The-Connection-Between-New-Israel
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This study was based on freely available information. A thorough study was conducted. Even so, it is always possible that there is one publication or another that is relevant to the topic of discussion, that was not discovered during the research. Any use you make of this study should take this fact into account. If you know of the existence of additional information - that contradicts the findings gathered in this study, and that comes from a more reliable source – please apprise us in order to make any necessary corrections and present an accurate picture Table of Contents Executive Summary 5 Mapping the suits and those behind them 15 Part 1 – The connection between the NIF and suits against senior Israeli officials 19 A. NIF organizations call for the prosecution of senior Israeli officials or voice support for the suits 22 B. The direct involvement of Adalah (an NIF organization) in a specific suit 25 C. The ongoing relationship with the lawyer behind suits against senior Israeli officials 26 D. Continuing cooperation between NIF organizations and the organizations that filed suits 27 Part 2 – Remarks by NIF organization activists on the issue of the filing of suits abroad against senior Israeli officials 31 Appendices 37 Appendix 1 – The Ford Foundation and the Organizations that File Suits Appendix 2 – The partnership between the Ford Foundation and the New Israel Fund Appendix 3 – The NIF’s support for organizations mentioned in the report Appendix 4 – Coalition of Women for Peace Home page during Operation Cast Lead Appendix 5 – Accompanying Documents New Israel Fund Suits against senior Israeli officials 3 Executive Summary Executive Executive Summary In the years 2001-2009 several suits were filedagainst senior Israeli officialsin the Israel Defense Forces and in the Israeli government, including: Ehud Barak, Tzipi Livni, Shaul Mofaz, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Avi Dichter, Moshe Yaalon, Dan Halutz and Doron Almog. The Summary growing threat of suits against senior Israeli officials threatens to paralyze the functioning of these figures, both in their personal lives and in the management of Israel’s foreign relations. The organizations behind the suits This study reveals that the main organization behind the majority of the suits is the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR).1 The organization is assisted by attorneys from various countries, in order to file suits against senior Israeli officials visiting those countries (such as Daniel Machover in England and Gonzalo Boye in Spain). During the years 2002-2008 the PCHR filed the ollof wing suits: 1. England (2002) – against Shaul Mofaz. 2. England (2005 – against Doron Almog. 3. USA (2005) – against Avi Dichter. 4. New Zealand (2005) – against Moshe Yaalon. 5. Spain (2008) – against Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Avi Dichter, Moshe Yaalon, Dan Halutz, Doron Almog, Giora Eiland and Michael Herzog. 6. Holland (2008) – against Ami Ayalon. Another organization that files suits against senior Israeli officials in the U.S. is the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR).2 This organization was behind the following suits, which were filed with the participation of attorney Jamil Dakwar, of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU):3 USA (2005) – against Avi Dichter (jointly with the PCHR). USA (2005) – against Moshe Yaalon. An examination of the financing sources of the organizations that filed the suits – PCHR, CCR and ACLU – reveals that all three received substantial financial backing from the Ford Foundation. The Ford Foundation is the New Israel Fund’s main strategic partner, and has granted the NIF about $4 million a year since 2003, while in practice, the NIF serves as the Ford Foundation’s representative in Israel. 1 www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/ 2 http://ccrjustice.org 3 http://www.aclu.org New Israel Fund Suits against senior Israeli officials 7 The connection between the New Israel Fund organizations and the suits This study examines the connections between the NIF organizations (which receive financial support, as well as a platform for public relations and publicizing their activities, on the NIF’s website) and the suits against senior Israeli officials abroad. The findings of this research show that some of the fund’s organizations are involved in the suits against senior Israeli officials and many of them operate in close cooperation with the PCHR, which is behind most of the suits filed so far. These connections between the NIF organizations and the suits against senior Israeli officials are manifest in four ways: A. The NIF organizations’ calls for prosecuting senior Israeli officials or support for the suits. Thus for example: In December 2009 the Coalition of Women for Peace initiated a letter sent to the British government, calling for the issuing of arrest warrants against Ehud Barak, Ehud Olmert and Tzipi Livni B. The direct involvement of Adalah in a suit filed in Spain in 2008, against seven senior Israeli officials. During