Tag: Defunding

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Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: April 2023

Dear friend,

Today, as we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the ongoing Nakba, we want to reaffirm our unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people fighting for justice, liberation and return. 

Don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter!

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CASE UPDATES

TIME TO ACT! 3 WEEKS LEFT UNTIL THE HEARINGS AGAINST ONE OF THE UK’S BIGGEST BANKS

22 days left until the hearings in which Lloyds employees Affy and Aliya will face the financial giant in court! The two women are fighting Lloyds’ discriminatory treatment after the bank sanctioned them for speaking out in support of Palestinian rights. 

READ MORE

It is only with your help that we have managed to reach this far, meeting almost 50% of our fundraising goals to cover the fees for this important legal battle! Join us in reaffirming Affy and Aliya’s hope and unity as they embark on the last three weeks before resisting this violation of their rights in court!  

Help us reach our £30K goal to support the two brave women standing up against one of the UK’s biggest banks. 

DONATE

📣 SHARE on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook 📣

VICTORY IN THE UK: TRADE UNION ACTIVIST REINSTATED AFTER BEING SUSPENDED FOR UNFOUNDED ACCUSATIONS OF ANTISEMITISM

In November 2021, Victor, an advocate for Palestinian rights and trade union activist was suspended as a trade union representative for allegedly posting antisemitic comments online. The alleged incriminating messages were largely about criticism of the policies of the state of Israel by former Labour Party members and included a reference to Palestinian revolutionary and poet Ghassan Kanafani.

In support of its decision to suspend Victor as senior representative, the union referred to an ‘expert opinion’ authored by a person known for his pro-Israel stance. After our lawyers rebutted the controversial opinion by submitting our own expert opinion, exposing the bias and proving that the allegations against our client were unfounded, we managed to get Victor reinstated and rehabilitate his reputation inside the respective trade union. After a significant period of suspension, following the internal hearing in September 2022, Victor was immediately reinstated to his elected and appointed positions with immediate effect. Action pays off! 

✊ SHARE THIS VICTORY! ✊

LUXEMBOURG CRIMINAL COURT UPHOLDS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION OF PALESTINIAN RIGHTS DEFENDER 

We are proud to have supported prominent activist Michel Legrand (President of ECCP and treasurer of CPJPO) in his case creating a promising precedent for the freedom of speech of Palestinian rights defenders in Luxembourg.

READ MORE

⚖️ Will you help us win more cases? ⚖️

Consider a monthly donation to the ELSC. Every donation, no matter how small or large, makes a difference.

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INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY

OPEN LETTER TO THE UNITED NATIONS: RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST ANTI-SEMITISM 

More than 100 civil society organisations, including the ELSC, signed an open letter to Secretary-General António Guterres and the High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Ángel Moratinos, initiated by Human Rights Watch. 

Read more about this important action on Middle East Eye 

ELSC EVENTS

ITALY: ELSC ORGANISED EVENT ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION & THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN PALESTINE

On the 18th of April, the ELSC with the support of VoiceOver Foundation and PIPD organised a conference on “Shrinking spaces, freedom of expression and the protection of human rights in Palestine” at the University of Milan. We were glad to be joined by Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian occupied territories.  

It was a key opportunity to develop critical thinking on the Palestinian narrative in Italy. Thanks to our speakers, we had the chance to explore issues related to the censorship of Palestinian voices and the increasing limitation of the space for those who support Palestinian rights and action.

SEE MORE HERE

ELSC PARTICIPATES IN THE 2023 PALESTINE DIGITAL ACTIVISM FORUM

We are excited to join 7amleh’s 2023 Palestine Digital Activism Forum! Our colleague Alice Garcia will facilitate a session on 24 May 2023, discussing how to push back against smear campaigns and racist speech against Palestinians and supporters of the cause. Register today!

ELSC ONLINE

ELSC gave an interview following censorship in Austria

Our colleague Layla Kattermann spoke to Salma Shaka about the intensifying attacks against Palestinian rights advocates in Europe, after the Museumsquartier Vienna cancelled an event with BDS Austria and the ELSC. 

ELSC gave two interviews on the #NakbaDay arrests in Berlin in May 2022 and the new bans in April 2023 

Our colleague Safaa Moussa spoke to Perspektive Online about the #NakbaDay arrests in Berlin last May, when the Berlin Police detained and fined dozens of individuals for walking in the street and peacefully showing solidarity with Palestine following a city-wide ban on commemorations of the 74th anniversary of the Nakba. 

Especially with regard to Palestine, there is an increasing tendency to impose restrictions, the illegality of which is then repeatedly established by the courts.

The Berlin police continues to ban Palestinian protests this year, and this criminalisation of speech and right to protest is already underway in other German cities. In light of the 75th commemoration of the Nakba, the ELSC has reaffirmed its solidarity with the nakba_75 campaign that is fighting to end Germany’s attempts to criminalise solidarity with Palestine.

WATCH OUR VIDEO MESSAGE

USEFUL RESOURCES

30+ U.S. states have compromised the First Amendment of the Constitution to shield Israel from accountability, paving the way for an attack on climate action, gun control, reproductive rights, & more. Learn how the attack on the #RightToBoycott in the U.S. started and how it is evolving in this new visual from Visualizing Palestine with Palestine Legal and Just Vision Media, featuring 443 anti-boycott bills introduced since 2014 at the state and federal level.

Just Vision has produced the free accessible movie Boycott, which provides rich context on the rapid spread of anti-boycott bills in the United States. The film follows the personal journeys of three protagonists as they defend freedom of expression and lays bare what is at stake if they are defeated: the constitutionally protected right to boycott.  

BRILL has published Landmark Al-Haq book, “Prolonged Occupation and International Law” on Palestinian Land Day.  

Read Rasha Jundi’s article on resisting the systemic silencing of Palestinian voices in Germany. A portrait on collective anger and hopes for a future of justice and freedom:

Cacti have traditionally surrounded Palestinian lands. They remain silent witnesses of depopulated villages and to the continued colonisation of our home. They symbolise beauty, continuation and tough resistance. When one Palestinian voice is raised, it echoes and spreads like cacti. It shall never be silenced. In spite of forces like those in Germany.

Remember to follow the ELSC on social media and amplify our work!

If you are interested in empowering the Palestine solidarity movement in Europe, we welcome your one-time or monthly donations to the ELSC. For any inquiries, contact us at info@elsc.support.

If you would like to put your skills (whether legal, editing, artistic, communications, or any other skills) at the service of our movement in support of Palestinian rights advocates, please contact us at info@elsc.support.

DONATE
Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: March 2023

Dear friend,

We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people facing mass repression. As Europe carries on with its concerted efforts to silence Palestine, the movement perseveres, and we nonetheless have victories to report!

HELP US KEEP UP OUR WORK

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UK UPDATES: WOMEN CHALLENGE REPRESSION IN COURT

NEW CASE: WE ARE TAKING LLOYDS BANK TO COURT TO PROTECT PALESTINIAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY!

Two Muslim women, Affy and Aliya are suing their employer Lloyd’s Bank, one of the UK’s biggest banks, for discrimination. In May 2021, both posted statement in support of Palestine on the bank’s internal chat for employees. Affy and Aliya were investigated and subsequently sanctioned for breaching the bank’s policies on discrimination, harassment, abusive and offensive content. In addition to unimaginable consequences for their personal and professional lives, they both lost their annual bonuses and received written warnings that could remain on their records indefinitely while Affy lost a prestigious graduate role.

The ELSC launched a crowdfunding campaign to help both employees cover the costly legal fees of their lawsuit against Lloyds.

We need at least £30 000 to support Affy and Aliya in Court!

DONATE

Join our fight against all types of racism and support Affy and Aliya’s claim by sharing this campaign across all platforms! 

📣 SHARE on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Linkedin 📣

SHAIMA DALLALI RESISTING NUS DISMISSAL

Following Shaima Dallali’s summary dismissal from her role as President of the National Union of Students (NUS) after an investigation accusing her of antisemitism based on her beliefs concerning the Palestinian struggle, she is now taking legal action!

In bowing to political pressure, the NUS has undermined its own commitment to anti-racism, including the fight against antisemitism, and has abandoned its duty of care to its elected President Shaima Dallali. She has been subjected to the most intense public scrutiny and horrifying abuse, including death threats.

The ELSC signed a joint statement with other organisations in the UK to condemn Shaima Dallali’s dismissal by the NUS.

Read more about the NUS repressing Palestine advocacy here

DR SHAHD ABUSALAMA CONTINUES THE FIGHT AGAINST THE REPRESSION FROM SHIEFFIELD UNIVERSITY
 
Dr Shahd Abusalama has been countlessly targeted with intensified anti-Palestinian smears by pro-Israel groups, outlets, and social media trolls, which culminated after her enrolment at Shieffield Hallam University (SHU).
 
After successfully fighting two investigations and the suspension of her teaching, SHU launched a third investigation. Dr Shahd Abusalama was cleared but decided to leave this hostile environment.
 
The fight now continues as SHU decided to violate Shahd’s employment rights and disclosed misleading information to the pro-Israel ‘Jewish Chronicle’, which instigated a further round of brutal smears in the media. Dr Shahd Abusalama is fighting back and pursuing legal action to hold SHU accountable!

✊ SUPPORT SHAHD’S ESSENTIAL FIGHT ✊

As a Palestinian woman, I want to be able to articulate my story and political views without being harassed and subject to discrimination. But this is not just my lawsuit. With this legal fight, we will make sure that no other individual faces persecution or harassment for their legitimate beliefs from our employers. This case will challenge systemic issues, including the oppressive IHRA definition, the rights of workers to fair treatment, and legitimate protest and free expression.

