Jewish Agency funded group that praised Netanyahu arrest order
The Zionist organization gave $43,000 to Physicians for Human Rights, which represents terrorists and blamed Israel for Oct. 7.
JNS - Jewish News Syndicate 5:00 PM
The Jewish Agency for Israel faced intense scrutiny on Thursday for its 2023 donation of 160,000 shekels ($43,000) to Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-I), an organization accused of branding Israel an apartheid state, attributing the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks to Israel’s policies, and offering support to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in pursuing war crimes charges against the Jewish state. The donation, disclosed in PHR-I’s budget report, sparked outrage from groups like B’tsalmo and Knesset member Limor Son Har-Melech, who labeled it a “moral and public disgrace” and a betrayal of the agency’s Zionist mission.
Following the October 7 attacks, which killed 1,200 Israelis and saw 251 abducted to Gaza, PHR-I issued a statement framing the violence as a consequence of Israel’s 15-year siege on Gaza, describing it as a “perpetual humanitarian crisis” that fosters despair. While condemning the attacks, PHR-I’s remarks drew sharp criticism. In 2022, the group joined 10 others in a letter to ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan, encouraging investigation of alleged Israeli war crimes in Judea and Samaria, pledging assistance. PHR-I later endorsed the ICC’s 2024 arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, calling them “important and necessary.”
NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem-based watchdog, accused PHR-I of using medical expertise as a veneer to promote “distorted and false narratives” aimed at demonizing Israel internationally. B’tsalmo’s executive director, Shai Glick, condemned the Jewish Agency, arguing its role is to benefit Israel and Jewish communities, not fund organizations that provide legal aid to terrorists and security prisoners in Israeli jails. In a scathing letter to Jewish Agency chairman Doron Almog, Har-Melech, from the Otzma Yehudit Party, expressed “astonishment and outrage,” accusing PHR-I of representing “those who wounded our soldiers, raped our daughters, and murdered our children.”
The Jewish Agency defended the donation, asserting it aligned with its mission to support those in need. It clarified that the funds were part of emergency wartime aid to provide food, medical care, and health insurance for foreign workers and their families in Israel. PHR-I signed a declaration ensuring the funds would not be used for political purposes, and the agency required a performance report confirming the delivery of humanitarian assistance. A spokesperson declined to engage with “political issues” when pressed further.
Funded by the Israeli government, U.S. Diaspora communities, and other donors, the Jewish Agency is a nonprofit pivotal to Israel’s founding, aliyah facilitation, and global Jewish community support. The decision to fund PHR-I, given its controversial stances, has ignited debate over the agency’s priorities, with critics demanding stricter oversight to ensure alignment with its Zionist goals and to prevent support for groups seen as undermining Israel’s legitimacy.
Image - Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog, chairman of the executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel, at the 16th annual Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day) ceremony at Yad L’Shiryon in Latrun, Israel, on May 12, 2024. Credit: Courtesy of Masa Israel Journey.
Did you find this article interesting?