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Countering Attacks on the Palestine Movement in Europe with Agnese Valenti
1.6k Plays9 days ago
Agnese Valenti of the European Legal Support Center joins Yara Hawari to examine how Israeli regime-backed NGOs are driving coordinated attacks on Palestinian civil society and pro-Palestine solidarity movements across Europe.
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Transcript
Challenges Faced by Palestinian Organizations
00:00:00
Speaker
All the Palestinian civil society organizations are doing ah an amazing job, but the problem are the pro-Israeli lobby groups and the the network organized by the state of Israel, because they are not independent, but start by exposing that network. They are not like normal NGOs.
00:00:20
Speaker
And if this is done collectively by the Palestine Solidarity Movement, which has a big agency, then concrete results can be reached.
00:00:34
Speaker
Rethinking Palestine is brought to you by Ashabaka, the Palestinian policy network. Ashabaka is the only global independent Palestinian think tank whose mission is to produce critical policy analysis and collectively imagine a new policymaking paradigm for Palestine and Palestinians worldwide.
00:00:51
Speaker
For more information or to donate to support our work, visit al-shabaka.org. And importantly, don't forget to subscribe to Rethinking Palestine wherever you listen to podcasts.
Legal and Financial Hurdles
00:01:07
Speaker
As the genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing across Palestine rages on, Palestine-focused organizations and solidarity groups around the world are facing lawfare measures by pro-Israel groups aimed at minimizing their capacity to continue their work and eventually to shut them down entirely.
00:01:24
Speaker
This has included efforts to have funding withdrawn through unfounded allegations and accusations, which are often amplified by mainstream media outlets. Now, none of this is coincidental timing. Indeed, at a moment where everyone in the Palestine movement ecosystem is working to stop the genocide and end Israeli impunity, these attacks are designed to divert time and energy away from the most important work at hand.
00:01:51
Speaker
In response to this increasingly hostile environment, the European Legal Support Centre, the ELSC, has produced two toolkits to deal with defunding and de-risking of Palestinian civil society organisations focusing on Europe.
00:02:05
Speaker
Joining us on this episode of Rethinking Palestine to tell us more about the toolkits and the broader context is Agnese Valenti, who is a senior legal officer at the ELSC. Agnese, thank you for joining me.
00:02:17
Speaker
Thank you for having me today. it's a pleasure to be here with you. Can you tell us a bit more about the context of defunding and de-risking of Palestine-related organizations?
00:02:30
Speaker
Sure. um The funding and the risking are two ah phenomena that have increasingly affected civil society organizations ah in the past years, especially Palestine-related organizations.
00:02:42
Speaker
These are ah not neutral or ah financial or regulatory processes, but they are political tools used to suppress dissenting voices and curtail ah activism.
00:02:53
Speaker
Specifically, the funding refers to the withdrawal or reduction of financial support by mostly institutional donors, while the risking refers to actions taken by financial institutions to withdraw or limit services to clients they perceive as a high
Political Tools of Suppression
00:03:11
Speaker
risk.
00:03:11
Speaker
And what's really important to to highlight is that the primary drivers behind the funding and the risking are coordinated SMER campaigns. led by a pro-Israel lobby groups, like, for example, the well-known NGO Monitor, many of which are ah directly affiliated with or receive support from the Israeli government.
00:03:33
Speaker
And these groups employ a systematic strategy of intimidation and delegitimization to weaken CSOs so that advocate for Palestinian rights. and So they... target donors, media and platforms with baseless allegations towards the CSOs, the civil society organizations. and So, for example, they send the inflammatory allegations to donors so stating that the CSOs have ties with terrorism and or have ah published antisemitic statements and donors are pressured and are afraid to reach the ah counter the terrorism financing and anti-money laundering legislation.
00:04:12
Speaker
I'm going to refer to this as CFT and AML legislation. So they suspend the funds, they carry out in internal investigations, and in some instances they they cut the funds.
00:04:23
Speaker
And the same happens with the financial institutions. ah um The risking occurs because financial institutions are bound by a restrictive ah ah CFT and AML regulations. So fearing legal repercussions, ah they ah rely on a compliance checks using ah open source search and the risk aggregator software to um assess potential risks on clients.
00:04:47
Speaker
And these tools, or also the compliance officers carrying out the online compliance checks, often flag Palestinian individuals and CSOs working with Palestine based on biased online content and smear campaigns led by the same pro-Israel lobby groups and media.
00:05:06
Speaker
To me, something really interesting and hilarious ah is that um Palestine is broadly categorized as high-risk country, ah making financial institutions even more hesitant to adopt a risk-based approach towards a c society organizations.
00:05:23
Speaker
ah So instead of conducting enhanced due diligence, many institutions opt to block transactions or close accounts to avoid the perceived risks.
00:05:34
Speaker
Which is hilarious because Israel, on the contrary, is not considered as high-risk country. so Proceedings directed to or stemming from illegal ah Israeli settlements move freely within the financial market ah in and within the European but also US financial market, while transactions directed to or from Palestine are always either blocked or under enhanced due diligence by financial ah institutions.
Impact of Lawfare
00:06:03
Speaker
Although the allegations are usually baseless, they have enough visibility to trigger internal reviews within the donor agencies agencies and the and the financial institutions. so And the the goal of the campaigns is clear, which is to disrupt, to discredit and to ultimately dismantle civil society organizations that challenge Israel's repressions.
00:06:28
Speaker
And these tactics ah have real consequences and can result indeed into the funding and financial derisking, but also connect to the the the funding and financial derisking. There is always ah the delegitimization and reputational damages caused to the organization.
00:06:45
Speaker
And both the funding and the risking contribute to the broader trend of the shrinking of civic space for civil society organizations. And economic damage is one of the tools used by the pro-Israel lobby groups and the Israeli government to try to silence Palestinian voices and and shrink their space of action.
00:07:03
Speaker
Because without funds, civil society organizations are prevented to operate. They cannot fulfill their mandate. which include to hold Israel accountable for its human rights abuse, primarily.
00:07:17
Speaker
Agnese, perhaps you can give us some more concrete ah examples that you yourself ELSC have been dealing with. So we have been monitoring incidents of repressions towards civil society organizations for the past ah three years, and we have registered the multiple incidents of the funding and ah the risking.
00:07:40
Speaker
But what's ah um crucial is that since October 7, 2023, we have seen a dramatic increase in these attacks. um So from 2022 to we have monitored incidents ah of the funding and of which occurred after October and thirty six ah the risking ah incidents um twenty eight of them took place postoc october seven twenty twenty three And these numbers likely underestimate the problem as many incidents go unreported. them
00:08:17
Speaker
So we suggest that civil society organizations, but also individuals facing incidents of repression in Europe, because our mandate is focused on Europe,
00:08:28
Speaker
We suggest that they report these incidents of repression to us, if it comes to the funding, the risking, but also any other type of incidents of repression related to the support of the Palestine and related to the Palestinian Solidarity
Role of Media in Smear Campaigns
00:08:45
Speaker
Movement.
00:08:45
Speaker
And these incidents can be reported through our website. ah There is a form named Report an Incident, and you can fill the form with as many information as you have.
00:08:56
Speaker
And we will either simply monitor the incidents or if there are there is a legal basis to act somehow in terms of legal advice, legal support, or to refer the case to ah one of our trusted lawyers,
00:09:10
Speaker
we will contact the person or the organization reporting ah who reported the incidents and we will provide some sort of ah support. And it's not just the pro-Israel groups that are causing damage. You mentioned also that media outlets are involved. Can you tell us a bit more?
00:09:31
Speaker
So um Israeli lobby groups ah rely ah heavily on media outlets to amplify their smear campaigns, after feeding them with these unsubstantiated allegations which are then circulated without proper scrutiny.
00:09:46
Speaker
So this repetition creates a narrative that appears credible by virtue of its visibility. Even when there is no evidence, even if when evidence is he's never presented, rather than critically interrogating the sources or political motivations behind the claims from the lobby groups, mainstream media platforms act as like echo chambers, legitimizing accusations that directly harm Palestinian civil society organizations. um
00:10:18
Speaker
This dynamic not only reinforces institutional decisions based on fear rather than fact, but also contributes to hostile public environments where Palestinian voices are automatically viewed as suspicion.