Shahd

NEWS FROM GERMANY

DR ANNA YOUNES’ SURVEILLANCE CASE: THE FIGHT CONTINUES WITH TWO NEW LAWSUITS

On 2 November 2022, exactly three years after she discovered RIAS’ covert surveillance of her activities and after two legal victories, German Palestinian scholar Dr Anna Younes launched two new lawsuits. She requests the Administrative Court of Berlin to find the preparation and transmission of the secret dossier on her unlawful, and acknowledge that RIAS/MBR’s surveillance and false labelling of Dr Younes as an anti-Jewish racist violated her right to privacy and right to reputation. In addition, she requests compensation for the ensuing harm inflicted by RIAS/MBR for over two years.

Read more about the case and watch this video.

⚖️ Donate to support Dr Younes in her legal battle as she reclaims her rights in court ⚖️

DEUTSCHE WELLE CASE: THE FIGHT GOES ON

After the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) fired seven Arab journalists in February 2022 based on allegations of antisemitism, we witnessed two victories last year as the dismissals of Maram Salem and Farah Maraqa were found unlawful.
 
A year later, on 24 February 2023, journalist Zahi Alawi also won his lawsuit! A Labour Court found his dismissal by DW unlawful and ordered his reinstatement. 
 
But the fight goes on! In a last-minute gambit, Deutsche Welle appealed the decision issued by the Berlin Labour Court in favour of Farah Maraqa. A new hearing is taking place on 10 May 2023, but Farah is confident and stands firm.

✊ SUPPORT FARAH’S ONGOING FIGHT! ✊

BERLIN: FIRST VICTORY AT THE TRIALS OF THE 2022 NAKBA DAY ARRESTS

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Following a city-wide ban on commemorations of the 74th anniversary of the Nakba, the Berlin Police detained and fined dozens of individuals for walking in the street and peacefully showing solidarity with Palestine, such as through wearing the Kuffiyeh or the colours of the Palestinian flag. Some of them were beaten. Read more about our urgent letter to UN Special Rapporteurs and request for accountability in relation to unjustified repression and violence from the Berlin police.

9 months later, several protesters are challenging the fines in German courts. Stay tuned as more hearings will happen in the coming weeks and support!

SIGN the call to stop Germany’s attempt to criminalise solidarity with Palestine & DONATE to help with the legal proceedings’ fees

For more information on the bans and repression, read Human Rights Watch statement by Omar Shakir.

THE MOVEMENT PERSEVERES

We have published many of our legal victories in the UK, in Germany, in Austria, and in The Netherlands on our website. Pushing back is possible when we stand together!

READ MORE

⚖️ Will you help us win more cases? ⚖️

Consider a monthly donation to the ELSC. Every donation, no matter how small or large, makes a difference.

DONATE

RESISTING THE ISOLATION OF PALESTINIAN CIVIL SOCIETY

As part of our work at ELSC, we monitor and support European and Palestinian organisations facing attacks and incidents in the EU and the UK leading to defunding by donors, the implementation of policies restricting funding and/or de-risking by financial institutions.

These incidents happen in a context of coordinated smear campaigns led by pro-Israeli groups and the Israeli government, which form part of a larger strategy to shut down Palestine advocacy while shielding Israel from accountability.  

Do you want to know more? Check our twitter thread!

ELSC ONLINE

ELSC gave an interview on Antisemitism, Palestine and academic freedom

We spoke to Dr Sevgi Doğan for Security Praxis blog about the impact of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism on academic freedom and unfounded allegations of antisemitism in academia. Read it here.
 
Read ELSC comments given to Hebh Jamal in +972 Magazine on the chilling effects on free expression of Palestinian rights advocacy and legitimate demands for accountability as Germany takes drastic steps toward further criminalising Palestinian activism.
 
ELSC was hosted by Lina Hadid and Lamia Bazzari to speak on defending and empowering advocates for Palestinian rights across Europe on their Free Palestine Podcast. Tune in!

USEFUL RESOURCES

Visualizing Palestine introduces the system and actors involved in suppressing speech critical of the Israeli regime and Zionism in its recent visual #SystemofSilencing. This is the first of five visuals that will be published in the next months, highlighting attacks on freedom of expression aimed at shielding Israel from accountability. Follow along!

UK-based organisation CAGE published two expert reports signed by leading scholars, Professor John Dugard SC and Professor Avi Shlaim on the notion of “Israel’s right to exist”. As observed in several cases of suppression of Palestinian rights advocacy, this concept is often very broadly interpreted by pro-Israel actors and raised to purport allegations of antisemitism and target Palestinian rights advocates.

Thank you for your continued support!

In solidarity, 

The ELSC team

Remember to follow the ELSC on social media and amplify our work!

If you are interested in empowering the Palestine solidarity movement in Europe, we welcome your one-time or monthly donations to the ELSC. For any inquiries, contact us at info@elsc.support.

If you would like to put your skills (whether legal, editing, artistic, communications, or any other skills) at the service of our movement in support of Palestinian rights advocates, please contact us at info@elsc.support.

DONATE
Categories
Statement

Dutch NGOs call upon the international community to take action against Israel for targeting Palestinian human rights organisations 

After the Israeli army violently raided and closed seven prominent Palestinian human rights organisations last Thursday, this weekend it threatened the director of Al Haq (Shawan Jabarin) by telephone and detained the director of Defense for Children International – Palestine (Khaled Quzmar) several hours for questioning. This escalation proves once again that statements by European governments expressing serious concerns are insufficient. This, together with the killing of critical journalists and other Palestinian civilians with impunity, has reached the point where the international community must set a clear boundary. This is the limit, according to a broad representation of Dutch organisations. 

In October last year, 32 Dutch organisations condemned Israel’s decision to designate six organisations (now seven) as terrorist on the basis of Israeli anti-terror laws. On 12 July 2022, the Netherlands and eight other EU countries expressed their support for the organisations. The EU countries have so far not seen any evidence of the terrorist designation and therefore rejected the Israeli allegations, as “no substantial information has been received from Israel that would justify a review of our policy towards the six Palestinian NGOs on the basis of the Israeli decision to designate these NGOs as ‘terrorist organisations'”.

What we warned about in October is happening: in an attempt to suppress the work of human rights defenders, Israel is raiding their offices, confiscating property and documents, then sealing them with metal plates and leaving a military order declaring the organisations illegal. This is a serious violation of the right to freedom of expression and freedom of association and assembly. This ever-increasing restriction on civil society is not in keeping with a country that claims to be a democratic state based on the rule of law.

Several of the seven organisations that have been affected provide evidence of alleged war crimes by Israel to the International Criminal Court. The Netherlands, as host country of the ICC, has an additional responsibility to ensure that civil society organisations, individuals and states can continue to provide the ICC with evidence and information. 

Without significant action, the longstanding pattern of repression and undermining of Palestinian organisations will further deteriorate. This is unacceptable and it has become clear that statements alone are not enough to make Israel change its policy. The international community should immediately take the following actions in the face of the threat to the existence of Palestinian civil society organisations and human rights defenders:

  • Urge at the highest diplomatic level that Israel withdraws the charges against the seven organisations and brings the underlying anti-terror legislation into line with international law;
  • Protect Shawan Jabarin and Khaled Quzmar and other employees from interrogation, arbitrary arrest and detention, and ask Israel to cease all harassment practices and policies, including arbitrary detention, torture and other forms of ill-treatment, institutionalised hate speech and incitement;
  • Add action to it, in line with the 2013 recommendations of the AIV, and attach (diplomatic) consequences to this escalation; 
  • Openly increase financial, political and where necessary logistical support to Palestinian organisations and civil society, guided by the needs of these organisations;
  • Give priority in its policy towards Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories to protecting civil society and human rights defenders;
  • Call on the Assembly of States Parties and the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to ensure the viability of organisations working to present evidence to the Court.

Signed by:

  • PAX
  • Amnesty International Nederland
  • SOMO
  • The Rights Forum
  • OXFAM Novib
  • European Legal Support Center
  • Defence for Children Nederland
  • ActionAid Netherlands
  • Both Ends
  • Human Security Collective
  • Stichting Aflatoun International
  • Right to Play Netherlands
  • Transnational Institute (TNI)
  • Stichting Kifaia
  • MENA Werkgroep FNV
  • Gate48
  • Plant een Olijfboom
  • Kairos Sabeel Nederland
  • Nederlands Palestina Komitee
  • Een Ander Joods Geluid
  • Grote Midden Oosten Platform
  • Plan International Nederland
  • International Child Development Initiatives
  • Dutch Scholars for Palestine

Photo: DCI-Palestine

Read the statement originally published on the website of PAX.

Categories
Statement

Over 150 Organizations Demand International Community Stand Against Raids and Closures of 7 Palestinian Organizations

The ELSC joined over 150 organisations to condemn the raids and closures of 7 prominent Palestinian organisations and urge the international community to take effective measures. Read below the joint statement originally published on the CIHRS website.

Amid Israel’s escalating attacks targeting their work, a group of more than 150 Palestinian, regional, and international organizations express our full solidarity with the designated seven leading Palestinian civil society organizations, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Al-Haq Law in the Service of Man (Al-Haq), Bisan Center for Research and Development, Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P), Health Work Committees (HWC), the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC).

On the morning of 18 August 2022, the Israeli occupying forces (IOF) raided and sealed the doorways into the offices of the seven Palestinian organizations. The IOF also confiscated documents and equipment and destroyed items in the offices. On the doors of the organizations, military orders were left behind ordering the closure of the offices under Article 319 of the Emergency Regulations of 1945. This development follows the 19 October 2021, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz designation of six leading Palestinian civil society organizations as terrorist organizations under Israel’s Anti-Terrorism Law (2016), which was then extended to the West Bank on 3 November 2021 by a military order that outlawed the same organizations.

We urge the international community to unequivocally condemn Israel’s targeting of Palestinian civil society and tactics to further repress of freedom of expression. States must take all necessary action to support and protect Palestinian human rights defenders and ensure the continuation of their invaluable work.

