Report: NGOs involved in Israeli-Palestinian conflict get $27 million in foreign aid
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Foreign governments donated some $27 million to 24 nongovernmental organizations involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict between 2012 and 2014, according to a new report by the Jerusalem-based research institute NGO Monitor.
According to the report, released Monday, the donations were made by foreign governments both directly and indirectly, and “comprise roughly 60 percent of the NIS 176 million ($45 million) reported by 75 Israeli non-profit associations and corporations for the public benefit during that time.” The report found that the European Union was the largest donor to the NGOs during the reported period, at $4.5 million, followed by Norway, which donated $3.4 million.
NGOs are obligated to disclose their finances by Israel’s Law on Disclosure Requirements for [Groups] Supported by a Foreign Governmental Body, enacted in 2011 as part of the country’s Transparency Law. The law demands that groups disclose their grants’ objectives. Among the NGOs to comply with the financial-disclosure directives were B’Tselem, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, HaMoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual, the Geneva Initiative, Yesh Din, the Coalition of Women for Peace, MachsomWatch, the Adalah Legal Center, the Mossawa Center, Rabbis for Human Rights, Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, and the Alternative Information Center.
NGO Monitor noted that some of those groups “are directly or indirectly involved in BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) campaigns, lawfare, delegitimization, and lobbying against the State of Israel.”
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IDF’s only Japanese lone soldier earns red paratrooper’s beret
(JNS.org) Sol Kikuchi, the only lone soldier (without parents living in Israel) from Japan in the Israel Defense Forces, last week finished the grueling 31-mile march required to receive the coveted red beret of the IDF Paratroopers Brigade.
“The march wasn’t hard for me, but seeing my parents, who came from Japan [for my beret ceremony], was really emotional for me and for them,” Kikuchi, 21, told Israel Hayom.
When Kikuchi first enlisted in the IDF, he completed a three-month Hebrew-language course, and vowed he would then volunteer to serve in a combat unit.
“If I am serving, I might as well go all the way and serve in a combat unit like the Paratroopers Brigade,” he said.
“Obviously it’s not easy to be alone in a foreign country, but this is my home now and I am very at peace with my decision to serve as a combat soldier in the IDF,” added Kikuchi.
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Report: Netanyahu mulling changes to Washington speech
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly mulling a change of plans regarding the details of his planned speech before a joint session of Congress next month.
According to reports, Israeli officials are considering whether Netanyahu should instead give a closed-door speech to members of Congress or only give his other scheduled address in Washington, DC, a speech at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference.
“The issue has been under discussion for a week,” said a source close to the prime minister’s office, the Jerusalem Post reported. “[Netanyahu] is discussing it with Likud people. Some say he should give up on the speech, others that he should go through with it.”
At the same time, Netanyahu himself said Monday that he is “determined” to follow through with the speech. He was invited by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to address Congress about the Iranian nuclear threat and radical Islam. The Obama administration, as well as some Democratic lawmakers and Jewish organizations, have criticized the speech over the contention that the White House was not consulted about the invitation in advance. Vice President Joe Biden will be skipping the speech.
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Palestinian Authority to ban products from six Israeli companies
(JNS.org) A senior Palestinian Authority (PA) official, Mahmoud al-Aloul, said on Monday that the PA is planning to ban products made by six Israeli companies.
According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, products manufactured by Tnuva, Osem, Elite, Prigat, Jafora-Tabori, and the Strauss Group will be banned in markets in the West Bank starting on Feb. 11.
Al-Aloul said that the decision to ban the products came in response to a “recent surge of Israeli violations,” including “the takeover of large tracts of Palestinian lands for settlement purposes and Israel’s illegal freeze of Palestinian tax revenues, collected on behalf of the PA.”
Israel has halted the transfer of tax revenue to the Palestinians in response to PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to unilaterally join several international bodies, including the International Criminal Court.
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