slug":"active-in-bds-document-reveals-how-israel-scrutinised-global-ngos-israel-palestine-conflict-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/?p=1241","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Active in BDS\u2019: Document reveals how Israel scrutinised global NGOs | Israel-Palestine conflict News"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\u2018Active<\/div>

<\/p>\n

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An official document obtained by Al Jazeera shows how Israel collected information on charities in 2013, singling out some of the world\u2019s most well-known humanitarian organisations for their perceived positions on the Israel-Palestine conflict.<\/p>\n

The file, a spreadsheet that we accessed via an Israeli ministry website, listed more than 150 charities and basic details, such as the director\u2019s name at the time, the organisation\u2019s address, telephone number, email and area of work.<\/p>\n

But in a \u201ccomments\u201d column, 15 were remarked upon with statements such as \u201ccritic of Israel\u201d in the case of France-based Premiere Urgence Internationale, \u201cinvolved in anti-Israel campaigning\u201d for the Geneva-based Defence for Children International and \u201chighly involved in BDS\u201d \u2013 meaning the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions<\/a> campaign \u2013 to describe Mundubat in Spain.<\/p>\n

The document suggested Oxfam was \u201cactive in global BDS efforts\u201d and encouraged NGOs to join \u201cviolations of international law\u201d by supporting projects in the occupied West Bank \u201ceven if they have not been approved by the Israeli Civil Administration\u201d.<\/p>\n

Oxfam told Al Jazeera the comments \u201cappear to reflect allegations and interpretations, rather than an objective assessment\u201d of its work.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a long-established humanitarian organisation operating under rigorous compliance and accountability standards, we reject assertions that are not supported by credible evidence. Oxfam<\/a>\u00a0does not support or promote the BDS movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

The spokesperson said the charity upholds international law and added that Israeli \u201csettlements violate international humanitarian law\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2018Nothing to do with security\u2019<\/h2>\n

According to Tania Hary, executive director of Gisha, an Israeli NGO that advocates for the freedom of movement for Palestinians, the document \u201chas nothing to do with security\u201d.<\/p>\n

Rather, she said, it is \u201cfurther proof that the Israeli government has been tracking the activities of organisations that do life-saving work for Palestinians living under Israel\u2019s brutal occupation for decades\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gisha was not among those named in the file.<\/p>\n

The spreadsheet was obtained online via the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, then known as Israel\u2019s Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Social Services. The ministry did not reply to Al Jazeera\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n

Many of the comments cite as their source NGO Monitor, an Israel-based organisation that describes itself as a nonpartisan research institute. NGO Monitor\u2019s website, however, lists campaigns that include \u201cMapping the anti-Israel NGO network in the US\u201d. A report on the website reads: \u201cPalestinian NGOs deny the very existence of Palestinian terror.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayssoun Sukarieh, senior lecturer in the Department of International Development at King\u2019s College London, described NGO Monitor as a \u201cright-wing\u201d organisation \u201cthat monitors people who are pro-Palestine\u201d.<\/p>\n

Israel felt \u2018the bite of BDS\u2019 in 2013<\/h2>\n

The document was created in October 2013, a time when the BDS movement against Israel was gaining momentum. That year, the renowned physicist Stephen Hawking refused to join a conference in Israel over the occupation of Palestine, several student bodies adopted academic boycotts and Canada\u2019s largest Protestant church, the United Church of Canada, began a campaign against goods made in Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law.<\/p>\n

Experts said the file shows Israel\u2019s methodology in monitoring charities and the BDS movement four years before it passed a law barring entry to anyone supporting the campaign.<\/p>\n

In 2013, \u201cIsrael was starting to feel the bite of BDS, and the ministry wanted to cross-reference different aspects of these organisations,\u201d Sukarieh said. \u201cPerhaps they were collecting data to reach that law,\u201d she added, referring to the 2017 ban on BDS supporters.<\/p>\n