These raids and closures represent the latest escalation in Israel’s widespread campaign aiming to silence and discredit any Palestinian individual or organization that dares to seek accountability for Israel’s grave human rights violations, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The “persecution of organizations and persons, by depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms, because they oppose apartheid” is a method used by Israel, amounting to acts of apartheid prosecutable under the Rome Statute, to maintain its domination and oppression over the Palestinian people.

The organizations remain at an additional risk of closure of bank accounts, travel bans and movement restrictions, and the arrest and detention of staff members for their work. Israel’s attacks against these organizations pose an existential threat to independent Palestinian human rights organizations and civil society who work to monitor and document violations of human rights and provide basic services to the Palestinian people.

We call upon the international community to demand that Israel immediately revoke its designations of Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations as “terrorist organizations,” reverse the military orders designating the organizations and closing their offices and repeal its Anti-Terrorism Law (2016) as it does not meet basic human rights standards.

Moreover, we call on the international community to take effective measures to end all other actions that deny Palestinians their inalienable human rights.

Lastly, we call on the members of the international community to continue their support and increase funding to the organizations and engage with financial institutions to ensure the transfer of funds to the organizations.

Signatories:

  1. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
  2. 11.11.11
  3. Abductees’ Mothers Association
  4. Academic Program for Studies of Arab and Muslim Communities in Diaspora
  5. ACAT-France
  6. Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association
  7. Advokatfirmaet Roli
  8. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
  9. Al-ataa Benevolent Association
  10. Aldameer association for human rights
  11. Al-Haq
  12. Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society
  13. Andalus Institute for Tolerance and anti-Violence Studies
  14. Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ)
  15. ARTICLE 19
  16. Artists for Palestine UK
  17. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
  18. Asociacion Palestina Biladi
  19. Association Belgo-Palestinienne
  20. Association des Universitaires pour le Respect du Droit International en Palestine (AURDIP)
  21. Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression
  22. Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS)
  23. Aswat Nissa
  24. Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children’
  25. Australian Centre for International Justice
  26. Basmeh & Zeitooneh for Relief and Development
  27. Baytna
  28. Bds Maroc
  29. BDS Netherlands
  30. BDS Vancouver Coast Salish Territories
  31. Belgian Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (BACBI)
  32. Bytes For All, Pakistan
  33. Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
  34. Center for Constitutional Rights
  35. Center for Strategic Studies to Support Women and Children
  36. Centre for Global Education
  37. Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales
  38. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
  39. CNCD-11.11.11
  40. Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid
  41. Comhlamh Justice for Palestine
  42. Committee for a Just Peace in the Middle East, Luxembourg
  43. Committee for Justice
  44. Community Empowerment and Social Justice Network (CEMSOJ)
  45. Conectas Human Rights
  46. Cultura è Libertà, una campagna per la Palestina
  47. DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
  48. Een Andere Joodse Stem / Another Jewish Voice (Belgium)
  49. Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms
  50. Egyptian Front for Human Rights (EFHR)
  51. Egyptian Human Rights Forum
  52. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
  53. El Nadim Center For Management & Rehabilitation of victims of violence
  54. ESCR-Net, International Network for Economic, Social & Cultural Rights
  55. EuroMed Rights
  56. European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine – ECCP
  57. European Legal Support Center (ELSC)
  58. European Trade Union Network for Justice in Palestine
  59. FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
  60. Financial Justice Ireland
  61. Foundation for Middle East Peace (Washington, DC)
  62. Front Line Defenders
  63. Fundación Mundubat
  64. Gaza Action Ireland
  65. Global NPO Coalition on FATF
  66. Herbst Law PLLC
  67. Human Rights & Democracy Media Center “SHAMS”
  68. Human Rights for All (HR4A) Saskatchewan
  69. Human Rights in China
  70. Human Rights Watch
  71. Human Security Collective
  72. ICAHD-USA
  73. International Accountability Project
  74. International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group
  75. International Commission to support Palestinian People’s Rights
  76. International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)
  77. International Service for Human Rights
  78. International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific
  79. Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign
  80. Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions – UK
  81. Just Peace Advocates/Mouvement Pour Une Paix Juste
  82. Just Words Limited
  83. Justice for Palestinians Calgary
  84. Justitia Center for legal protection of human rights in Algeria
  85. Kairos Ireland
  86. Kenya Human Rights Commission
  87. League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI)
  88. Local Development and Small Projects Support (LDSPS)
  89. Makan
  90. MakeShiftPublishing
  91. MENA Rights Group
  92. Muslim Peace Fellowship
  93. Mwatana for human rights
  94. Nederlands Palestina Komitee
  95. New Weapons Research Groups
  96. Niagara Movement for Justice in Palestine Israel
  97. North Bronx Racial Justice
  98. Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO-Norway)
  99. Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees
  100. NOVACT Institute for Nonviolent Action
  101. Oakville Palestinian Rights Association
  102. Palestina Solidariteit vzw Belgium
  103. Palestine Solidarity Alliance
  104. Palestine Solidarity Campaign UK
  105. Palestine Solidarity Network – Edmonton
  106. Palestine Solidarity, St. John’s, NL
  107. Palestine Solidary Organisation at Nelson Mandela University
  108. Palestinian and Jewish Unity (PAJU)
  109. Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign (Stop the Wall)
  110. Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
  111. Pan African Palestine Solidarity Network
  112. Paz con Dignidad
  113. Peace and Building Foundation
  114. Physicians for Human Rights Israel
  115. Platform of French NGOs for Palestine
  116. Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED)
  117. Project South
  118. Riposte Internationale
  119. Sadaka-the Ireland Palestine Alliance
  120. Sadaqa
  121. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
  122. Scottish Friends of Palestine
  123. Sexual Rights Initiative
  124. SOLIDAR
  125. Solsoc
  126. South African BDS Coalition
  127. South African Jews For a Free Palestine
  128. STEILAS
  129. Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM)
  130. Tamkeen for Legal Aid and Human Rights
  131. Teaching Palestine: Pedagogical Praxis and the Indivisibility of Justice
  132. The African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies
  133. The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ)
  134. The Association of Norwegian NGOs for Palestine
  135. The Canadian BDS Coalition
  136. The civic coalition for Palestinian rights in jerusalem
  137. The Danish House in Palestine
  138. The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)
  139. The Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church USA
  140. The Norwegian Initiative DEFEND INTERNATIONAL LAW
  141. The Palestine Committee of Norway
  142. The Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy
  143. The Palestinian Human Rights Organization “PHRO”
  144. The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy – MIFTAH
  145. The Rights Forum
  146. The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP)
  147. Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA (Australia)
  148. United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine and Israel (UNJPPI)
  149. University Network for Human Rights
  150. University of KwaZulu-Natal Decoloniality Action Group
  151. US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
  152. Visualizing Palestine
  153. Viva Salud
  154. Vrede vzw
  155. West African Human Rights Defenders Network
  156. Women in Black Vienna
  157. Women Now for Development
  158. Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling (WCLAC)
  159. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
  160. Yemen Future Foundation for Culture & Media Development
Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: June 2022

This month, at least three cases confirmed, again, that public pressure and collective support, sometimes coupled with litigation, constitute a great tool to achieve our rights as advocates for Palestinian rights!

subscribe to our newsletter

GERMAN AUTHORITY HOLDS RIAS AND MBR ACCOUNTABLE FOR VIOLATING ANNA YOUNES’ DATA RIGHTS

The Berlin Data Protection Authority (DPA) held German organisations RIAS Berlin and MBR accountable for violating the rights of German Palestinian scholar Dr. Anna-Esther Younes. The two organisations had previously circulated a secret dossier which led to her disinvitation from a public event.

Two years after Dr. Anna Younes filed a complaint to the DPA with our support, the DPA finally found that RIAS/MBR violated European data protection law (GDPR) in refusing to give Dr. Younes access to the data they hold on her. The DPA recognised Dr. Younes’ basic data rights as a European citizen, which comes after another previous success where the civil court affirmed the right of Dr.Younes to have access to her data.

READ MORE

Share this new victory on social media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn

But this is not over yet! RIAS/MBR previously acknowledged that the purpose of the dossier was to identify Dr. Younes’ positions on Israel and BDS. They secretly sent this dossier to a third party to get her disinvited. However, the DPA considered that this was lawful and that RIAS/MBR pursued a legitimate purpose in collecting and transmitting information about Dr. Younes.

We will appeal this decision. Do you want to help us?

DONATE

Read more in the last media articles published about the case:
– See an update by Dania Akkad in Middle East Eye
– this piece by Hebh Jamal in +972 Magazine
– a piece in German by Nidal Thawri in Marx21
– an oped by Abir Kopty in Middle East Eye

EU RESUMES FUNDING TO TWO PALESTINIAN NGOS

After Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq started legal proceedings against the European Commission for suspending its funding in May 2021 based on an Israeli disinformation campaign, the EU recognised there were no grounds to do so and resumed its funding to Al Haq on 28 June 2022.

Read Al-Haq’s statement and share the good news on Twitter.

The EU also resumed unconditionally and with immediate effect its funding to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), which had faced the same suspension as Al-Haq.

READ MORE

MOHAMMED EL KURD V. GOETHE INSTITUTE

The prominent Palestinian activist and poet Mohammed El Kurd faced an attempt of censorship at a conference organised by the Goethe Institute in Hamburg about right-wing extremism and authoritarian regimes’ tactics, where he was invited to speak. Few days before the start of the conference, the institution revoked the invitation, raising social media posts criticizing Israel that they “did not find acceptable”. In solidarity with El Kurd, the curators of the conference Moshtari Hilal and Sinthujan Varatharajah withdrew their participation and denounced the climate of anti-Palestinian racism in German institutions. Thanks to this push back, many other participants of the event withdrew, which led to the entire program being scaled down.