the proceedings in that suit, Adalah founder and Director General Hassan Jabareen sent an expert legal opinion supporting the evidence in the suit against Binyamin Ben- Eliezer, Avi Dichter, Moshe Yaalon, Dan Halutz, Doron Almog, Giora Eiland and Michael Herzog. C. An ongoing relationship with Jamil Dakwar – a lawyer who participated in the suits against Avi Dichter and Moshe Yaalon in the U.S. in 2005. Jamil Dakwar is a graduate of the New Israel Fund’s Civil Liberties Law program, and a former Adalah activist. To this day Dakwar continues to write and publish articles and various columns in Adalah’s monthly online newsletter. The research further revealed that the NIF itself is also in constant touch with Dakwar. D Continuous strategic cooperation between NIF organizations and PCHR, as evidenced by the following activities: • The transfer of materials and information between the organizations. • Joint publications (reports, position papers, petitions, calls for action) • Constant communication between the organizations. • PCHR reliance on reports and data provided by NIF organizations. 8 Executive The NIF organizations that are connected in one fashion or another with the suits or to the organizations that filed them: A. Adalah B. Coalition of Women for Peace C. Social Television Summary D. Public Committee against Torture in Israel E. Hamoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual F. B’Tselem G. Bimkom H. Gisha I. Association for Civil Rights in Israel J. Physicians for Human Rights K. Rabbis for Human Rights L. Machsom Watch The research also found that NIF activists expressed their support for the senior Israeli officials abroad. Activists such as Michael Sfard (the legal advisor to Yesh Din) and Public Committee against Torture in Israel Director Dr. Yishai Menuhin made unequivocal remarks regarding the suits, stating that the persons behind the security establishments in Israel should be called to account for the war crimes allegedly perpetrated by the IDF in the West Bank and Gaza. In the past, as spokesman for Yesh Gvul (an organization not supported by the NIF), Menuhin was involved in the filing of suits in England against Doron Almog, Moshe Yaalon and Dan Halutz. The general view of NIF Chairperson Naomi Hazan regarding the IDF’s actions is evident from a petition initiated by the IWC (Internet Women’s Commission). Naomi Hazan is a signatory to the petition, which was published on December 29, 2009, just one day after the beginning of Operation Cast Lead, and which states, among other things: “[The IWC] … demands an immediate cessation of the aggregation of the Israeli military forces in Gaza, which has already cost hundreds of lives. The slaughter can only further fuel the conflict ...”4 4 http://www.iwc-peace.org/Press_release.htm New Israel Fund Suits against senior Israeli officials 9 Conclusion The research findings indicate that many of the New Israel Fund’s flagship organizations cooperate closely on a wide variety of issues with the PCHR, the organization behind many of the suits filed abroad against senior Israeli officials, and with Jamil Dakwar, the lawyer who participated in some of the other suits. A few of the organizations are even directly involved in or have expressed their support for and called for the prosecution and arrest of senior Israeli military or political figures. There seems to be a pattern of operation that begins with calls for the Israeli government to desist from committing “war crimes” during IDF defensive operations, continues with the publication of ostensibly objective reports about the crimes perpetrated by the State of Israel, and ends with cooperation with the lawyers who prepare and file suits abroad against senior Israeli officials, accusing them of crimes and basing the suits on “objective” findings. The same organizations are behind all these efforts to delegitimize Israel, and one major organization is behind all those organizations – the New Israel Fund. 10 Connections between the New Israel Fund and the main organizations that call for the prosecution of senior Israeli officials Strategic Partnership New Israel Fund Ford Foundation TOotakl New Israel Fund financing in 3 years :: $ 12,000,000 $ $ $ $ A B C Cooperation in general PCHR- Gaza CCR- USA Coalition of Association for activities Palestinian Center for Women for Adalah Civil Rights in Center For Constitutional Peace * $ 1,045,292 Israel Human Right Rights * $1,125,000 * $ 285,509 * $ 2,671,898 * $1,120,000 Physicians for Social human rights Television * $ 503,537 * $ 80,580 Public Committee Against Torture in Israel * $ 52,888 Direct Direct Call for Direct involvement involvement prosecution in the suit involvement B’Tselem in the suit in the suit * $ 784,836 Binyamin Ben- Calls for the Eliezer prosecution of Dan Halutz Israeli Avi Dichter officials such as: Giora Eiland Ehud Olmert Doron Almog Ami Shaul Doron Moshe Moshe Avi Tzipi Livni Michael Herzog Ayalon Mofaz Almog Yaalon Yaalon Dichter Ehud Barak Moshe Yaalon Holland England England New USA USA Spain, 2008 2008 2002 2005 Zealand 2005 2005 2005 * All the amounts in the chart are for the years 2006-2008.