Giovanni Fassina, director of the European Legal Support Center<\/a>, said the list was compiled in the \u201chype of the years Israel was passing laws and fighting BDS\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2011, [Israel] enacted a law that imposes sanctions on any individual or entity that calls for an economic, cultural or academic boycott of Israel\u2019s West Bank settlements or of Israel itself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Israel has been \u201cblacklisting\u201d groups and individuals \u201cfor a long time\u201d using a network that includes groups like NGO Monitor, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a new tactic. They have been doing this since 2013. In my opinion, the document shows the start of that process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonviolent BDS movement viewed as a \u2018threat\u2019<\/h2>\n

Other charities with comments in the spreadsheet include the Spanish NGO ACSUR-Las Segovias, Denmark\u2019s DanChurchAid, Diakonia\/NAD of Sweden and Norway, Stockholm-based Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, the United Kingdom-based Medical Aid for Palestinians, Germany\u2019s Medico International, Norwegian Refugee Council, Palestine Solidarity Association of Sweden, Belgium\u2019s Solidarite Socialiste, Vento di Terra Onlus in Italy and World Vision International, headquartered in the UK.<\/p>\n

The file noted that Tsafrir Cohen, director of Medico International, wrote about BDS campaigns, urged politicians to pressure Israel and was among a group of authors behind a 2012 report titled Trading Away Peace, which explored Europe\u2019s role in helping to sustain Israeli settlements.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe report did not even call for sanctions,\u201d Medico\u2019s Riad Othman told Al Jazeera, describing it as \u201crather tame\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said the file obtained by Al Jazeera signalled an \u201coverreaction on the part of Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was feared was this: If differentiation between the economy of occupation and land theft and the economy of Israel proper is impossible, where does that leave the Israeli economy as a whole in a future scenario?\u201d<\/p>\n

He said Medico has neither supported the boycott movement nor called for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, we have publicly defended the right of individuals and groups to call for a boycott,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Palestine Solidarity Association of Sweden, which no longer has staff or an office in occupied Palestinian territory, said it was a \u201cknown fact\u201d Israeli officials closely monitor networks that support the Palestinian cause.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey particularly view the nonviolent BDS movement as a strategic threat,\u201d a spokesperson told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

The document noted that a representative from the Swedish NGO had tried to deliver aid<\/a> to Gaza by boat as part of a flotilla, that the group was \u201cactive in BDS\u201d and \u201cactively campaigned to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were and still are active in\u00a0BDS, proudly so. We believe it is the most effective strategy to realise the rights of the Palestinian people and force Israel to adhere to international law,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

The NGO sector\u2019s relationship with Israel was more recently thrown into the spotlight during Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians since it began in October 2023, according to health officials.<\/p>\n

Throughout the onslaught, which began after a deadly Hamas-led incursion<\/a> into southern Israel, Israeli authorities have restricted charities from sending life-saving aid into the Gaza Strip, barred foreign humanitarian workers and doctors from entering, and demanded 37 NGOs<\/a> provide personal details of their Palestinian staff to continue their work in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Sukarieh at King\u2019s College London said international charities have \u201calways\u201d been present in Palestine, doing \u201cessential work\u201d.<\/p>\n

But over the years, \u201cso many restrictions\u201d have been put in place by Israel and \u201cconstant monitoring too\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An official document obtained by Al Jazeera shows how Israel collected information on charities in 2013, singling out some of the world\u2019s most well-known humanitarian organisations for their perceived positions on the Israel-Palestine conflict. The file, a spreadsheet that we accessed via an Israeli ministry website, listed more than 150 charities and basic details, such…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2013-02-03T120000Z_666098399_GM1E9231HY102_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-POLITICS-1784047457.jpg?resize=1920%2C1440","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[1406,2466,1469,1057,311,2,2469,810,2468,1426,2467],"class_list":["post-1241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-news","tag-active","tag-bds","tag-conflict","tag-document","tag-global","tag-israel","tag-israelpalestine","tag-news","tag-ngos","tag-reveals","tag-scrutinised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}