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OTHER CASE UPDATES IN GERMANY

We also celebrate a victory in Stuttgart this month, as the City of Stuttgart decided it will not appeal the decision issued by the Stuttgart Administrative Court on 21 April 2022 in favour of the Stuttgart Palestine Committee. The Court had upheld the Committee’s complaint against the City’s decision to remove their access and details from the Municipality’s website.
 
This incident had happened following a smear campaign launched by the Jerusalem Post against the Committee because of its support to the Palestinian-led BDS movement. The City of Stuttgart had justified its decision citing the Bundestag’s anti-BDS resolution, while the Court had recalled that the BDS movement is protected by freedom of expression and that the Bundestag’s resolution is not binding.

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But this time, the City acknowledged the illegality of their decision. One of their spokespersons said:

for purely legal reasons, we have decided not to appeal against it. Based on the current jurisprudence, as it has been elsewhere, we estimate the chances of being successful with an appeal to be very low. That is why we have put the address of the Palestine Committee back on the municipal homepage.

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Palestinian-Jordanian journalist Farah Maraqa, who has been unfairly dismissed by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) along with five other Arab journalists in February 2022, published an update about her court case against DW.

READ MORE

SUPPORT HER CASE

AUSTRIA: THE CASE OF PALESTINIAN SCHOLAR WALAA ALQAISIYA

Dr. Walaa Alqaisiya, Research Fellow at Columbia University, the LSE Middle East Centre and Università Ca’ Foscari, also faced anti-Palestinian racism and censorship from Austrian public institutions when she was disinvited by the Mumok Museum and the Academy of Fine Arts of Vienna from their Spring Curatorial Program at the end of May 2022. The cancellation of her lecture followed a smear campaign on social media and a complaint from pro-Israel advocacy groups. Art media Art Forum and Hyperallergic wrote about the episode.


Hundreds of artists, writers and academics, including Judith Butler, Roger Waters, Angela Davis and Dirk Moses, have voiced their outrage in the wake of the last-minute cancellation, which pushed one of the co-curators to remove the remainder of the program from the premises of the cancelling institutions. Nevertheless, the Fine Arts Academy and the MUMOK still have not stepped back on their statement, nor recognised the damage done to Dr. Alqaisiya’s reputation. She is still waiting for a public apology from the Rector of the Fine Arts Academy and further explanation on the decision making process.

7 MORE MONTHS TO BAN EU TRADE WITH ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS WORLDWIDE!

Join the European Citizens Initiative #StopSettlements to ban EU trade with illegal settlements!
 
With one million EU citizens signing the Initiative, the EU will have to reassess its complicity with illegal settlements. It would be an historical step in realigning the EU with its own rules when it comes to trade and in making Israel accountable for its illegal settlement policy.

SIGN

Send the petition to your friends, family members. Share on your chat groups and social media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

UK: LEGAL ACTION AGAINST TWITTER TROLL AFTER AN ONLINE SMEAR CAMPAIGN

Peter Bolton is a journalist with The Canary, where he writes about Israel-Palestine among other topics. One year ago, Peter Bolton published a piece denouncing the continuous smear campaigns and unfounded allegations of antisemitism made against the Left in the UK.

Following that, Peter Bolton became himself the target of similar unfounded allegations on Twitter. A fake Twitter account started to spread smears against the journalist, which were amplified by other accounts and retweeted many times. Peter Bolton decided to take legal action against the troll to make it accountable and deter others who would spread defaming allegations online against anyone standing for justice with Palestinians and Palestinian rights advocates.

SUPPORT HIS CASE

EVENTS: PANEL DISCUSSION IN THE NETHERLANDS

Last month, the ELSC joined the in-person panel organised in Amsterdam by the Leonhard-Woltjer Foundation (LWS) and Een Ander Joods Geluid (A Different Jewish Voice) on “How Israel lobbies make it harder to speak up against Israel’s policies”.

Our Advocacy and Communication Officer Alice Garcia joined Dina Zbeidy (anthropologist at Leiden University and LWS board member), Peter Beinart (professor of journalism and Editor-at-large of Jewish Currents), as well as Layla Kattermann and Itaï van de Wal (student activists in Leiden and Utrecht universities) in the panel to give an overview of the situation in The Netherlands (see from 45min).

Read our report on the attempt to suppress Palestinian rights advocacy in the Netherlands.

OTHER GOOD NEWS FROM EUROPE

In a milestone decision for accountability and Palestinian rights, Catalonia Parliament became the first Parliament in Europe to recognise that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid, after the approval of a resolution.

READ MORE

Categories
Press Release

European States should adopt a Consistent Approach toward Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Palestine during Human Rights Council Session 49

The ELSC took part in a initiative led by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) to ask key EU institutions and Member States to uphold the rule of international law and human rights for Palestinians at the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council. Read the press release of the CIHRS below.

The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) and partners in Europe and Palestine wrote to key European Union (EU) institutions and Member States[1] and the United Kingdom (UK), urging them to uphold the rule of international law and human rights for the Palestinian people at the current 49th regular session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council. The letters noted the EU’s priorities in the UN Human Rights Fora in 2022, namely its commitment to respect, protect and fulfil human rights and the rule of law “consistently and coherently in all areas of its external actions” as well as the UK’s commitment to defend the rights and freedoms of the most oppressed and vulnerable around the world. The letters called on the states to reaffirm their longstanding commitment to international law and human rights standards by voting in favour of the three resolutions under agenda items 2 and 7 pertaining to accountability, human rights, illegal Israeli settlements, and the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people.

CIHRS and partners urged the states to recognise and condemn the reality of Israel’s apartheid against the Palestinian people and all associated violations. The organisations also called on states to acknowledge, welcome and engage with the content of the final upcoming report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the oPt during the session, which will examine the crime of apartheid. In addition, CIHRS and partners called on states to support all existing relevant international accountability mechanisms, namely the UN Commission of Inquiry established in April 2021 and the UN database of businesses involved in Israel’s settlement enterprise – as a means to end the ongoing cycle of impunity granted to Israel.

Given Israel’s unsubstantiated designation of six prominent Palestinian human rights and humanitarian organisations as “terrorist” and “unlawful”, CIHRS and partners urged states to call on Israel to immediately revoke these designations and to ensure the continuity and protection of Palestinian civil society and human rights defenders. Furthermore, the communications urged states to call on Israel to immediately stop its annexation of Palestinian land and the expansion of its illegal settlement enterprise in occupied territory, cease the forcible transfer and displacement of protected persons, and end its policy of administrative detention and release all Palestinian political prisoners. During this Council session, the international community must urge Israel to immediately, fully and unconditionally lift its prolonged illegal closure and blockade of the Gaza Strip.

[1] The countries are: Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg and The Netherlands. In addition, a separate letter was sent to the EU delegations in Geneva, Brussels and Jerusalem.

See more on the CIHRS’s website.

Picture: Human Rights Council – 34th Session. UN Photo / Elma Okic

Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: January

Dear friend,

This month we share with you our 2021 achievements in pushing back against silencing Palestinian rights advocacy, a campaign in support of an activist of BDS Austria sued over a Facebook post, updates on the repression of Palestinian civil society, an important ruling in Germany on the illegality of anti-BDS motion, and unfounded allegations of antisemitism to delegitimise Palestinian rights supporters in the UK.

ELSC 2021 ACHIEVEMENTS

The year 2021 witnessed a rise in global mobilisation efforts for justice, Palestinian rights, and an end of apartheid. As Palestinian rights advocacy exposed Israel’s human rights violations and empowered the discourse on Palestine, the Israeli government and its allied groups intensified their attacks against Palestinian rights advocates.

In this context, the ELSC provided legal support in 80 cases of repression against advocates for Palestinian rights in Europe, assisting over 140 advocates including Palestinian and European CSOs, activist groups, students, academics, artist and cultural institutions. Read below on the successful experience of Progetto Palestina, a student activist group based in Italy, which confronted repression with resilience:

It gave us new energy and we started working to transform this attack into an opportunity. The ELSC backed us, and allowed us to focus on our activities while they took care of the legal aspects of the issue. We started a communication campaign on and off campus, which culminated in a big demonstration on Nakba Day, when more than 5.000 people marched for the streets of Turin, demanding the end of the apartheid regime and a free Palestine.

Read more on our achievements here

Nakba Day Demonstration, May 2021, Turin.

Can you help us to win more cases? Support our Legal Aid fund with a monthly donation.

CAMPAIGN IN SUPPORT OF BDS-AUSTRIA FACING UNFAIR LAWSUIT

This month, we launched a public campaign in support of a member of BDS Austria facing a Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation (SLAPP) filed by the Municipality of Vienna.

The Municipality claims defamation over a picture posted by BDS Austria on Facebook showing the famous “Visit Apartheid” poster with the logo of the City of Vienna, which was placed by unknown people on a billboard in Vienna.

This case reflects the pattern of targeting Palestinian rights advocates through the adoption of the illegal anti-BDS motion as illustrated in this expert opinion. The activist is now facing a lawsuit with legal costs and damages that could amount up to €35.000. The lawsuit was challenged in a court hearing on the 28th of January and the case is still pending. To support the activist, we are raising donations to help him cover the legal fees, if you stand for Palestinian rights advocacy please support by donating.

Donate here

Over 1600 people have signed our petition, co-sponsored with the European Coordination of Committees and Associations For Palestine (ECCP), calling upon the Municipality of Vienna to withdraw its unfounded lawsuit and repeal its anti-BDS motion.

Sign the petition

Share our Twitter thread, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram posts with the hashtag #ViennaVisitApartheid

UPDATES FROM THE UK

On-campus repression and violations of academic freedom in the UK escalate with the latest attack on the Palestinian PhD student Shahd Abusalama, supported by the ELSC. Shahd got suspended from teaching by Sheffield Hallam University as a result of a smear campaign by pro-Israel groups that deliberately targeted her as a critical voice against the reality of apartheid in Palestine. The significant #InSupportofShahd campaign successfully resulted in Shahd’s reinstatement, yet her case is still under an investigation.

