Israeli security forces clash with Palestinians in east Jerusalem
Photo: B'Tselem
Poll: NGOs can't tackle human rights issues
Survey conducted for NGO Monitor finds human rights issues veery important to overwhelming majority of Israelis; 51% believe NGOs favor Palestinians
A new poll published on the eve of a conference marking the 60th anniversary since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Genocide Convention, found that while human rights issues are very important to an overwhelming 89% of Israelis, their trust in human rights NGOs to tackle them is weak.
The poll, commissioned by Jerusalem based watchdog, NGO Monitor and the Public Diplomacy Program at Bar-Ilan University’s Department of Political Science, and conducted by KEEVOON Research, showed that 51% of Israelis believe that NGOs favor the Palestinians while only 19% think they are equally concerned with Israelis and Palestinians; 64% of Israelis concluded that NGOs are by their nature biased against Israel, in light of the UN’s Durban Conference in 2001, according to the survey.
NGO Monitor’s Executive Director and Chair of the Department of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University, Prof Gerald Steinberg commented, “Human rights are clearly important to Israelis, but they also reject the ‘halo effect’ that hides the biases and other limitations in Amnesty, B’tselem, Machsom Watch and many more NGOs, and contribute to the demonization of Israel.
"They are also suspicious of the motives of European governments and other outsiders that secretly fund these NGO activists, and support legislation that will provide full transparency on these important issues,” he said.
Interestingly, 83% of those questioned said that Israel is better at protecting human rights than other Middle Eastern countries while 55% reached the same conclusion in comparison to other Western democracies; 68% said that critical NGO reports hurt Israel’s image abroad.
Tens of millions of dollars for NGOs
According to NGO Monitor, which was founded to "promote transparency, critical analysis and debate on the political role of human rights organizations," influential bodies such as the US State Department and the World Bank routinely release reports on Israel based largely on claims by NGOs such as B’tselem, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Only 32% of Israelis believe that this is acceptable, the survey indicated.
Meanwhile, NGO Monitor claims, foreign governments and in particular, the European Union, provide tens of millions of dollars for NGOs in the region, which is often spent on political activities such as demonstrations, newspaper adverts and law suits. Israelis want greater transparency, as 66% of those polled believe there should be a legal requirement that these NGO activities should include a clear public statement on the source of funding.
The full results of the poll will be revealed by Prof Steinberg at the opening event of the upcoming conference, ‘60 Years Since the Adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Genocide Convention: Examining the Record’ at the Mishkenot Sha’ananim Conference Center in Jerusalem on Tuesday, December 9 at 6pm.
The conference is organized by Bar-Ilan University’s Department of Political Science, NGO Monitor and the Global Law Forum – Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. The keynote speaker will be Canadian MP, former Justice Minister and Attorney General, Prof Irwin Cotler, who will speak on "The Danger of a Genocidal and Nuclear Iran: The Responsibility to Prevent".
The conference will continue on Wednesday at Bar-Ilan University and will bring together academics, ambassadors and human rights experts to discuss the challenges of the human rights movement, institutions and international humanitarian law today.
A representative, random sample of 503 Jewish Israelis was questioned for this poll. The telephone survey was conducted 27 November – 1 December 2008 and has a margin of error of +/- 4.5%.
