Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Reality is that there is a very limited retreat of the vehicles, with the occupation forces providing cover undeer fire up to Salah al-Din Street
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Claims that the Israeli occupation has withdrawn from areas in the neighborhoods of al-Zaytoun, al-Tuffah, and al-Shujaiya are false
Hamas: The two delegations stressed that any negotiations must lead to the achievement of our people's goals and aspirations, foremost among which is ending the war and the complete withdrawal of enemy forces
Hamas: A delegation from the Hamas leadership, led by the head of the leadership council, Mohammad Darwish, met with an Islamic Jihad delegation, headed by its Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah

Callousness on Israeli diplomatic sprees will not suffice

  • Hamzah Rifaat Hamzah Rifaat
  • Source: Al Mayadeen English
  • 16 Sep 2022 14:13
  • 1 Shares
6 Min Read

It is high time that the international community calls out Israeli diplomatic efforts in the United States as an attempt to whitewash its crimes against the Palestinian people.

  • x
  • Callousness on Israeli diplomatic sprees will not suffice
    Callousness on Israeli diplomatic sprees will not suffice

Prominent human rights activist Ginetta Sagan’s adage that ‘silence in the face of injustice equates to complicity with the oppressor’ certainly applies to "Israel’s" latest diplomatic spree of wooing lobby groups in Washington D.C. toward designating Palestinian NGOs as terrorist organizations. State-sponsored propaganda that is unabashedly promoted has led to backlashes from American progressives, members of Congress, and the international community, but for anti-apartheid activists, such denunciation would be viewed as cosmetic and transient due to the lack of concrete action as a follow-up. The truth is that Israeli officials are choking the last ounce of advocacy left for a population under occupation and criminal silence in the face of injustice on Palestinian NGOs would definitely equate to complicity with the oppressor.  

Such silence is not an anomaly, however. Israeli Security Minister Benny Gantz’s vicious ploy to designate six Palestinian civil society and human rights organizations as terrorists in October 2021 was met with little denunciation. Since then, Israeli officers brazenly raided offices of human rights organizations in August 2022 and confiscated computers and property despite repeated calls of innocence from the targeted. While true, that the US State Department expressed concern over the raids, spokesman Ned Price also expressed confidence that "Israel" will share information which justifies its actions. Such callousness from the United States borders on plausible deniability, as it sidesteps outcries by the United Nations human rights office over arbitrary actions by "Israel" in the absence of an iota of credible evidence. It simply gives "Israel" the license to choke the Palestinian cause even further. 

The question, however, is whether the same policy of denial will continue as Israeli officials embark on designating Palestinian NGOs as terrorist organizations. Realists would argue that denunciation and condemnation from progressives will not result in Washington changing course on turning a blind eye to egregious human rights violations taking place. Many would also argue that realists are spot on with their assessments. In an open letter to the Biden administration, six NGOs having borne the brunt of Israeli brutality called on Washington to condemn the Israeli government’s actions and reject its unsubstantiated allegations against civil society organizations. Yet what followed was utter nonchalance in the absence of any policy statement or outcry from the administration which continues to bank on Israeli information for verification of terrorist claims against NGOs. This is simply appalling.  

Related News

Concentration camps and the road to exile: Gaza as a laboratory of privatized genocide

Understanding Yemen 2/2: Ansar Allah values

For a regime which banks on disinformation to sanitize its apartheid policies against an oppressed population, it is unfathomable that information from the Israeli government is taken at face value instead of evidence of attacks committed on organizations promoting human rights and protecting oppressed and occupied populations. The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR) proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948 remains a common standard for upholding fundamental human rights with Article 9 stating that no person will be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. Such precepts are often quoted by the United States while demonizing China for alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang, but are conveniently ignored when "Israel" commits similar actions unabashedly and brutally.  

The delegation that visited Washington D.C. also consisted of officials from the Shin Bet intelligence agency, which has gained notoriety over the years for target killings alongside the Israeli Airforce. Shin Bet has detained officials running mobile clinics for Palestinians such as the Physicians for Human Rights and employed methods which have inflicted severe pain on Palestinian prisoners which the Israeli Supreme Court declared illegal in 1999. Beyond Shin Bet, regime complicity was also evident as the financial intelligence units of both the Israeli Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Security were spearheading efforts to have Palestinian NGOs blacklisted. Shin Bet presented its concocted and flawed intelligence regarding rationales for shuttering civil society groups to the Biden administration which has sought to currently review it. Such review processes are taking place despite the agency’s controversial and condemnable record. 

Interestingly, European Union officials privy to the information being disseminated as well as American Democratic lawmakers have claimed that intelligence provided since this campaign started is not sufficient enough to label the NGOs as terrorist organizations. Yet the priorities of the Washington D.C. administration lie in trusting controversial institutions which make up the Israeli state which is similar to America’s response to the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May 2022. The Israeli Occupation Forces sought veritable information which equates to bypassing the killing of a Palestinian American journalist in broad daylight which dented America’s credibility in the eyes of the Palestinians. As far as blacklisting NGOs are concerned, Israeli officials are sidestepping how significant funding from EU member states as well as the United Nations are allowing organizations such as Al Haq to operate. Al Haq as a shuttered group was notified that its finances would be restored as no evidence was found of irregularities. Yet the Israeli Security Ministry designated the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committee, Bisan Research, and Addameer which deals with Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails as terrorist organizations. 

It is high time that the international community calls out Israeli diplomatic efforts in the United States as an attempt to whitewash its crimes against the Palestinian people. Bypassing the legitimate demands of NGOs denigrates the essence of multilateralism, international human rights law, the United Nations, and the European Union which have supported and funded such organizations. Stripping the Palestinian people of their right to advocacy should not go hand in hand with an occupation that has only increased in severity as arbitrary arrests and evidence of torture become more routine and deeply entrenched. 

After all, silence in the face of injustice equates to complicity with the oppressor. 

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Mayadeen’s editorial stance.
  • Palestine
  • Israel
  • Israeli occupation
  • European Union
  • United States
  • Whitewashing
Hamzah Rifaat

Hamzah Rifaat

A host/anchor, analyst, and visiting fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington D.C.,2016.

Most Read

All
How is it that the Western regimes, which claimed to support the fake revolutions of Lebanon, Libya, and Syria, waged constant war against the actual Ansar Allah-led revolution in Yemen? (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Understanding Yemen 1/2: The Revolution

  • Opinion
  • 30 Jun 2025
Why Netanyahu is on the ropes

Why Netanyahu is on the ropes

  • Analysis
  • 4 Jul 2025
Ukraine’s Corporate Carve-Up Collapses?

Ukraine’s Corporate Carve-Up Collapses?

  • Analysis
  • 11 Jul 2025
Africa’s top university’s ‘Gaza Resolutions’ outrages pro-'Israel' lobby

Africa’s top university’s ‘Gaza Resolutions’ outrages pro-'Israel' lobby

  • Analysis
  • 4 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
War on Iran

More from this writer

All
Russia in Africa: Strategic Realignment and Open Embracement

Russia in Africa: Strategic Realignment and Open Embracement

BRICS + remains credible counterweight to Western hegemony

BRICS+ remains credible counterweight to Western hegemony

Latin America’s leftward tendencies and lessons from its Middle Eastern counterparts

Latin America’s leftward tendencies and lessons from its Middle Eastern counterparts

Trump Granting Afrikaners Refugee Status is Both Racist and Demeaning

Trump Granting Afrikaners Refugee Status is Both Racist and Demeaning

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS