Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday to stop funding anti-Israel nonprofit organizations, known in Europe and Israel as NGOs (non-governmental organizations.)
Among the groups funded by the UK is ‘Breaking the Silence’, which publicizes testimonies of ex-soldiers who served in Judea, Samaria and/or Gaza and who claim to expose “war crimes” or “humanitarian violations.”
According to the NGO Monitor, “Millions of shekels are provided by the UK government to a number of highly politicized NGOs – some of the funding is directly granted by government agencies, and other amounts are channeled indirectly by humanitarian aid groups, ostensibly for humanitarian purposes.”
For example, Breaking the Silence has been receiving funds originating with the British government, via aid organizations, as follows (information taken from submissions to the Israeli Registrar of Non-Profits): • In 2015, Christian Aid provided NIS 293,500 for “testimony collection.” • In 2016, Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) provided NIS 57,407 for “general support.”
“For many years, the UK, like other European governments, has streamed money to groups that polarize Israeli society, and for campaigns exploiting false allegations of ‘war crimes’, Prof. Gerald Steinberg, President of NGO Monitor, commented.
“The UK has recently been scandalized by such incendiary claims against its own soldiers, and British leaders will understand that funding similar NGO campaigns against Israelis is immoral.”
