Photo Credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90
Anti-Israel NGO Adalah's General Director Hassan Jabareen.

According to an NGO Monitor report issued on Monday, between 2017 and 2019, 35 anti-Israel NGOs received a total of NIS 319,466,917 ($95.7 million) in donations, 58% of which ($55.5 million) came from foreign governments through direct and indirect funding, and 42% ($40.1 million) from private donors.

Given the central role played by politicized NGOs in the public human rights discourse, transparency in NGO funding is required in order to support an informed debate (Analysis of NIS 320 million in grants to Israeli NGOs, annual reports 2017-2019). The group’s analysis presents all grants reported by the 35 Israeli NGOs receiving foreign government funding and involved in political advocacy, according to their annual financial reports for 2017-2019, which are the latest available. The data are listed according to the amount of the grant, the identity of the donor, and the source of the grant (private, governmental, or non-transparent / unclear).

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For the full list of grants click here.

  • Of the 35 NGOs, 22 reported receiving more than 50% of their funding from foreign governments. Akevot (100%), Human Rights Defenders Fund (96.7%), and Emek Shaveh (92%) reporting receiving the highest shares of donations from foreign governments.
  • Twenty-two different governmental and intergovernmental entities (including the EU and the UN) fund these 35 Israeli NGOs.
  • Germany is the largest donor, providing NIS 43,636,794, followed by the European Union and the Netherlands.
  • Of the NIS 134,079,909 in private funding provided to NGOs, the New Israel Fund (NIF) provides 16%, Sigrid Rausing Trust 10%, Open Society Institute 7%, Rockefeller Brothers Foundation 3%, the Galilee Foundation 3%, and the Moriah Fund 2%.
  • 16.2% of the total funding (NIS 51,811,990) is donated by Christian groups (churches and Christian humanitarian aid organizations). Most of these institutions receive large sums of government funding, and in most instances, funding for Israeli NGOs is considered indirect government funding.
  • A large percentage of the government-funded church bodies that disburse grants to the Israeli NGOs are themselves involved in anti-Israeli campaigns – including BDS, lawfare, and other delegitimization campaigns against Israel – and some engage in antisemitic rhetoric.
  • In January 2021, B’Tselem launched a campaign labeling Israel an “apartheid” state and using antisemitic tropes, augmenting their advocacy for international sanctions against Israel. Its funders include: European Union, Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden (via NGO Development Center), Bread for the World (Germany), Christian Aid Ireland, DanChurchAid, Diakonia, Trocaire, and the United Nations.
  • Israeli NGOs such as B’Tselem, Yesh Din, and Adalah have repeatedly made allegations and statements that support the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes. (See NGO Monitor’s “The Role of Israeli NGOs in Supporting the International Criminal Court (ICC) ‘Investigation’.”) In addition, New Israel Fund (NIF), which provided NIS 4,063,396 to these three NGOs in 2017-2019, stated in February 2021 that it no longer believed “with 100%” certainty, that Israel maintained “an independent judicial system.”
Women for Peace protest against President Donald Trump’s Deal of the Century in Tel Aviv, June 18, 2020. / Tomer Neuberg/Flash90

According to the NGO Monitor report, there are two primary donor types:

Government

  • Foreign governments: Many Western countries promote human rights and humanitarian aid as part of their foreign policy. Funding officially designated for these purposes is channeled through embassies, foreign ministries, departments and ministries of international aid and development, consulates, and aid agencies and programs.
  • Regional/international bodies: The EU and UN are fully funded by governments and also provide major funding for human rights and humanitarian aid, including generous grants to Israeli NGOs.
  • Indirect government funding: Many governments budget hundreds of millions of euros annually for external bodies, including aid organizations, Christian groups, and various funds and foundations in order to promote human rights and humanitarian aid. In some European countries, these frameworks are fully funded by out of the state budget.

And Private

  • Private foundations: Some non-profits that provide funds to NGOs have endowments, from which they disburse funds according to the stated objectives; in many cases, the foundations also serve as a conduit (or pass-through) for donations from private individuals.
  • Private donors: Private individuals in Israel and abroad (including bequests) also directly donate to Israeli NGOs.

Funding to Israeli NGOs, 2017-2019 (amounts in NIS)

+972 Magazine 273,109 5.07% 5,110,102 94.93% 5,383,211
ACRI 4,676,276 21.77% 16,802,995 78.23% 21,479,271
Adalah 5,800,767 49.66% 5,881,204 50.34% 11,681,971
Akevot 1,275,022 100% 0 0 1,275,022
Al Marsad 3,469,681 90.20% 377,187 9.80% 3,846,868
Al Qaws 916,669 31.47% 1,995,875 68.53% 2,912,544
B’Tselem 19,680,303 49.67% 19,944,501 50.33% 39,624,804
Baladna 807,720 27.83% 2,095,014 72.17% 2,902,734
Bimkom 8,425,996 68.80% 3,820,491 31.20% 12,246,487
Breaking the Silence 12,125,833 55.61% 9,680,067 44.39% 21,805,900
Coalition of Women for Peace 1,189,270 72.41% 453,132 27.59% 1,642,402
Combatants for Peace 1,190,024 33.44$ 2,369,085 66.56% 3,559,109
Comet Me 23,803,751 91.83% 2,118,116 8.17% 25,921,867
Emek Shaveh 4,751,888 92.23% 400,444 7.77% 5,152,332
Gisha 10,998,257 73.14% 4,039,387 26.86% 15,037,644
Hamoked 14,696,000 79.75% 3,731,000 20.25% 18,427,000
Human Rights Defenders Fund 1,362,462 95.73% 60,831 4.27% 1,423,293
Ir Amim 8,820,212 83.33% 1,764,894 16.67% 10,585,106
Kerem Navot 653,761 75.74% 209,454% 24.26% 863,215
Mada al-Carmel 128,535 3.00% 4,152,021 97.00% 4,280,556
Molad 881,103 18.67% 3,837,594 81.33% 4,718,697
Mossawa 2,545,202 63.72% 1,448,966 36.28% 3,994,168
Negev Coexistence Forum 1,721,808 54.93% 1,412,729 45.07% 3,134,537
Parents Circle Families Forum 6,098,374 45.18% 7,398,312 54.82% 13,496,686
Peace Now 5,326,722 70.43% 2,236,435 29.57% 7,563,157
Physicians for Human Rights – Israel 10,942,000 41.70% 15,300,000 58.30% 26,242,000
Public Committee against Torture in Israel 4,303,224 83.57% 846,170 16.43% 5,149,394
Rabbis for Human Rights 1,885,149 17.92% 8,635,175 82.08% 10,520,324
Sabeel 1,623,130 51.00% 1,561,865 49.00% 3,184,995
Sadaka Reut 3,823,364 77.57% 1,105,820 22.43% 4,929,184
The Social TV 1,700,334 47.92% 1,848,185 52.08% 3,548,519
Who Profits 1,652,941 59.28% 1,135,219 40.72% 2,788,160
Yesh Din 14,560,839 91.07% 1,428,054 8.93% 15,988,893
Zochrot 3,277,282 78.84% 879,585 21.16% 4,156,867

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David writes news at JewishPress.com.