Share our Twitter thread #InSupportofShahd

Graphic via SOAS Palestine Society on Twitter.

If you too have faced repression for Palestinian rights advocacy, make sure to fill out our incident report form and request legal support if you need.

Report an Incident

A VICTORY FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN GERMANY

The German federal court of Leipzig ruled that Munich’s anti-BDS policy violates the freedom of expression. The Federal court also affirmed that the anti-BDS resolution is not law. The ruling unfolds amidst a context of harsh repression of Palestinian rights advocates in Germany, and therefore represents a victory for the Palestine solidarity movement and BDS supporters in the country.

Read more here

Keep posted, we will soon release an analysis on the judgement! This jurisprudence shows more than ever the legitimacy and the necessity of the BT3P campaign that is asking the German Parliament to repeal its anti-BDS motion. After the Administrative Court of Berlin dismissed their complaint in October 2021, they recently filed an appeal to the Administrative Court of Appeal of Berlin-Brandenburg.

Read more on BT3P v. Bundestag

Donate to help the BT3P with their legal fees

CASE UPDATE IN FRANCE

A French Court is also set to be ruling on the legitimacy of BDS since on 27th January 2022, there was a hearing in the Court of Appeal of Lyon on the case of French activist Olivia Zémor who was sued for reporting boycott calls. The first instance judgement, in May 2021, was crucial as it acquitted her by referring to the landmark ruling of the European Court of Human Rights that asserted the legitimacy of BDS calls under freedom of expression.

Read more

We hope that the Court of Appeal will confirm the first instance judgement and reaffirm the legality of BDS. The decision is expected on 5 May 2022.

CHALLENGING REPRESSION OF PALESTINIAN CIVIL SOCIETY

Lawfare and disinformation campaigns continue to harm Palestinian civil society as Israel seeks to enforce its unsubstantiated designation. Yet, a new article by +972 Magazine exposes another failed effort by Israel to convince European officials of the unfounded allegations of ties with terrorism against the six prominent Palestinian CSOs.

Even without any evidence on the misuse of funds – confirmed by an external investigation – the Dutch government has given into political pressure by ending its funding to the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), a vital organisation in the occupied Palestinian territory. The decision has been widely condemned by international civil society actors that mobilised collectively to urge the Dutch government to resume its funding to UAWC and reject Israel’s designation.

Read our joint statement with The Rights Forum

Read the joint letter of 60 CSOs here

Read the joint letter of 28 Dutch NGOs (Dutch)

In a statement, the Charity & Security Network also condemned the Dutch government’s decision and urged donors to continue their support for Palestinian civil society, providing them with an important briefing and guidelines.

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In another politically driven move, the European Commission (EC) suspended funds to Al-Haq in May 2021. After a successful audit and while there is no evidence on the misuse of funds, the EC still has not resumed funding. Not only it contributes to the unfounded attack on the Palestinian civil society, but it also violates principles of good administration and proportionality.

Read Al-Haq’s statement

Check our Twitter thread

You can help us to ensure that defenders of Palestinian rights receive free legal advice and support by making a one time or monthly donation to the ELSC. Any donation would empower our fight for Palestinian rights in Europe.

Donate

If it is not possible to make a donation at this time, you could follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter and spread the word about repression of civic spaces for advocates of Palestinian rights.

Categories
Release

60 International CSOs to Dutch Government: “Resume Dutch funding for UAWC, reject Israel’s designation of Palestinians NGOs”

Along with 59 other civil society organisations from all around the world, we asked the Dutch government to resume its funding for UAWC and to reject Israel’s designation of Palestinian NGOs. Indeed, the Dutch decision to cut funding was baseless, and the Dutch government also failed to reject the Israeli designation whereas it was recognised as unsubstantiated. This is deeply harming Palestinian civil society and legitimises the ongoing Israeli politically-motivated smear campaigns against Palestinian CSOs.

Read the joint letter here.

Also read:

  • the joint letter we sent to the Dutch government with 27 Dutch NGOs.
  • our joint statement with The Rights Forum on the decision to cut funding for UAWC.
Categories
Statement

The ELSC and The Rights Forum condemn Dutch government’s decision to defund UAWC

The European Legal Support Center (ELSC) and The Rights Forum strongly condemn the decision of the Dutch government to end its funding to the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC). This decision was made despite an external investigation that affirmed UAWC’s institutional independence and cleared the organisation of the main charges levied against it by the Israeli government and its extremist allies.

UAWC is the largest agricultural development organisation in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), providing crucial training and supplies to Palestinian farmers and fisherfolk in the West Bank and Gaza. The organisation plays an essential role in making Area C of the West Bank liveable and accessible for thousands of Palestinians farmers as well as their families and communities. Accordingly, it is undisputable that the termination of Dutch funding for UAWC’s projects will have tremendous repercussions on Palestinians. It will encourage Israel’s illegal settlements enterprise and facilitate Israel’s de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory.

For years, UAWC, has been the target of smear campaigns led by a network of Israel advocacy groups claiming UAWC has institutional ties to the Popular Front of Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Palestinian political party and a proscribed group in the European Union. These campaigns are part of a larger coordinated attack on Palestinian civil society and international organisations that provide solidarity to Palestinians which escalated in October 2021 when the Israeli Government designated UAWC and other five prominent Palestinian civil society organisations as “terror organisations”. Most of these lawfare and disinformation groups coordinate with the Israeli government in some fashion and have expressed support for the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements. In a report released in October 2021, the ELSC identified 12 attempts in the Netherlands – between 2015 and 2020 – by pro-Israel advocacy groups to pressure Dutch donors (mostly the Dutch government) to defund civil society organisations supporting the Palestinian people.

The groundless nature of the allegations brought against UAWC has now been openly acknowledged by the Dutch government itself. According to the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, the findings of the Dutch investigation into UAWC confirm that there is no evidence that:

(a) there are any organisational links between UAWC and the PFLP;

(b) there are any financial links between UAWC and the PFLP;

(c) the PFLP directs UAWC;

(d) board and staff members used their position at UAWC to organise or support any terrorist activity.

However, in the Dutch Government’s view, UAWC’s failure to screen and select its staff and board members on the grounds of their political opinion and affiliation is considered “undesirable” and displays a “lack of candour” by the organisation. That is the sole basis put forward by the Dutch government to terminate its funding of UAWC, which started in 2007.

This decision is extremely problematic, as it starkly contradicts the essential findings of the investigation and ignores UAWC’s legal obligations and internal policies to not discriminate its employees on the basis of the political views expressed outside their duties within UAWC. By doing so, the Dutch government neglects its policy of supporting human rights defenders, thus enabling the efforts to repress Palestinian civil society by the Israeli Government and the disinformation groups it works with.

To protect the health of our democracies as well as any hopes for a future peace in Israel/Palestine, governments, donors, policymakers, and businesses around the world should acknowledge and firmly reject smear campaigns targeting human rights defenders.

Therefore, we:

  1. call on civil society and solidarity groups world-wide to join and amplify the protest launched by The Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network  PNGO by sending protest letters to the Dutch Foreign Ministry MENA department;
  2. urge all other donors of UAWC, both governmental and private, to maintain their funding for UAWC.

Download the statement.

Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: November

Dear friend,
 
This month we share with you important updates on challenging Israel’s attack on Palestinian civil society and the repression of Palestinian rights advocacy in Europe including in the Netherlands and the UK, a webinar, op-eds, and other news and resources.  
 
On the 29th of November, which marked the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we shared our solidarity statement reaffirming the need to stand and defend Palestinian rights (advocates) every day.

ELSC NEWS

We released a new leaflet addressing 10 situations in which our team can defend the right to advocate for Palestinian rights as to empower advocates and help them to challenge repression through legal avenues.

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UPDATES FROM THE UK

The ELSC has recently intervened at an event on Combatting the Chilling Effect on Academic Freedom and Palestine advocacy on UK campuses organised by the UCU (University and College Union) inWarwick University and open to staff and students.

On-campus repression of Palestinian rights advocacy continues in the UK, as LSE students were heavily smeared for protesting against the participation of the Israeli ambassador in the UK Tzipi Hotovely in a debate on Middle East Peace. We have stood in firm support to the LSE students who have the full right to protest against apartheid regimes and their representatives, and we have urged the university to ensure the provision of a safe space for dissenting opinions.

Share our statement on Twitter

Such illegitimate repression is met with resilient efforts to amplify Palestinian rights advocacy. Queens Mary Students have voted to revoke the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, as to reclaim the unprotected rights of students and academics to advocate for Palestinian rights on-campus.

On the same topic, Larissa Kennedy – the President of the National Union of Students in the UK – signed an op-ed titled “After BLM, Palestine solidarity is the litmus test for UK campus freedom of expression” where she asserts the rights of the student movement to protest and continue the struggle for justice and liberation.

CHALLENGING REPRESSION OF PALESTINIAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY

An investigation released by +972 and The Intercept showed that the “evidence” claimed by the Israeli government to designate six Palestinian prominent human rights organisations as “terrorist” was flawed. Despite that, the responses from EU States and institutions to the unfounded designation remained relatively weak. Therefore, we joined more than 100 organisations, human rights groups, unions, and parties to call upon the EU to take strong actions against this serious attack on Palestinian civil society.

Read the letter

With our partners Al Haq, PAX, SOMO and the Rights Forum, we held a webinar on challenging the repression of Palestinian rights advocacy in Palestine as well as the attempts to silence advocates in the Netherlands. The webinar featured Wesam Ahmad from Al Haq, who focused on the implications of the designation and the expected actions from third state parties including the Netherlands. Giovanni Fassina (ELSC) and Lydia De Leeuw (SOMO) also addressed the responsibilities of the Dutch government in protecting civic space for Palestinian rights advocates in the Netherlands.

