Democracies Must Safeguard

Palestinian Civil Society

On October 22nd, the Government of Israel outlawed six distinguished Palestinian civil society organizations, setting a dangerous precedent worldwide. As their constituent, ask your members of Congress to request the Government of Israel to fully and publicly withdraw the designations.

 
 

ASK Congress to make two calls to (1) the Israeli Embassy and (2) the U.S. State Department and

Express concern;

Urge the Government of Israel to fully and publicly withdraw the designations for two reasons:

  1. The Israeli Government’s refusal to release evidence means they cannot provide due process: On Jan. 2nd, the Legal Advisor’s Office of the IDF denied the request made by the attorneys of the 6 CSOs on Dec. 16th in which they wrote to the commander of the Israeli Army in the West Bank requesting evidentiary material (English, Hebrew);

  2. Outlawing of human rights organizations sets a dangerous precedent that must be overturned. 

 

 Problem: 

  1. The Six Organizations are each important part of the Palestinian Civil Society who would never break laws or endanger others. The Government of Israel’s designation of six distinguished Palestinian Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) as terrorist and illegal organizations without trial and without affording them due process leaves the organizations unable to appeal or defend themselves. 

  2. This designation sets a dangerous precedent in Israel and throughout the world.

  3. Israel’s shuttering of these organizations undermines Palestinian human rights and development, prospects for peace, and as Israel’s closest ally, it undermines U.S. credibility if we remain silent.


Approach: Democracy requires due process, and Congress promises to intervene when a constituent ask for help with an urgent issue involving a Federal Agency. Constituents emails and call to your Senators and Representative have proven to be effective in other interventions, including the prevention of Palestinian school, home, and neighborhood demolitions. We believe this can be effective here as well. The Israeli Embassy will forward your message to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for reply.  The State Department will reply in detail.


Benefit: 

  1. You, a constituent, will get your Congressional office's help on something you care deeply about;

  2. American values and credibility will be reinforced with integrity;

  3. A dangerous precedent will be overturned by reinforcing the sanctity of due process and the importance of protecting human rights organizations;

  4. Your call can amplify voices in Palestine and Israel who seek to defend democracy and protect human rights.



This designation without due process leaves organizations unable to defend themselves and is tantamount to a “death sentence for an NGO”, as characterized by Israeli human rights attorney Michael Sfard. The designation: 

  1. cuts off funding; 

  2. subjects the organizations to raids, administrative seizures, confiscation of property, and the freezing of assets; 

  3. places staff in jeopardy of arrest with sentences up to 25 years, with supporters facing up to 5 years in prison; and

  4. leaves the organizations unable to defend themselves or clear their name. 

These organizations form the cornerstone of Palestinian civil society. Their award winning work spans over four decades, impacting tens of thousands of lives in the West Bank.  If they are outlawed and unable to continue their work, “Palestinian civil society would take a generation to recover” (Adv. Michael Sfard). A number of these organizations have brought cases before the International Criminal Court to confront abuses stemming from Israel’s occupation. 

Financial audits by European actors have revealed no wrongdoing by the six CSOs, and the designation has been condemned by American, European, Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations, along with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

 

References

  • Israel’s New Secret Document Still Fails to Tie Palestinian NGOs to ‘Terrorism’ By Oren Ziv and Yuval Abraham 13 Jan, 2022, +972 and Local Call. An analysis of a leaked document. “As with the Shin Bet dossier that preceded it, the new document [circulated by the Foreign Ministry of Israel] has been unsuccessful in convincing European countries that the organizations were involved in terrorist activities… The governments of France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and various EU bodies have expressed concern over the declaration, noting that previous allegations of misuse of donor funds have been investigated but not proven.”

  • Adalah: No Due Process for the Palestinian 6; Israel Must Reveal Evidence 25 Nov. 2021. In the expert opinion, Adalah analyzes the two legal measures that the Israeli Defense Minister and the Israeli Military Commander have deployed to criminalize the activity of Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations, stop their operations, seize their assets, and levy penalties against their directors, staff, and supporters. Both measures – under the Counter-Terrorism Law and the Emergency Regulations – are marred by critical due process flaws and shortcomings, falling short of international standards and amounting to significant violations of the rights of Palestinians.

  • Devices of Palestinian Human Rights Defenders Hacked with NSO Group’s Pegasus Spyware Independent evaluation by Citizen Labs and Amnesty International’s Security Group 08 Nov 2021. “This report confirms that the devices of six Palestinian human rights defenders were hacked with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware in 2020 and 2021, as published by Front Line Defenders… prior to the Israeli government’s decision to designate [the 6 CSOs] as terrorist organizations.” On Nov. 3, 2021 the U.S. Dept. of Commerce Added NSO Group and Other Foreign Companies to the Entity List for Malicious Cyber Activities because this software was sold to governments that used these tools “to maliciously target government officials, journalists, businesspeople, activists, academics, and embassy workers.” 

  • Adalah's Position Paper: Israel’s Counter-Terrorism Law 31 Oct 2016 / UPDATED 29 Nov 2021    In this 18 page position paper, the Israeli human rights association, Adalah, addresses the unconstitutionality of the main sections of the Counter-Terrorism Law, 2016 which predominantly relate to: (1) broad and vague definitions of “terrorist acts” and “terrorist organizations”, contrary to the principles of criminal law and to freedom of speech; (2) designation of an organization as a “terrorist organization” and process of challenging the designation; (3)

    disproportionate penalties for security offenses defined under the Law; and (4) incorporation of legal proceedings that violate fundamental guarantees of criminal law, in particular the right to due process.