00:10:33
Speaker
So the consequences of this complicity are far-reaching and I would like to report ah you a case which is emblematic of how the the mainstream media ruined completely the reputation of ah of an organization and of ah the president of this organization.
00:10:51
Speaker
So ah this is a case we've been dealing with. Two association associations and their president ah have been subjected to a smear campaign for over 10 years in a European country.
00:11:02
Speaker
This campaign was led by national newspapers and public ah TV channels, which accused the president of having ties to terrorism and associations of tunneling money to proscribed groups.
00:11:13
Speaker
These allegations ah were never substantiated with solid evidence. and But their repeated coverage built a damaging narrative, of course. Early in the campaign, several banks closed both the personal and organizational accounts without providing any reason.
00:11:29
Speaker
After October 7, three more banks cut ties and other banks, all other banks, refused even to consider new account application. So the associations are basically left ah without access to any bank account.
00:11:43
Speaker
They couldn't pay salaries, file taxes or deliver services. ah So and they are essentially paralyzed. Then um the situation escalated ah because on October 7, 2024, the designated many organizations as and individuals as terrorist organizations and individuals, and the U.S. s designated both the president and one of the associations, claiming that they had funeral money to proscribed groups.
00:12:14
Speaker
This designation was reported widely in ah ah European media, reinforcing the smear narrative. So banks closed all accounts associated with the president or the organization.
00:12:27
Speaker
And why? Because indeed, ah financial institutions often voluntarily comply with US sanctions, even if they are not obliged to. And um legally speaking, there is ah not too much ah we can do because ah but potentially, yes, but the smearing, it's so huge that and it's really hard to counter it. ah And in addition, there is also the problem of anti-money laundering and counter-the-finance of terrorism legislation, which is extremely broad.
00:12:57
Speaker
And this calls also sort of like lot of gray areas in this legislation and financial institutions use these grey areas and and also pro-Israeli lobby groups use this grey area and to invoke this legislation in order to close the bank accounts without any reason.
00:13:18
Speaker
So this case is not just about reputational harm, and it shows how media complicitly, ah when combined with political pressure, ah can eliminate the operational capacity of an organization overnight.
00:13:32
Speaker
And of course, the case is not isolated and it's emblematic of a broader intentional strategy to shrink CX space, to silence dissent and to eliminate independent voices under the guise of legal and financial compliance.
00:13:49
Speaker
Well, perhaps I can take this opportunity to share firsthand experience that Ashabaka has been dealing with alongside the support of the ELSC and our legal team on on this very issue.
00:14:01
Speaker
and you can read more about this on our website under the press release section. So back in October 2023, as we were just beginning to grapple with the start of the genocide in Gaza, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs announced that it was launching an investigation into various Palestinian NGOs and Israeli human rights organizations that it provided funding to for breaches of codes of conduct, of which
00:14:34
Speaker
We were one um one of the organizations. Now, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the FDFA, then publicly announced indicated that its partnership with Ashabaka was terminated as a result of the investigation and that Ashabaka was found to be in violation of the FDFA's code of conduct policy.
00:14:58
Speaker
This was to our massive surprise um because it was not true at all. In fact, the decision to not renew the partnership policy with Ashabaka was actually made prior to October.
00:15:11
Speaker
And more than that, there was no breach of the Code of Conduct policy. And this was confirmed to us in November in an email. So there was this massive disparity with what was being said publicly and what was being said privately. And, of course, the public discourse was was very inflammatory.
00:15:31
Speaker
And in the media, it was reported, you know, that the Swiss had... cut their funding to us and there was a lot of other defamatory conclusions made about the organization.
00:15:41
Speaker
And what ensued then was 16 month long engagement between Ashabaka, our legal team and the Swiss FDFA. And recently they finally agreed to quietly amend the public communications where these false claims exist.
00:15:59
Speaker
Now, there are still some falsehoods in the public domain, including a media interview with the FDFA chief of communications of all people. um And there are references to other Palestinian NGOs.
00:16:13
Speaker
Now, of course, one of the consequences of this whole story was that time, energy and resources were diverted to deal with this situation. And we know that that is also part of the point.
00:16:26
Speaker
um But it was important to us to correct the record um and also to to set a precedence. We know that Palestinian civil society organizations have been rendered reliant on outside funding, but that does not mean that they are without agency.
00:16:42
Speaker
Now, part of the negotiation process, and this is where it gets really interesting, Shabaka obtained files that exposed the FDFA's rationale for its 2023 investigation.
00:16:54
Speaker
This correspondence confirms that the FDFA considered terminating contracts and suspending funding for organizations which referenced acts of genocide and war crimes committed by Israel.
00:17:09
Speaker
And the legal analysis provided to FDFA staff included the following statement. The publications of incriminating remarks, more or less explicit, against Switzerland or its state partners regarding support for genocide or any other war crime can have damaging consequences for Switzerland and its foreign policy.
Influence of NGO Monitor
00:17:28
Speaker
We therefore believe that a violation of the code of conduct by NGOs in question is plausible in light of the information provided to us and that a termination of the contractual relationship would be possible.
00:17:40
Speaker
And the correspondence further revealed that at least some of the organizations investigated were targeted based on prior briefings the Swiss government received from a non-independent source.
00:17:53
Speaker
Alarmingly, the Israeli organization NGO Monitor, which you mentioned previously, Agnese, is a well-known group dedicated to suppressing pro-Palestinian advocacy.
00:18:04
Speaker
NGO Monitor actually publicly claimed credit for instigating this repressive scrutiny. And so for a country such as Switzerland that prides itself on neutrality and on being the home of international law,
00:18:20
Speaker
this is quite embarrassing, or at least it should be. um But I think for Palestinians, this kind of behavior is not particularly shocking. We understand the the structural nature of colonialism and white supremacy, which ultimately shapes our relationships with with others.
00:18:37
Speaker
And I think the genocide has highlighted even more the hypocrisy and double standards of states and entities which use international law when it suits them as a cover.
00:18:48
Speaker
And so whilst this incident is minor in the grand scheme of things, I think it was really important for us institutionally ah to share our experience so that others within our ecosystem can learn and and possibly benefit from it.
00:19:04
Speaker
Agnese, do you have anything you wanted to add on on our particular case? Because of course you and the ELSC were were involved. Thank you so much for this overview, comprehensive overview.
00:19:18
Speaker
um Yes, what I can add is that to actually we decided to challenge ah the reputational damages ah ah connected ah to the decision of the the Swiss Minister of Foreign Affairs and because exactly to counter expose the strategy behind pro-Israel lobby groups. So as you mentioned, we found out through the engagement with the SDFA that ah behind the defunding decision
00:19:51
Speaker
of the FDFA there was NGO monitor and this is really crucial and important ah ah because ah we need to start ah ah showing, we need to start ah going public with what's behind the defunding and so to expose the smear campaigns led by these lobby groups and this is what we have tried to do with this case. um And this case as we already said, part ah of a much wider pattern where political critique is treated as misconduct. Because also when you were accused of violating the code of conduct, but not only you, also the other organizations who were under review by the tweets,
00:20:38
Speaker
Basically, what was under review? We really don't know, but statements that ah amount to simply political critique and ah statements that for sure fall within the right to freedom of expression of ah the civil society organizations. ah And the implications of this case go beyond Al-Shabaka and also beyond the ah Palestine because they raise ah serious questions about the donor government's use of funding as leverage to silence dissenting voices, ah particularly in contexts where colonial violence and ah structural oppression are being named and and challenged. so
00:21:22
Speaker
This financial support cannot be conditioned on political compliance, on compliance to the political agenda of European governments.
00:21:33
Speaker
But ah political also critical political views need to be always recognized by the the governments, by the the donors, as ah freedom of expression of the organizations themselves.
Building Resilience and Counter-Advocacy
00:21:48
Speaker
If you're enjoying this podcast, please visit our website al-shabaka.org where you will find more Palestinian policy analysis and where you can join our mailing list and donate to support our work.