UPDATES FROM THE NETHERLANDS

Our op-ed “How Palestine advocacy is silenced in the Netherlands” has been published by Middle East Eye. The ELSC’s Director, Giovanni Fassina, covers the main findings of our report on “The Attempt to Chill Palestinian Rights Advocacy in the Netherlands”, which reveals a pattern of deliberate attempts by Israel-advocacy groups and other actors to intimidate, smear and silence those who legitimately stand up and advocate for Palestinian rights.

Read the full report

The outspoken academics Karin Arts and Jeff Handmaker also published their op-ed “The Netherlands must speak out against Israel’s attack on Palestinian organisations” urging the Dutch government and the European Union to stand up for the Palestinian NGOs under an illegitimate attack deliberately aimed at silencing voices for Palestinian freedom and human rights.

In further response to Israel’s attack on the six NGOs, directors of Palestinian NGOs were in the Netherlands to meet with Dutch officials. Read this article for an analysis by Shawan Jabarin, the director of Al Haq, who reiterated that they won’t be intimidated by such an attack.

RESOURCES & NEWS FROM AROUND EUROPE AND PALESTINE

In a recent report, Front Line Defenders reveals that six Palestinian human rights defenders, including three members of the groundlessly designated organisations, got hacked with NSO Group’s Pegasus Spyware. The hackings were confirmed just before the designation. Front Line Defenders asserts that counter-terrorism legislation must never be instrumentalised to repress legitimate human rights.

In response, a joint letter signed by a number of international CSOs and independent experts including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International has urged the EU to adopt targeted sanctions against NSO Group.

Additionally, Apple is suing NSO Group to hold it accountable for the abuse of state-sponsored spyware, surveillance and targeting of Apple users.

Importantly, on the 12th of November, the OECD UK National Contact Point found UK company JCB in breach of its human rights obligations due to the use of its products to illegally demolish Palestinian homes. Read the analysis of Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights on the case.

A few days later, Amnesty UK issued a new report exposing the responsibilities of JCB in war crimes being committed in the occupied Palestinian Territories.

If you have faced repression for Palestinian rights advocacy whether at university, work, or during a protest in a public space or online, make sure to fill out our incident report form. This information enables us to track how Palestinian advocacy is attacked and silenced, helping us to better defend activists in times of need and push back against shrinking civic space.

REPORT AN INCIDENT

You can join our movement to ensure that defenders of Palestinian rights receive free legal advice and support by making a one time or monthly donation to the ELSC. Any donation would empower our fight for Palestinian rights in Europe. If it is not possible to make a donation at this time, you could follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter, share our posts and spread the word about repression of civic spaces for advocates of Palestinian rights.

DONATE

Categories
Event

Webinar: Challenging the Repression of Palestinian Rights Advocacy

The European Legal Support Center (ELSC), PAX, SOMO, The Rights Forum and Al Haq are inviting you to a webinar on Challenging the Repression of Palestinian Rights Advocacy on the 18th of November 2021 at 5.30pm.

See the recording of the webinar:

In response to Israel’s designation of six prominent Palestinian human rights NGOs and civil society organisations as “terrorist”, Palestinian and international civil society organisations have collectively called upon the international community to take all necessary measures to protect Palestinian rights’ advocates. 32 Dutch organisations called on the Dutch government to publicly speak out against the decision of the Israeli government and to condemn it as an unjustified restriction on civil society as well as take action to protect human rights defenders in Palestine and those who stand up for the rights of Palestinians anywhere in the world.

During the webinar, Wesam Ahmad, a Director at the Center for Applied International Law in Al Haq – one of the six leading organisations groundlessly designated – will discuss the implications of this repression on Palestinian civil society. He will also address the responsibilities of third states parties such as The Netherlands and concrete actions we should expect from our authorities.

We will highlight the importance of civic space for human rights advocates in the Palestine/Israel context in general but also how it is connected to shrinking civic space in The Netherlands, through Giovanni Fassina and Lydia de Leeuw’s interventions. A recent ELSC report shows evidence of clear patterns to shrink civic space of individuals and groups expressing in favour of the rights of the Palestinians or criticising illegal Israeli policies, through deliberate smear campaigns, attempts to defund, cyberattacks, threats with lawsuits, and restrictions on academic freedom. Fassina will speak about the role and responsibilities of the Dutch government in protecting and promoting civic space.

The discussion will be moderated by Thomas Van Gool from PAX and the interventions will be followed by questions from the audience. The language will be English.

Registration is mandatory: REGISTER HERE. The link to access the webinar will be sent a few hours before the webinar.

Agenda

  • Thomas Van Gool, PAX: Welcome and introduction
  • Wesam Ahmad, Al-Haq: On the Ground Testimonies of Repression against Palestinian Civil Society
  • Giovanni Fassina, European Legal Support Center (ELSC): Main findings of the report on the Attempt to Chill Palestinian Rights’ Advocacy in the Netherlands
  • Lydia De Leeuw, the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO): A case-study on attempted repression of civic space for Palestine related human rights research and advocacy  
  • Discussion – Q&A
Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: October

Dear friend,

This month we share with you news on our work to push back against the criminalisation of Palestinian civil society by Israel as well as our new report on shrinking space and Palestinian rights advocacy in the Netherlands. We also share good news from the UK where the authorities rejected unfounded allegations by a lawfare group, updates from the BT3P team who challenged the German Parliament in Court, and new job and traineeship opportunities with the ELSC.

Latest Israeli Attempt to Suppress Palestinian Civil Society

After the Israeli government’s latest attempt to criminalise six prominent Palestinian CSOs by designating them as “terrorist”, we signed a joint letter to express solidarity and collectively urge the international community to take all necessary measures to protect them. We also published a statement calling on the EU and its member states to reject the designation, to publicly oppose the repression of Palestinian civil society, and to continue their financial support to their Palestinian partners. A number of international actors have also firmly rejected the Israeli decision, you can keep track of these reactions here.

Read the statement and share it on Twitter.

First ELSC Monitoring Report on Chilling Palestinian Rights Advocacy in the Netherlands

The attacks against Palestinian civil society are part of a global strategy of the Israeli authorities and their allies to silence Palestinian voices and this echoes with what we have been observing in Europe. On the 12th of October, we released our first monitoring report on the attempt to chill Palestinian rights advocacy in the Netherlands, which sheds light on the actors responsible for incidents of repression, including Israel-advocacy groups along with enabling actors such as Dutch right-wing media outlets and political parties. The report documents 76 cases of repression and the tactics used to repress Palestinian rights advocates.

BT3P vs. the Anti-BDS Motion of the German Bundestag: German Court Dismisses the Complaint

Since 2020, the ELSC has been supporting Palestinian-Jewish-German initiative Bundestag 3 for Palestine (BT3P) with lawyer Ahmed Abed to challenge the German Bundestag’s anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) resolution that condemns the movement as antisemitic. Read our case summary.
On October 7, the Berlin Administrative Court held the first hearing on the complaint. The Court ruled that the fundamental rights of the complainants have not been violated and the Bundestag is allowed to use the controversial IHRA definition as a parameter to assess antisemitism and therefore dismissed the case at this stage. Nevertheless, the Court recognised both its jurisdiction on the case and BT3P’s legal standing to challenge the resolution. Amir Ali, one of the plaintiffs, said in response to this decision: “We will appeal. With this complaint we are opposing the systematic suppression of human rights work for Palestinians in Germany”. Lawyer Abed added: “We see good chances for the next instance.”

DONATE to help the team in their legal proceedings

UK Government Dismisses Attempt by UK Lawyers for Israel to Harm Palestinian Civil Society

In one of its latest attempt to delegitimise Palestinian civil society, UKLFI submitted a complaint to the UK National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (UK NCP) against PricewaterhouseCoopers Palestine Limited (PwC Palestine) for an alleged violation of the OECD Guidelines. In response, the UK NCP concluded that the complaint was unfounded as PwC Palestine “had appropriate policies and procedures in place to obtain reasonable assurance that its clients were upholding appropriate legal, compliance and ethical standards and also conducted reasonable investigations following the allegations by UKLFI.”
Such a decision plays a crucial role in the struggle of global civil society against the phenomenon of shrinking civic space, as it exposes the groundlessness and unreliability of the accusations that lawfare actors such as UKLFI use to interrupt the activities of human rights organisations. Read more here.

Resources & News from Around Europe and Palestine

From Palestine, The Arab Center for Social Media – 7amleh just launched its Palestinian Digital Rights Violations Monitor 7or. If you are a Palestinian activist or a supporter of the Palestinian cause and you have had your social media account suspended or content taken down, faced online hate speech or other digital rights violations, report here and 7amleh will contact social media companies and follow up on your case.

This month, the French Platform of NGOs for Palestine also launched a report on the delegitimisation strategies employed against defenders of Palestinian human rights including attacks and defamation, with a focus on France. The ELSC contributed with some advice.

Other ELSC News

The ELSC is offering new job and traineeship opportunities. We are seeking a Development Officer to lead fundraising and administrative work, including management of human resources and strategic planning. The deadline to apply is 21 November. See the call for applications.

We are also very happy to launch our Movement Lawyering Traineeship that aims to educate the next generation of human rights lawyers and advocates by rooting their legal training, experience and practice in the Palestine solidarity movement. We accept application on a rolling basis for three positions:

Junior Legal Officer: Monitor and Defend

Junior Advocacy Officer

Junior Legal Officer: Empower

We are currently welcoming applications for the positions of Junior Legal Officer: Monitor and Defend starting from 15th of July 2022 and Junior Advocacy Officer starting from May 2022. Read more and apply here.

