Israel has forced 30 fundraising accounts associated with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to close in the past two years.
The Ministry of Strategic Affairs – which oversees Israel’s anti-BDS efforts – announced yesterday that it had forced the closure of ten US-based fundraising accounts and a further 20 in Europe. It did so by directing pro-Israel activists to report the accounts to their host platforms PayPal and DonorBox, the Times of Israel reported.
Israel has forced 30 fundraising accounts associated with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to close in the past two years. pic.twitter.com/zXc6kQdhZv
— Ahmed Shameya?????? (@AhmedShameya) June 11, 2019
Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan said in a statement:
“For years, boycott promoters have disguised themselves as ‘human rights activists,’ managing to raise tens of millions of euros from Western countries and citizens who thought they were contributing to causes supporting justice and equality.”
He continued:
“Over time, we have revealed that the supposed ‘human rights’ NGOs are in reality filled with anti-Semitic operatives with deep ties to terrorist groups fixated on destroying the State of Israel”.
Israel's Strategic Affairs Ministry is making progress in its campaign to shut down funding for BDS groups with links to terrorism >>>>>>> https://t.co/ruBYHXc54S
Photo Credit: Gideon Markowicz @4ILorg @giladerdan1 @netanyahu— Israel Hayom English (@IsraelHayomEng) June 11, 2019
Among those organizations targeted by the shutdowns were the BDS National Committee – the movement’s Ramallah-based arm – as well as human rights organization Al-Haq and UK-based charity Interpal.
A number of organizations pushed for the closures, including infamous legal advocacy group Shurat HaDin which regularly fights court battles on Israel’s behalf.
Israel's $72m 'war chest' to fight BDS arrives in Europe — but every attempt to discredit BDS helps it gain more supporters. https://t.co/MPgbPaKNLw
— Samer Abdelnour (@SamerAbdelnour) November 15, 2018
Israel has been waging a de facto war against BDS for many years, spending millions of dollars on initiatives to discredit the movement.
(Middle East Monitor, PC, Social Media)
