Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The NIF has been circulating what can only be called one of the whinier emails I've read by a major group in response to Im Tirzu's expose of the types of groups they've been funding and the use that funding has been put to. [h/t: Seva] An Urgent Message from the New Israel Fund
When a right-wing group with a destructive agenda and a lot of money taps into the Israeli public's anger, the results are usually not pretty.
That's what happened last week when a new organization made a big splash in Israel by accusing the New Israel Fund and its grantees of being behind the Goldstone Report. Timed to capitalize on the anger many Israelis feel about the Goldstone conclusions, andpersonalized with a particularly despicable attack on NIF President Naomi Chazan, the attack was the latest salvo in a coordinated attempt to de-legitimize civil society, repress the activities of the human rights community and weaken Israeli democracy. It comes as no surprise to discover that this new group is funded by the same abundant money that flows to extremist settlers' organizations, including a sizable contribution from John Hagee's "Christians United for Israel" - a group that once stated that Hitler was carrying out God's will."...
What a disgusting inference. Snip a bunch of other victim stuff, then:
...The ugly language and personal threats against NIF and our President are all too reminiscent of the atmosphere of incitement and hatred that preceded the Rabin assassination. Sadly, these vicious attacks are being launched against the very organizations that protect Israel and its international reputation as a vibrant democracy...
Puh-lease. Draaama. Sounds like the NIF just can't take some very well deserved criticism. For NIF & Co., it's OK to demonize anyone to the right of Rosa Luxemburg...Christians, "settlers"... but heaven forfend someone should look in to what they've been up to...
And speaking of criticism, it sounds like NIF's friends can dish it out, but they sure can't take it. NGO Monitor has a must-read: On Free Speech and Informed Public Debate: An Open Letter to NIF and Affiliated NGOs
To ACRI, Bimkom, B'Tselem, Gisha, PCATI, Yesh Din, HaMoked, PHR-I, Rabbis for Human Rights, and New Israel Fund (NIF):
The recent attacks directed against NGO Monitor's detailed research represent a dangerous attempt to prevent free speech and informed public debate on the political role of some NGOs. In particular, in your February 1, 2010 letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu, you tendentiously referred to NGO Monitor as an "extreme group" that "unleashed an unrestrained and inflammatory [attack]," and implied that we are the "rotten fruits" of Israeli democracy; B'Tselem's US representative, Mitchell Plitnick, labeled us "extremists" and "right wing"; and, a few months ago, an NIF employee posted an indecent graphic on his blog (which was later removed) to illustrate his opinion of NGO Monitor's publications.
These characterizations are inconsistent with claims to uphold the mantle of human rights and democracy in Israel. Contrary to the implications of your letter, NGO Monitor has never contested the right of civil society organizations to exist or to criticize. And if your rhetoric about upholding free speech in Israel were matched by your policies, you would uphold our right as an independent research organization, and the rights of NGOs that do not share your political views, to do the same...[The rest.]
Here's that graphic by an NIF employee:
Class.
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: New Israel Fund Comes Out Whining.
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Whatever the conclusion, at least the NIF is a controversial issue now, and they and their friends are not helping with the tactics they've used in their counterattack: Australian groups cancel Chazan appearances Former Israeli lawmaker Naomi Chazan's ... Read More
J street email follows;
Israel's democracy and those who defend its commitment to basic civil rights are under attack - and we need to fight back right now.
Growing crackdowns by Israeli authorities in Jerusalem against peaceful political activists. [1] Leading Israeli feminists threatened with charges for the "crime" of holding a prayer service at the Western Wall.
Swiftboat style ads, funded by extremist groups based in the States and reminiscent of propaganda from the darkest days of Jewish history, attacking pro-civil rights, pro-human rights, pro-democracy activists in Israeli papers. Alan Dershowitz inciting against a political opponent, calling him "evil" and a "traitor" to the Jewish people on Israeli Army Radio.
Those of us who believe that Israel should be a symbol of Jewish and democratic values in action must fight back right now. The very character and quality of Israel's democracy and civil society is under threat.
Click here to sign our open letter in support of Israel's democracy and civil society.
Our plan is to collect 10,000 signatures on this open letter, then publicly and personally deliver them to the organizations and individuals who need to hear our pro-democracy, pro-civil rights, pro-Israel message. We'll push our story hard with the media - and use these deliveries to generate coverage.
Our first delivery stop will be the pro-civil rights protesters in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street's Executive Director, will go to show them that American Jews who love and care about Israel's vibrant democracy stand with them as they exercise their basic democratic rights and protest Palestinian home evictions in East Jerusalem.
Then, we'll take your signatures to the extremist organization - Im Tirtzu - running that despicable ad against the New Israel Fund, demanding they end their attacks on the preeminent defenders of Israel's civil society.
We'll also make sure everyone knows where Im Tirtzu gets its money -- $100,000 from Christians United For Israel, whose founder, John Hagee, once said that Hitler was sent by God to force Jews to move to Israel, and the New York City-based settlement-funding charity called Central Fund for Israel that holds their accounts.
The same fund supports trips to the United States for extremist settler activist Nadia Matar, who even called for the assassination of Mahmoud Abbas in a New York City synagogue during one of her trips.
We will also make sure your open letter ends up in the hands of Alan Dershowitz, so that he sees that 10,000 Americans who support Israel also reject over-the-top personal demonization, even about political opponents, to achieve narrow political gains.
We won't stop there - not for a moment - because we all know that there are many more challenges to Israel's democracy, the lack of a two-state solution being at the top of the list.
Click here to sign our open letter in support of Israel's democracy.
Thanks so much for all you do. We'll be in touch soon about next steps for this critical campaign.
- Isaac
Isaac Luria
J Street
Campaigns Director
February 2, 2010
At this point both sides are using such overwrought rhetoric that they cancel each other out.
Naomi Chazan is a true believer good person who serves as a lighting road against all the rage created in Israel against the activities and blood libels practiced by the elements that provided the disinformation for the Goldstone report.
It is a simple, smart and vicious technique.
Get a public figure, or in this case a former public figure, with rightfully earned good reputation and left wing views and make him/her the public face of a range of activities some of which are blunted anti Israeli activities.
When those actions create rage in the Israeli public opinion it is aimed against that public face and creates the impression of persecuting an innocent person.
Then comes the Issack Luria J street letter that uses that to gather support among those outside of Israel who has less access to information about the situation here in Israel, and delegitimate their critics.
The Turks used with their ambassador in Israel, and Danny Ayalon fell for it, big time, as did Im tirtzu here.
They should have stuck to what NGO monitor does and confront the content, case by case.
By large Lighting Roads are left wing Zionists who believe that every left wing person on earth is their closest ally and true friend even if that person is a hardcore anti Zionist.
It is too bad that Naomi Chazan is not smart enough to avail herself of the facts before getting involved with the likes of the organisations mentioned above.
Time and time again nice people hurt themselves in politics because they are too naive.