Switzerland Allegedly Funding Radical Anti-Israel NGOs

The Swiss government has been accused of sending substantial sums to anti-Israel NGOs under the cover of front organizations, The Jerusalem Post reported on Monday night.

Switzerland donates almost $60 million to humanitarian projects in the Middle East, but some of it is funneled to radically anti-Israel and anti-Semitic groups.

“Switzerland finances in different ways organizations in Israel and the Palestinian territories that call for the annihilation of Israel and for the death of Jews,” wrote Dominik Feusi, senior editor of the daily Basler Zeitung, which published an exposé of the matter.

Since 2013, the Swiss have sent nearly $700,000 to a human rights office in Ramallah whose real activity is spreading anti-Semitism. The office is financed by Switzerland, along with Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, the report said.
The Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, which promotes the boycott against Israel, is another recipient of Swiss monies.

The watchdog NGO Monitor said on Monday that these disclosures indicate the urgent need for reform of the Swiss government’s humanitarian projects overseas.

“Parliamentary oversight over and investigation of Swiss government funding of these anti-peace NGOs is very important,” said Olga Deutsch, director of the European desk of NGO Monitor. “Other countries are doing the same and the Swiss MPs can set an example. It is clear that the millions of Swiss francs going to NGOs, including hate groups through secret processes, cannot continue.”
In response, Silvia Müller, a spokeswoman for the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, asserted Switzerland’s high moral principles:

“Switzerland works together with organizations that uphold democratic values and principles and work for human rights and humanitarian international law. Switzerland chooses its partners on the basis of their expertise and their contribution to a desired goal. With the aid of contractual mechanisms, it is guaranteed that Swiss money only serves the attainment of the agreed-upon goals,” the Post quoted her as saying.