Who watches the watchmen?

It seems we have always been plagued by bad neighbours  The annals of the ancient world describe how close and distant neighbours habitually  stormed the gates of our cities and exiled our ancestors to foreign parts. Our prophets promised retribution predicting that terrible catastrophes would befall  our not so nice neighbours. Divine justice is fine, but an ounce of prevention helps too. So our forefathers thought it wise to post a few guards at the gates, "For the keeper of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps." Psalm 121:4 .Apparently nobody thought to check the guards till the Roman poet Juvenal asked, "Who watches the watchmen?"                                                                 

Fast forward to modern times and the innumerable "Watch NGOs" in Israel that claim they are indeed the watchmen’s watchers. In many instances they are more of a bane than a boon. Admittedly some definitely do a lot of good, but others are not so well intentioned keepers' keepers. Now in order to defend ourselves from our enemies, especially the foes with subtle insidious intentions, we need to watch the keepers’ keepers.

While many NGOs perform a variety of services and humanitarian functions, others are politically motivated with well defined agendas.

A group of former Israeli soldiers claiming to expose the IDF’s alleged human rights violations is currently  cause for concern. Their latest activities are in fact aiding and abetting the BDS movement.

The ex-servicemen’s group, “Breaking the Silence,” says that without its work, accounts of improper or even illegal behaviour against Palestinians would remain hidden from the Israeli public.

Since its founding in 2004, Breaking the Silence has collected the testimonies of more than 1,000 veterans in a bid to expose the IDF’s alleged illegal actions in the West Bank. It has taken those accounts to audiences in Israel and around the world. However, the NGO has an obvious political agenda.            Its uncorroborated testimonies have been lodged by veterans unwilling to reveal their identities   CTV news reported that “Breaking the Silence’s” seemingly authentic narratives come at a time when Israel is confronting a growing boycott movement focused on companies doing business in the West Bank settlements. The European Union also has ratcheted up measures against settlement products.

Notwithstanding the movement’s triumphant tone — and Israel’s robust reaction — BDS has not been nearly as successful as its supporters claim, nor its opponents fear. In some instances its actions have adversely affected West Bank Palestinians.

The potential stakes for boycotts became clear recently when Stéphane Richard, Orange telecom chief executive, told a Cairo business group that his company, which has come under pressure from campaigners, would leave Israel if it could. The remarks infuriated the Israeli government and many of the company’s customers in Israel. Stéphane.Richard apologized later, but Prime Minister  Netanyahu wasn’t satisfied and demanded that he come  to Israel to apologise. Richard complied, a veritable “Going to Canossa” in order to make amends for his remarks in Cairo and confirm Orange’s “commitment to Israel”.

Yediot Ahronot columnist Sever Plocker gave a different interpretation of the French cell phone company’s imbroglio,” Orange's alleged boycott appears to be a foolish verbal entanglement of a nervous CEO who is anxiously watching new cellular companies eating away at his brand and affecting his revenues.”

Plocker too gave low points to the boycotters. “The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement against Israel hasn't achieved much so far. Not a single foreign investment fund operating in Israel has left, and not a single corporation has severed its ties with Israel.”…..” Nonetheless, the risk from the BDS activity is definitely not a trivial thing: Being anti-Israel is now the dominating fashionable trend among students and the young intelligence in the West. Being progressive means identifying with BDS. The battle against Israel, under different slogans, replaces the other political battles for many young men and women and allows them to fulfill their rebelliousness without paying any personal price.

The significant support for BDS in the faculties for humanities and social sciences is particularly concerning, as it shapes the consciousness of the future intellectual-leading elite. “

According to Sever Plocker the wrong people are leading the P.R campaign against the BDS movement.”The Israeli right-wing representatives use a language and terms which the Western academic left doesn’t understand and doesn’t accept. Their appearance in front of foreign university audiences, and especially in front of BDS spokespeople, is detrimental to Israel and causes more people to support the anti-Israel movement. “

Plocker and other political analysts believe that the Israeli political left has a better chance of tackling the BDS movement. It is critical of the West Bank occupation and consistently advocates a two-state solution. Furthermore it can expose the BDS movement’s real objectives which go far beyond boycotting Israel’s settlements in the West Bank. 

NGO Monitor, which tracks the funding of Israeli rights groups like Breaking the Silence is itself an NGO and not entirely without sin. Its stated aim is to generate and distribute critical analysis and reports on the output of the international NGO community for the benefit of government policy makers, journalists, philanthropic organisations  and the general public. It has been a legally and financially independent organisation since 2007 when it  formally registered as  a non-profit oranisation.  Various critics of NGO Monitor claim it is clearly aligned with the Israeli right-wing.

Breaking the Silence and other rights groups face a formidable threat from legislation planned to limit their foreign funding by requiring senior government officials to approve the donations.

The United Nations is the biggest watchdog of all. In its investigations and reports regarding our region it has frequently shown anti-Israel bias.

Israel’s ambassadors to the United Nations have spent a lot of time and energy refuting official U.N. human rights councils/committees accusations levelled against the IDF. This week   Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, complained   to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon accusing the secretary general’s special representative for children and armed conflict, Leila Zerrougui, of bias against Israel. It didn’t help mainly because Ban Ki-moon himself criticised Israel later in the week showing similar bias.

In the past U.N. fact-finding missions have presented very one-sided reports.

Their prejudicial findings have caused Israeli governments to forgo cooperating with them. The infamous Goldstone Report of 2011 following the 2008-2009 Gaza war is case in point. Later the investigating committee’s chairman Richard Goldstein withdrew a charge made in the report that it was Israel's policy to intentionally target civilians

Leila Zerrougui’s report contrasts sharply with the findings of a High Level International Military Group, made up of 11 former chiefs of staff, generals, senior officers, political leaders and officials from the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Holland, Spain, Italy, Australia and Colombia. The opening statement issued after the group’s visit to Israel said “We were well aware of the allegations made by some governments, the United Nations, human rights groups and the media, that Israel acted outside the laws of armed conflict in Gaza. Some have suggested that the IDF lacked restraint or even deliberately targeted innocent civilians.” ..”Our findings lead us to the opposite conclusion. We examined the circumstances that led to the tragic conflict last summer and are in no doubt that this was not a war that Israel wanted

The war that Israel was eventually compelled to fight against Hamas and other Gaza extremists was a legitimate war, necessary to defend its citizens and its territory against sustained attack from beyond its borders. The Israel Defence Force employed a series of precautionary measures to reduce civilian casualties. Each of our own armies is of course committed to protecting civilian life during combat. But none of us is aware of any army that takes such extensive measures as did the IDF last summer to protect the lives of the civilian population in such circumstances.”

Of course there is a positive aspect of the need to watch the watchmen and their watchers too etc., It creates jobs!

Have a good weekend.

Beni                                                                19^th of June, 2015.