We are now on Instagram! Follow us on our account elsclegal for updates on our work in promoting the right to advocate, and defending Palestinian rights advocates in Europe!

If you have faced repression for Palestinian rights advocacy whether at university, work, or during a protest in a public space or online, make sure to fill out our incident report form. This information enables us to track how Palestinian advocacy is attacked and silenced, helping us to better defend activists in times of need and push back against shrinking civic space.

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Statement

The Netherlands must speak out against unsubstantiated accusations against six Palestinian organisations

Today, the ELSC joined 31 Dutch organisations to call the Dutch government to condemn the recent allegations against six prominent Palestinian NGOs.

We call on the Dutch government to:

  • To publicly speak out against the decision of the Israeli government and to condemn it as an unjustified restriction on civil society;
  • To call on the Israeli government to revoke the decision in question with immediate effect;
  • To continue its (financial) support to current Palestinian partner organisations and to ensure that Dutch banks and financial institutions do not follow this condemnation;
  • To publicly express its support for the work of the six affected organisations;
  • To give priority in its policy towards Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory to the protection of civil society and human rights defenders who stand up for the rights of Palestinians anywhere in the world.

Read the whole statement in English and in Dutch.

Picture: Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Ben Knapen. Cc Flickr | Sebastiaan ter Burg 

Categories
Release Restrictive Policies

Joint Letter: The International Community Must Support and Protect Palestinian Civil Society

The ELSC joined 241 organisations to express solidarity with Palestinian civil society and human rights defenders after the latest attempt from the Israeli government to silence them. We collectively urge the international community to take all necessary measures to protect them.

As a group of 235 regional and international organizations, we express our full solidarity with Palestinian civil society and human rights defenders as Israel continues to escalate its attacks to shut down critical human rights work and silence opposition to its occupation of Palestinian territory and apartheid over the Palestinian people as a whole. We urge the international community to take all necessary action to support and protect Palestinian civil society and human rights defenders and ensure the continuation of their invaluable work.

On 19 October 2021, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz designated six leading Palestinian civil society organizations as terrorist organizations, including Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Al-Haq Law in the Service of Man (Al-Haq), Bisan Center for Research and Development, Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P), the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC).

The Israeli government has continued to intensify its attacks on independent Palestinian human rights organizations and their staff, who regularly face smear campaigns, spurious accusations of links to terrorism as well as threats and intimidation, travel bans and movement restrictions, and arrest for their work. Independent Israeli and international organizations have also been targeted by Israel for their work documenting and advocating against Israel’s human rights violations. Israel’s actions clearly follow the pattern set by authoritarian states in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and around the world.

This unprecedented designation is merely the latest escalation in Israel’s widespread and systematic institutionalized campaign that has aimed to silence and discredit any Palestinian individual or organization that dares seek accountability for Israel’s grave human rights violations, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The “persecution of organizations and persons, by depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms, because they oppose apartheid” is one of the methods used by Israel to maintain its domination and oppression over the Palestinian people.

On 18 October 2021, the Israeli Interior Minister announced the official revocation of the Jerusalem residency status of Palestinian-French human rights defender and lawyer Salah Hammouri based on “breach of allegiance” to the State of Israel, opening the way for more widespread use of residency revocation on this basis, putting thousands of Palestinians in Jerusalem at risk of arbitrary and punitive measures leading to their forcible transfer.

UN experts condemned the designations of the six NGOs as terrorist organizations “a frontal attack on the Palestinian human rights movement, and on human rights everywhere” and called upon the international community to “defend the defenders.” The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Israel to revoke the designations, affirming that “claiming rights before a UN or other international body is not an act of terrorism, advocating for the rights of women in the occupied Palestinian territory is not terrorism, and providing legal aid to detained Palestinians is not terrorism”. The designation has also been condemned by other international actors, including members of the US House of Representatives, European Parliamentarians as well as international civil society.

The designation presents a challenge to the international community, especially democratic states that speak out and support independent human rights organizations and defenders in other parts of the world. Remaining silent is insufficient given the urgent support and protection needs of the six organizations that are now at an additional risk of raids, confiscation of property and materials, closure of bank accounts, arrest of staff members, and closure of their offices. Israel’s attacks against these organizations pose an existential threat to independent Palestinian human rights organizations and civil society who work to monitor and document violations of human rights and provide basic services to the Palestinian people.

We call upon the international community to publicly condemn and reject Israel’s designation of Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations as “terrorist organizations” as an internationally wrongful act, to call for Israel to immediately rescind the designation, and to demand Israel repeal its Anti-Terrorism Law (2016) as it does not meet basic human rights standards and to end all other actions that deny Palestinians their inalienable human rights. We also urge members of the international community to publicly show support for the six organizations and Palestinian civil society at large.

Further, the international community, especially the European Union and its member states who are key supporters of and donors to Palestinian civil society, should ensure that banks and financial institutions in their jurisdiction are notified Israel’s designation of Palestinian organizations is unfounded and inapplicable.

Signatories:

  1. 11.11.11
  2. Abna Al-Quds Club
  3. Action for Change and Democracy in Algeria
  4. AFKAR for Educational & Cultural Development
  5. Agir pour le Changement et la Démocratie en Algérie (ACDA)
  6. Al Ataa Charitable Society
  7. Albanian Human Rights Group
  8. Al Dameer Association for Human Rights
  9. Al-Haq, Law in the Service of Man
  10. Al Karmel Culture and Social Development Association
  11. Al-Marsad Arab Human Rights Center in Golan Heights
  12. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
  13. Altawasol Forum Society
  14. Aman Organization Against Discrimination
  15. ANSWER Coalition
  16. Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem
  17. Arab Canadian Lawyers Association
  18. Arab Center for Agricultural Development
  19. Artists for Palestine UK
  20. Asha Parivar
  21. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
  22. Asociación Paz con Dignidad
  23. Association Africaine de Défense droit de l’Homme (ASADHO)
  24. Association Belgo-Palestinienne WB
  25. Association des Magistrats Tunisiens
  26. Association des Universitaires pour le Respect du Droit International en Palestine (AURDIP)
  27. Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS)
  28. Association Internationale de Soutien aux Prisonniers Politiques
  29. Association Nachaz
  30. Association pour le Droit à la Différence (ADD)
  31. Association Tunisienne des Femmes Démocrates
  32. Association Tunisienne de Soutien des Minorités
  33. Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children
  34. Australia Palestine Advocacy Network
  35. Australian Centre for International Justice
  36. Bait Lahia Youth Association Center
  37. BankTrack – Netherlands
  38. Basma Society for Culture and Arts
  39. Basmeh & Zeitooneh
  40. Baytna
  41. Beity
  42. Belady Foundation for Human Rights
  43. BDS País Valencià
  44. Broederlijk Delen
  45. Bytes For All
  46. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
  47. Canada Palestine Association
  48. Canadian BDS Coalition
  49. Canadians for Peace and Justice in Kashmir
  50. Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
  51. Canada Palestine Friendship Society
  52. Carleton University Students for Justice in Palestine
  53. Catholics for Justice and Peace in the Holy Land
  54. Center for Civil Liberties
  55. Center for Constitutional Rights
  56. Center for Defense of Liberties & Civil Rights (Hurryyat)
  57. Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR)
  58. Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)
  59. Central Blood Bank Society
  60. Coalition of African Lesbians
  61. Committee on the Administration of Justice (Northern Ireland)
  62. Community Empowerment and Social Justice Network (CEMSOJ)
  63. Community Media Center
  64. Conectas Direitos Humanos
  65. Confederación Intersindical Galega (CIG)
  66. Congregations of St. Joseph
  67. Citizen News Service (CNS)
  68. Citoyenneté, Développement, Cultures et migrations des deux Rives
  69. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
  70. CNCD-11.11.11
  71. Collectif des Familles de Disparus en Algérie (CFDA)
  72. Cooperazione Internazionale Sud Sud (CISS)
  73. Cultura è libertà una campagna per la Palestina
  74. De-Colonizer
  75. Defence for Children International – Italy
  76. DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
  77. Defender Center for Human Rights
  78. Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)
  79. docP – BDS Netherlands
  80. Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt, NY
  81. Dr. Haider Abdel Shafi Center for Culture & Development
  82. Edmonton Run for Palestine
  83. European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine (ECCP)
  84. European Legal Support Center (ELSC)
  85. European Trade Union Network For Justice in Palestine (ETUN)
  86. Fares Arab Foundation for Development
  87. FIAN International
  88. Finnish-Arab Friendship Society
  89. Free Gaza Australia
  90. Fundación Mundubat
  91. Gaza Action Ireland
  92. General and Autonomous Confederation of Workers in Algeria (CGATA)
  93. General Confederation of the Portuguese Workers (CGTP-IN)
  94. Gibanje za pravice Palestincev
  95. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
  96. Grassroots AlQuds
  97. Groupe LOTUS
  98. Grup de Suport a Juani Rishmawi
  99. Gruppo Ibriq per la cultura e la causa Palestinese
  100. Hassan El Saadawi Association for Democracy and Equality
  101. Human Rights and Democracy Center (SHAMS)
  102. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
  103. International Accountability Project
  104. International Association for the Support of Political Prisoners
  105. International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
  106. International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights
  107. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
  108. International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW AP)
  109. Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign
  110. Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU)
  111. Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)
  112. Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) – Finland
  113. Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) – Germany
  114. Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions UK
  115. Jabalia Rehabilitation Society
  116. Joussour De Citoyenneté
  117. Jurists without Chains
  118. Justice for Iran
  119. Justitia Center for Legal Protection of Human Rights in Algeria
  120. Kairos Ireland
  121. Kairos Sabeel Netherlands
  122. Kenya Human Rights Commission
  123. Land Research Center
  124. Leadership Team of the Dominican Sisters and Associates of Racine, WI
  125. League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI)
  126. Lebanese Center for Human Rights
  127. Libya Al-Mostakbal
  128. Libyan Center for Freedom of the Press
  129. Libyan Network for Legal Aid
  130. Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace
  131. Ligue Algérienne de Défense des Droits de L’homme
  132. Ligue des droits de l’Homme
  133. Ligue Suisse des Droits de l’Homme – Genève
  134. MA’AN Development Center
  135. MADRE – USA
  136. Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights
  137. Makan
  138. MakeShiftPublishing BV
  139. Manushya Foundation
  140. Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
  141. MENA Rights Group
  142. Mwatana for Human Rights
  143. Nā Pua Kūʻē – Hawaiʻi Dissenters
  144. National Autonomous Union of Public Administration Staff (SNAPAP)
  145. National Fisheries Solidarity
  146. National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT)
  147. Netherlands Palestine Committee
  148. Niagara Movement for Justice in Palestine-Israel (NMJPI)
  149. NOVACT
  150. New Weapons Research Group onlus
  151. Oakville Palestinian Rights Association
  152. Odhikar
  153. One Justice
  154. Organisation 23_10 d’Appui au Processus de Transition Démocratique
  155. Österreichische Liga für Menschenrechte
  156. Our Revolution Northern Virginia (ORNOVA)
  157. Palestina Solidariteit vzw
  158. Palästina Spricht
  159. Palestinakomiteen i Larvik-Sandefjord
  160. Palestine Solidarity Alliance of South Africa
  161. Palestine Solidarity Campaign – Britain (England, Wales, and Scotland)
  162. Palestine Solidarity Campaign – Gauteng (Johannesburg)
  163. Palestine Solidarity Campaign – Cape Town
  164. Palestinian Solidarity Group at Mount Holyoke College
  165. Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA)
  166. Palestinian Assembly for Liberation
  167. Palestinian Children in Israeli Military Prisons (PIM)
  168. Palestinian Counseling Center
  169. Palestinian Youth Movement
  170. Pax Christi Flanders
  171. Pax Christi USA
  172. PeaceWomen Across the Globe
  173. Plan International – Jordan
  174. Platform of French NGOs for Palestine
  175. Portuguese League for Human Rights – Civitas
  176. Princeton Committee on Palestine
  177. Project48
  178. Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice
  179. Racial Literacy Groups
  180. Réseau International des Droits Humains (RIDH)
  181. Rumbo a Gaza
  182. Salaam Ragazzi dell’Olivo, Comitato di Trieste
  183. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
  184. Sareyyet Ramallah
  185. Sexual Rights Intiative
  186. Sheffield Labour Friends of Palestine
  187. Sinistra Italiana
  188. Socialist Party (India)
  189. SOLSOC
  190. South African BDS Coalition
  191. South African Jews for a Free Palestine (SAJFP)
  192. SumOfUs
  193. Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM)
  194. Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ)
  195. Syrian Justice and Accountability Center (SJAC)
  196. The Community Action Center at Al-Quds University
  197. The Cultural Forum Center
  198. The Culture and Free Thought Association
  199. The National Society for Democracy and Law
  200. The Palestine Committee of Norway
  201. The Palestine Project
  202. The Palestinian Developmental Women Studies Association (PDWSA)
  203. The Palestinian Human Rights Organization (PHRO)
  204. The Rights Forum
  205. The Society of Women Graduates
  206. Toronto Palestine Film Festival
  207. Trade Union Friends of Palestine
  208. Transnational Institute
  209. Trócaire
  210. Tunisian Association of Defending Individual Liberties (ADLI)
  211. Tunisian Association of the Democratic Women (ATFD)
  212. Tunisian Youth Movement in Germany
  213. UK-Palestine Mental Health Network
  214. Union Aid Abroad APHEDA
  215. Union Juive Française pour la Paix (UJFP)
  216. Union Syndicale Solidaires
  217. United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine – Israel
  218. Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights
  219. USA Palestine Mental Health Network
  220. Visualizing Palestine
  221. Viva Salud
  222. WESPAC Foundation, Inc.
  223. Women Against Violence
  224. Women in Black Vienna
  225. Women Now For Development
  226. Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC)
  227. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
  228. Women’s Studies Centre
  229. Youth Development Association (YDA)
  230. Youth for Tawergha
  231. Zochrot
  232. Committee for the Respect of Liberties and Human Rights in Tunisia
  233. Just Peace Advocates
  234. Business and Human Rights Resource Center (BHRRC)
  235. Egyptian Front for Human Rights
  236. Palestine Link
  237. Riposte International
  238. Belgian Campaign for an Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
  239. We Network
  240. Fagforbundet
  241. Associació Hèlia
  242. EuroMed Rights

