When the Church of Scotland resurrected theological anti-

Semitism in its recent “Inheritance of Abraham” attack on Israel,

much of the language echoed a Palestinian NGO called Sabeel.

Naim Ateek, who runs Sabeel, preaches “Palestinian Liberation

Theology” in churches around the world, referring to what he

calls the Israeli “crucifixion system” against the Palestinians.

Similar language is used in the Kairos Palestine campaign,

whose coordinator, Rifat Odeh Kassis, heads an NGO known as

Defense for Children International – Palestinian Section (DCIPS),

which issues frequent publications falsely accusing Israel of

violating the rights of children.

Sabeel, Kairos Palestine and DCI-PS are three components of

a wide NGO network that propels the “Durban strategy,” whose

objective is the “complete international isolation” of Israel as

an “apartheid state.” This goal was adopted by 1,500 groups,

including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International,

during the infamous 2001 UN Durban conference on racism.

The main vehicle for this political warfare is the boycott,

divestment and sanctions movement, BDS, which employs a

combination of historic anti-Semitism, including blood libels and

theological attacks on Judaism, and “new anti-Semitism,” which

targets Israel, the nation state of the Jewish people, through

demonization and double standards. To deflect criticism, these

NGOs often recruit marginal anti-Israel Jews, who play the

classic anti-Semitic Pablo Christiani role of converts through the

ages.

Contrary to their claims of engaging in “legitimate criticism”

of Israel, these groups often cross the line, stooping to anti-

Semitism as defined by the US State Department by “using

the symbols and images associated with classic anti-Semitism

to characterize Israel or Israelis,” “drawing comparisons of

contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis,” employing

double standards that require of Israel “behavior not expected

or demanded of any other democratic nation,” and “denying the

Jewish people their right to self-determination, and denying

Israel the right to exist.”

According to these criteria, NGO use of anti-Semitic themes in

attacking Israel is all too familiar. Powerful global organizations,

such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International,

repeatedly use double standards in their “reports” alleging

Israeli “war crimes.” Moreover, HRW included Richard Falk, the

special UN rapporteur on Palestine, on one of its committees,

ignoring his numerous anti-Semitic outbursts and the fact that in

June 2011, he posted a cartoon showing a dog wearing a Jewish

head-covering, with “USA” written on its body, urinating on a

symbol of justice and devouring a bloody skeleton. In December

2012, following protests led by the NGO UN Watch, HRW was

forced belatedly to cut ties with Falk.

The combination of false “war crimes” allegations and

classic anti-Semitism also surfaced in an incident involving the

Miftah NGO, headed by Palestinian activist Hanan Ashrawi

and proclaiming to promote peace, “democracy and good

governance.” In March 2013, Miftah published an article on its

Arabic website attacking US President Barack Obama following

his visit to Israel, and asking, “does Obama in fact know about

the relationship between Passover and Christian blood?”

The funders of the NGOs that promote anti-Semitism share

direct responsibility for this morally repugnant activity. Business

magnate George Soros is the primary source of HRW’s budget,

and Miftah’s funders include the European Union (via the

Anna Lindh Foundation), Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands,

Germany (via the Boell and Adenauer foundations), and Norway.

Officials from these governments claim that they are funding

“specific projects,” not infrastructure, salaries, websites and other

activities. But these responses are neither credible nor moral. The

US government-funded National Endowment for Democracy

provided major grants to Miftah, but stopped in December 2012.

These anti-Semitic NGO campaigns have revived ancient

theological hatreds, as reflected in the activities of the Church

of Scotland, BDS and others. And, alas, such hatred directed at

Jews and the Jewish state is accepted in a way that would be

unthinkable if directed at any other racial, ethnic, or religious

group.