To outlaw NGOs, Bibi snubs strongest ally
Articles from 1) Spiegel Online; 2) Haaretz; 3) +972. Photos from BtS via Spiegel Online
During a pause in operations a soldier says ‘You can do anything you just thought of. No-one asked questions. Never, said the paratrooper.
The Outlaw
They are called Breaking the Silence and B’Tselem: the organizations Sigmar Gabriel wants to meet in Israel. Who are these groups – and why do they put Benjamin Netanyahu in such a rage?
By Dominik Peters, Spiegel online (online translation, w. help from Nick Jacobs)
April 25, 2017
In Jerusalem the sun is shining, the temperatures are more than 20 degrees – spring is finally there. But the relations between Israel and Germany are icy. Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has cancelled a meeting scheduled for the evening with Federal Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel.
The reason: Gabriel wanted to meet with representatives of two Israeli human rights organizations on his Middle East trip, which criticize Israel’s occupation policy.Already on Monday, Netanyahu signalled his intention of having the joint talks cancelled, if the SPD politicians insisted on meeting B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence activists.Now the scandal. Who are these groups – and why do they put Benjamin Netanyahu so in rage?
The soldiers of Breaking the Silence shall be silent
In Israel, soldiers are commonly referred to as “salt of the earth”, as particularly valuable people. With one exception: The conscripts and reservists who are engaged in Breaking the Silence . There are many between the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan who are seen as ungrateful denigrators who spread lies. Right-wing politicians often accuse them of betraying Israel .
The reason: the group founded in the course of the Second Intifada 13 years ago wants to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinians as well as to draw attention to the grievances in East Jerusalem, the West Jordan and the Gaza Strip.
To this end, the activists regularly publish anonymous reports of soldiers who have carried out their military service in the Palestinian territories and criticize the occupation policy of the army.
In addition, Breaking the Silence offers guided tours of the particularly controversial city of Hebron in West Jordan. There are always conflicts there between the Palestinian population and the national-religious settlers as well as the Israeli army.
According to its own data the organization finances itself not only by private donations but also by grants from state bodies abroad. Breaking the Silence is controversial in Israel because, through their English-language reports, they are transforming the Hebrew-led inner-Israeli discourse on the occupation that has lasted for half a century into a global one. According to the critics, this leads to a demonization of Israel abroad.
B’Tselem is confronted with the same accusation. The group, founded in 1989 during the First Intifada, documents human rights violations in the occupied territories. In doing so, it wants to change the Israeli governments’ policies on Palestine.
The Hebrew name “B’Tselem” means “in the image of” [and is also used as a synonym for human dignity] and refers to the biblical creation account, according to which God created man in his own image. Taking this into account and in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, B’Tselem urges the dignity and equality of all people in the country – both Palestinians and Israelis.
B’Tselem brought the Azaria case to the public
In addition to state and private donors from Germany and abroad, the Israeli supporters include some of Israel’s most important writers: Amos Oz, David Grossman and AB Yehoshua. Activists in these NGOs often make use of video footage and photos of the mistreatment of Palestinians.
Finally, B’Tselem caused a stir in Israel in March 2016. The organization published a video showing the Israeli soldier Elor Azaria as he kills a Palestinian assassin in Hebron with a head shot, even though he was already on the ground.
The case triggered a heated debate on the occupation policy, also because of the mild sentence passed on Azaria. The soldier was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment in February this year.
With their actions and publications, leftist human rights groups such as Breaking the Silence or B’Tselem have long been a thorn in the flesh of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his right-wing government.
A law as a stigma
That is why, last summer, Israel introduced the so-called Transparency Act into the Knesset, which was passed by a narrow majority of parliamentarians.
As a result, all Israeli NGOs that receive more than half of their money from foreign governments have been required to report this in their publications since then. In addition, representatives of these groups must wear special signs on the clothes which they wear, for instance, during visits to the Knesset.
The law is named ‘the transparency act’ but it applies only in one political direction. Right-wing groups in Israel often do not finance themselves through donations from other states or through EU funds, but through private donations from rich patrons from Germany and abroad – and these are exempted from the law.
The scandal surrounding Gabriel’s visit shows the hard time the leftist human rights organizations are having in Israel. They are increasingly discredited and delegitimized in ‘the only democracy of the Middle East’.
Chancellor Merkel and her foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel. Photo by Adam Berry/Getty Images
Netanyahu Cancels Meeting After German FM Refuses to Snub Israeli Leftist NGOs
Netanyahu won’t meet with diplomats who meet with groups that slander IDF soldiers, his bureau says; Sigmar Gabriel refuses to take PM’s call after demand he cancel meeting with anti-occupation groups
By Ofer Aderet and Barak Ravid, Haaretz
April 25, 2017
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled his meeting with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Tuesday after the latter refused Netanyahu’s demand that he not meet with two leftwing NGOs, Breaking the Silence and B’Tselem.