00:22:01
Speaker
And so perhaps building on that a bit, perhaps you can expand a little on what can be done by organisations individually and collectively to push back in similar situations.
00:22:13
Speaker
First, I would like to start by saying that, of course, we are in legal organizations, but what we have experienced and through these three years of experience ah specifically ah supporting organizations facing ah the funding and financial derisking, we have learned that ah legal remedies are often ah limited when it comes to the funding and derisking for different reasons.
00:22:39
Speaker
First, due to the counterparty type, because donors and banks are powerful actors. Second, because of the involved laws. Why? Because ah donors and banks have like 99% of the cases a contractual right to early terminate ah the contracts without a reason, but just by giving a prior notice. um There is also limited available legislation and case law in support of the civil society organizations ah when it comes to right to a bank account.
00:23:07
Speaker
And more specifically, in case of the risking, It depends if there is a partial or total denial of financial services because, for instance, if a bank closes a bank account of an organization but this but this organization is able to open another bank account, then there is no room for any legal action.
00:23:31
Speaker
While if there is a total denial of financial services and perhaps a discrimination pattern can be shown be shown behind, the the closure of the bank accounts, then there is room also for some sort of legal action.
00:23:46
Speaker
When it comes to the defunding, it depends if we face a threat or an implemented defunding. So in case of a threat, for example, the threat of the funding is when the donors send clarification letters to civil society organizations so telling them that they might be in violation of the anti-discrimination clause and incitement to hatred clause and anti-Semitism clause of their grant agreements due to to to some statements that they have published in their websites or social media. um
00:24:19
Speaker
In this case, ah there is room for negotiation and discussion with the donor by showing to the donor that perhaps these statements fall within the right to freedom of expression of the organizations themselves and perhaps ah also adding relevant case law from the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice ah on Freedom of Expression.
00:24:43
Speaker
In addition, ah litigation is costly, it's the energy draining and shifts the focus of the civil society organizations from their core mandate to defend themselves from baseless allegations.
00:24:55
Speaker
And for this reason, we have developed the Know Your Rights toolkit that you have mentioned before on the funding and the risking to help civil society organizations to understand the legal and regulatory landscape behind ah the the funding and the risking, to document and respond to allegations and to engage donors and banks more effectively.
00:25:22
Speaker
The toolkits include practical templates and checklists to to respond to donors and banks, key like legal arguments around freedom of expression, discrimination, freedom of associations, and also strategies to expose pro-Israel lobby groups ah and they the bias in their reporting.
00:25:41
Speaker
These toolkits can serve as a standalone tools or be used as a basis for more formal legal intervention or referrals. But um I will now give you some examples of actions and precautions that the civil society organizations ah should consider and have in place.
00:25:57
Speaker
And then, of course, you can find the ah more information on and more tips ah ah in the toolkits themselves. The toolkits will be officially launched in May and we will hold Know Your Right sessions online and in the Netherlands, Britain and Germany.
00:26:15
Speaker
So when it comes to ah what the CSOs can do individually, individually CSOs should proactively implement robust internal systems to ah prevent or mitigate the funding and the risking threats.
00:26:37
Speaker
So, serial society organizations should have in place ah internal policies such as a code of conduct or statutes that reflect ah ah the organization's commitment to human rights, non-discriminations and other fundamental rights.
00:26:55
Speaker
and ensuring alignment with ethical and legal standards while being ah aware of politically motivating vetting requests from donors that they should avoid. And the my general suggestion is also that civil society organizations have always a positive ah and proactive engagement ah with donors and with financial institutions ah since the beginning.
00:27:22
Speaker
showing always transparency and compliance. That's why the audits and the due diligence protocols and internal policies are extremely important. ah Another important thing, and which we can see that it's ah most of the time lacking, is that ah to ensure that all communication with donors and the financial institutions is ah in writing. ah including follow-up summaries after calls, to maintain a clear record and accountability. Because many times it happened that in some cases, like the banks, for example, in one case, they mentioned that they were closing the account of the organization because they appointed the Palestinian president.
00:28:02
Speaker
This is what they told the organization during the phone call. But then when... the organization asked the bank to write the reasons for determination, the bank never mentioned the reason they mentioned during the phone call.
00:28:17
Speaker
So that's why it's important to ah keep track of each and every communication with the donors and with the banks. When it comes to banks, it's even more important because banks conduct ah periodic checks on clients.
00:28:33
Speaker
both during the onboarding phase where the banks ask the clients for specific documents and also during the whole relationship.
00:28:44
Speaker
So also in this case, ah it's important ah to first, when you open the bank account with the with the bank, to ask immediately the bank what their attitude towards civil society organizations if they can provide you with their risk assessment policies or give you some sort of indications.
00:29:07
Speaker
if ah So engage proactively with the financial institution, even if many times the financial institutions are reluctant to do so, but try to fund a financial institution that is not reluctant in um engaging ah with civil society organizations.
00:29:23
Speaker
And always inform the bank in case you are going to ah conduct ah a risky transaction or, for example, if you're going to transfer money to Palestine because, as I mentioned, Palestine is considered as high risk, you can reach out to the bank and explain them that you are going conduct this transaction and the reason why.
00:29:47
Speaker
It seems overcompliance, it is, but unfortunately this is the only way to keep the accounts ah open because banks are ah more and more scared of breaching CFT and AML legislation.
00:30:01
Speaker
And then in case, because the banks, when you open a bank account with a bank, they also ask you for your core activities ah and mandate. In case during your relationship you change,
00:30:13
Speaker
your mandate, your core activities, ah so there is a deviation ah from the activities you were supposed to carry out, you need to promptly inform the bank because if they see any any change in your structure, in your activities, they could block your bank account. They shouldn't because before shutting down a bank account, ah banks should conduct enhanced due diligence But the risking is exactly this thing that banks, when they perceive a risk, instead of handling the risk, they prefer to de-risk.
00:30:48
Speaker
And so instead of managing these risks arising from, let's say, the activity of a certain um organization or the transaction directed to Palestine, they prefer to de-risk and block the transactions or um cancel on the bank accounts.
00:31:05
Speaker
So these are just a few tips on what the ah civil society organizations can do and when they are subject to a threat of the funding and financial derisking.
00:31:17
Speaker
um We suggest to again ah request information from the donors and the financial institutions about the reasons. so Try to engage in a discussion and discussion with them and the then draft the legal analysis supporting your position. It might not sort any effects, but it shows that you are um willing ah to deal and to engage ah with them.
00:31:41
Speaker
We at the ELSE can help civil society organizations drafting a ah letter to the donors or to the banks containing reference to relevant legislation, ah humanitarian exemptions and also legal arguments protecting ah the civil society organization and countering the approach adopted by ah financial institutions.
00:32:03
Speaker
Legal action, as mentioned, can be ah seeked only in ah limited situations. When it comes to collective pushback, ah we believe that it's necessary to heighten awareness regarding the funding and the risking strategies ah through monitoring, followed by targeted public outreach and advocacy, particularly given the low success rates in legal cases.
00:32:29
Speaker
So it's really important ah pre-emptive engagement and coordinated advocacy with donors and financial institutions. um At the moment, there is no structured or proactive unified group consistently engaged in day-to-day advocacy on Palestine in Europe, both with donors but especially with financial institutions.
00:32:51
Speaker
In contrast, pro-Israel lobby groups are well organized and operate with a clear and strategic agenda.
Agency and Legal Resources for Pushback
00:32:59
Speaker
The attempts at the funding take place because the donors are pressured by pro-Israeli lobby groups, as they are afraid of being named and shamed and or to violate CFT and AML legislation.
00:33:10
Speaker
Therefore, a long-term counter-advocacy strategy by pro-Palestine groups should effectively take place, maybe like targeting one or two major donors so or, um for example, the European Commission.
00:33:23
Speaker
A long-term counter-advocacy strategy is urgently needed that exposes the influence of ah pro-Israel media and lobbying efforts on risk assessments and that pushes for genuine engagement with clients, which is completely lacking, as well as the adoption of fair and case-by-case enhanced due diligence policies.
00:33:44
Speaker
And when I speak about exposing the role of a pro-Israel lobby group, in our opinion, and after these three years of ah work on the funding and the risking, and after three years of like getting that behind the the funding and the risking, there are the smirk the campaigns of pro-Israel lobby groups, what we believe is that it's really important when building the advocacy strategy to take into account the exposure of the unreliability of the pro-Israel lobby groups and the unreliability of the evidence they rely upon.
00:34:20
Speaker
And this needs to be exposed both individually but also collectively through this systematic advocacy strategy. So on one side, it's enforce it's important to expose the unreliability of actors.
00:34:34
Speaker
Most allegations, as mentioned, come from pro-Israel lobby groups that have been shown to act in coordination with the Israeli governments. and These groups are not independent, but they are politically motivated entities.
00:34:47
Speaker
um The Israeli government has actually a strategy aimed at silencing critics through ah aggressive tactics and through the use of this international network of non-governmental and quasi-governmental actors that have been working for the last decade with Israeli authoritarianism.
00:35:04
Speaker
But it's important to show to the donors and to the financial institutions that the allegations they receive are not credible because the actors themselves are not credible. In addition, it's important to expose also the unreliability of the evidence that the pro-Israeli lobby groups send to donors and to media and publish on online media outlets. so Indeed, pro-Israel lobby groups rely on evidence stemming from Israeli military courts, for example travel bans and records of administrative detention.
00:35:42
Speaker
But records based on decisions issued by Israeli military courts are unreliable and should not be considered in any legal determination. Indeed, um decisions by Israeli authorities regarding convictions and charges for criminal offenses, but also records of administrative detentions and arrests of Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory, are issued in violation of the accused person's basic rights to a fair trial.
00:36:11
Speaker
resulting in a clear denial of justice. ah And there are a lot of sources that we have collected and stored ah and at the LSE and that we can provide the civil society organizations with two to show to the donors that they cannot, they can't, it's impossible to rely on this evidence because the evidence ah is not, it's biased and it's unreliable.
00:36:32
Speaker
And this is something that is completely lacking ah in ah in the advocacy. the exposure of the role of these pro-Israeli lobby groups that are behind the SMEA campaigns.
00:36:47
Speaker
and So if the key takeaways really are that Palestinian civil society organizations and those working on Palestine do have agency, both individual and collective, ah to to push back against these kinds of attacks and that there are legal resources out there that have been specifically designed and and catered for this moment that we're we're currently living in.
00:37:10
Speaker
Resources that have been put together by the European Illegal Support Centre, but also organisations like Power Legal in the US. And um I think it's the the point that you made about needing to think of a wider strategy for civil society is a really important point because Even though we do have these you know wonderful resources that have been put together by by people working really hard on these issues, um that those resources aren't finite. And so that that wider strategy is is sorely needed and thinking in the the long term.
00:37:52
Speaker
Yes, I agree because that are like all the Palestinian civil society organizations are doing ah an amazing ah job, but but ah the problem are the pro-Israeli lobby groups and the the network organized by the state of Israel because they are not independent, as mentioned. So it's really hard to counter that network, but but so start by exposing ah that it is not an independent network, it's not They are not like normal NGOs.
00:38:23
Speaker
I believe it's it's a first good step. And if this is done collectively by the Palestine Solidarity Movement, which has a big agency, then concrete results can be reached.
00:38:37
Speaker
I think we'll leave it there. But Agnes, thank you so much for joining me on on this episode of Rethinking Palestine. And thank you so much for all your hard work at the European Legal Support Center. Thank you so much for having me today.
00:38:54
Speaker
Rethinking Palestine is brought to you by Ashabaka, the Palestinian policy network. Ashabaka is the only global independent Palestinian think tank whose mission is to produce critical policy analysis and collectively imagine a new policymaking paradigm for Palestine and Palestinians worldwide.
00:39:11
Speaker
For more information or to donate to support our work, visit al-shabaka.org. And importantly, don't forget to subscribe to Rethinking Palestine wherever you listen to podcasts.