Read the letter in Arabic

Categories
Restrictive Policies Statement

The ELSC calls on the EU to oppose Israel’s latest attempt to suppress Palestinian Civil Society

On 22 October 2021, the Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz announced the official designation of six prominent Palestinian human rights and civil society organisations (CSOs) as “terrorist” organisations. This decision is the most recent development of a longstanding strategy by Israeli authorities and disinformation groups such as NGO Monitor to repress Palestinian civil society through criminalisation and delegitimisation. This phenomenon has been widely acknowledged and denounced by national European governments, including in the Netherlands, Denmark and Belgium and the United Nations.

This is not the first time that the Israeli government and its allies have disseminated unfounded allegations to pressure European States and institutions in order to disrupt their financial support to Palestinian organisations. Nevertheless, these inflammatory accusations have already been rejected as unsubstantiated by the EU (in 2018 and 2021) and Member States, including Belgium and Sweden.

It is worth noting that, none of the Palestinian CSO’s or their staff members have been included in the EU’s list of proscribed organisations. In order to be added to this list, the Council of the European Union is required to designate the CSOs in the light of a decision taken by a competent authority which must be based on ‘serious and credible evidence’. The Court of Justice of the European Union has stated that, in order to rely on a decision of a third State, such as Israel, to designate CSO’s as proscribed organisations, the Council must carefully verify that the relevant legislation of that State ‘ensures in practice a protection of the rights of defence’ equivalent to that guaranteed at EU level by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.

This is certainly not the case as the 2016 Israeli counter-terrorism law poses serious human rights concerns. As explained by Professors E. Lieblich and A. Shinar, and clarified by the human rights organisation Adalah, the legislation in question allows entities to be included on the list of terrorist organisations without any right to a hearing or to submit defensive evidence beforehand. The designation is based on classified evidence that the listed organisations are not authorised to access, not even when opposing the decision before the Minister of Defence or the Supreme Court, thus erasing any guarantee of a fair trial.

We therefore firmly condemn the allegations by the Israeli Minister of Defence and call on the European Union and its Member States to reject the designation, to publicly oppose the suppression of Palestinian civil society, and to continue their financial support to their Palestinian partners.

See the reactions to the Israeli decision from the EU, Member States, international organisations and institutions.

Categories
Release Restrictive Policies

UK government dismisses latest attempt by UK Lawyers for Israel to harm Palestinian civil society

For many years now, politically-motivated actors have used legal fora to inflict damage on civil society organisations supporting Palestinian rights, by attempting to silence them and delegitimise their work. These attacks, generally referred to as “lawfare”, are mostly conducted by disinformation groups supporting Israel’s occupation and apartheid regime, such as: NGO Monitor, Regavim, Shurat HaDin, International Legal Forum, Lawfare Project, and UK Lawyers For Israel (UKLFI).

UKLFI in particular is a legal advocacy and campaigning organisation based in the UK that has been attempting to smear and disrupt the work of Palestinian human rights groups and their partners for years. While its disinformation campaigns have taken a toll on civil society, its attempts to get official bodies to accept its defamatory claims have been largely unsuccessful; its allegations have been found to be groundless on numerous occasions. Just between 2017 and 2019 UKLFI submitted several complaints to the government charities’ regulator in the UK against at least 3 charities, all of which were rejected. Moreover, on 9 March 2020, UKLFI was required to issue a public apology after being sued in a defamation case (which was settled) for having accused DCI – Palestine of providing financial and material support to proscribed organisations.

In one of its latest attempt to delegitimise Palestinian civil society, UKLFI submitted a complaint to the UK National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (UK NCP) against PricewaterhouseCoopers Palestine Limited (PwC Palestine) for an alleged violation of the OECD Guidelines (the Guidelines). In this case, the lawfare organisation claimed that PwC Palestine breached the Guidelines by providing its audit service to two Palestinian NGOs, Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), a leading agricultural development organisation which has been attacked for supporting Palestinian farmers in Area C of the West Bank, which Israel has targeted for continued settlement expansion, and DCI-P (once again). The complainant raised inflammatory allegations arguing that the latter Palestinian organisations had links with a proscribed organisation in the UK and that PwC Palestine had failed to expose such links.

In its response, PwC Palestine explained that it undertook thorough client acceptance checks as well as periodic continuance checks to comply with legal, regulatory and ethical obligations imposed by the Guidelines. Moreover, the respondent argued that “UKLFI’s allegations of links between PFLP and the 2 NGO charities are not well supported or evidenced.” On 24 September 2021 the UK NCP issued the final decision, concluding that the complaint was unfounded as PwC Palestine “had appropriate policies and procedures in place to obtain reasonable assurance that its clients were upholding appropriate legal, compliance and ethical standards and also conducted reasonable investigations following the allegations by UKLFI.”

Such a decision plays a crucial role in the struggle of global civil society against the phenomenon of shrinking civic space, as it exposes the groundlessness and unreliability of the accusations that lawfare actors such as UKLFI use to interrupt the activities of human rights organisations. A recent report from Charity & Security Network, a US-based organisation that protects the ability of nonprofits to carry out peacebuilding, humanitarian, and human rights missions, delves into the harm caused by these lawfare actors and offers policy recommendations for governments, donors, and civil society groups.