According to Der Spiegel, the meeting was cancelled by Netanyahu because the German minister wanted “to meet with critics of the Israeli government.”
Sources within the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that the meeting, set for 5 P.M., will not take place.
The prime minister’s bureau issued a statement regarding Netanyahu’s refusal to meet with Gabriel.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy is not to meet with diplomats who visit Israel and meet with organizations that slander IDF soldiers and seek to prosecute them as war criminals,” it said. “It wouldn’t cross those diplomats’ minds to meet in the U.S. or Britain with representatives of organizations that call to prosecute American or British soldiers.”
“The IDF and its soldiers are the basis of our existence,” it added. “The relations with Germany are very important to Israel and they will continue.”
Netanyahu asked to speak with Gabriel on Tuesday afternoon, but the German foreign minister refused to take his call.
Sources in the prime minister’s bureau said that Netanyahu wanted to speak with Gabriel to explain personally why he had reservations regarding the latter’s meeting with Breaking the Silence and B’Tselem and why he decided not to meet with him.
Earlier Tuesday the Gabriel responded to Netanyahu’s ultimatum, saying it would be “regrettable” if the latter decides to cancel their meeting because of his meeting with representatives of left-wing Israeli organizations.
Gabriel, who arrived in Israel on Monday (Israel and Germany celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations in 2015), told German TV network ZDF that his planned meetings with representatives of B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence are “totally normal.”
Gabriel said he had only learned of Netanyahu’s threat from the media and noted it would be “inconceivable” for the German minister to cancel a meeting with the Israeli leader if the latter met with figures critical of the German government. He nevertheless said “it wouldn’t be a catastrophe” if their meeting is cancelled, and that it wouldn’t change his ties with Israel.
“You never get the full picture of any state in the world if you just meet with figures in government ministries,” he said.
Gabriel later met with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in Ramallah and told reporters he hopes he will be able to meet with both Netanyahu and the left-wing groups on Tuesday.
Senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu issued an ultimatum to Gabriel, saying that if the latter does not cancel his meetings with the left-wing groups, the prime minister won’t meet with him. The ultimatum was first reported by Israel Channel 2 News.
Night-time arrests in Hebron: according to statements by Israeli soldiers, such operations are part of everyday life in the occupied territories.
By nixing German FM meet, Netanyahu ups Israel’s tyranny a notch
By Mairav Zonszein
April 25, 2017
While Netanyahu’s move appears to be extreme, it actually fits coherently with his government’s orchestrated campaign against Israeli human rights organizations.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled his meeting on Tuesday with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel just one hour before it was slated to begin, after the latter refused to cancel scheduled meetings with anti-occupation organizations B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence. Both organizations refused to comment on the matter, but confirmed their meeting is taking place as planned Tuesday evening.
The Prime Minister makes a recorded public address, but not about snubbing the German foreign minister. YouTube screenshot
It is important to note that Netanyahu himself has not publicly stated his ultimatum or the cancellation at any point, with the messages instead conveyed through “senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office.” This leaves Netanyahu room to later shirk responsibility. Gabriel defended his meetings in a statement to the press before the meeting was cancelled: “You never get the full picture of any state in the world if you just meet with figures in government ministries.”
While Netanyahu’s move appears to be extreme and quite dumb, it actually fits coherently with his government’s orchestrated campaign against Israeli human rights organizations over the last two years. In recent months Netanyahu has called on European governments to stop funding and cooperating with Breaking the Silence, and Israel’s education minister Naftali Bennett has already effectively banned Breaking the Silence from giving presentations in high schools.
Netanyahu’s move is situated well within the context of an increasingly tyrannical government that has now upped its authoritarianism a notch. Israel has been censoring and restricting the freedoms of Palestinians since 1948, it has been applying similar tactics to Israeli leftists for years and is now taking that strategy to its biggest European ally. And Netanyahu knows he will not have to pay any consequences for it. Gabriel has already said cancellation of the meeting would be “regrettable” but would not hurt or affect Israel’s ties with Germany in any way.
The ultimatum and refusal to meet with a German diplomat is reminiscent of the tactics used by the Israeli government against peace activists who began meeting with PLO representatives in the 1970s. In this sense, Israel is now treating Israeli organizations who document occupation as if they were Palestinians: Persona non grata. Now, anyone who wants to merely meet with or listen to these persona non grata is also an enemy. And just like in 1975, when Israel decided to legislate a law banning Israelis from meeting with PLO members, don’t be surprised if the Israeli government’s next move is to outlaw B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence.