Amnesty in 2008: Anti-Israel Obsession

Amnesty in 2008: Anti-Israel Obsession Continues to Undermine Moral Principles
NGO Monitor

May 27, 2009


In 2008, Amnesty again focused disproportionately on Israel’s response to aggression from Gaza, and led the NGO campaigns accusing Israel of “collective punishment” and “war crimes.”

Amnesty’s publications in the region portray Israel as among the worst human rights violators in the Middle East (second only to Iran). In 2008. Amnesty issued more in-depth reports (9) and “Wire” articles (22) on Israel than any other country.
The data indicate that media attention and ideology, in contrast to universal human rights, drive Amnesty’s agenda. Amnesty’s anti-Israel press releases consistently reflect the organization’s role in influencing international public opinion.
Amnesty International’s 2009 Annual Report (for events in 2008) further demonstrates the NGO superpower’s highly biased approach. Amnesty grossly distorts the conflict, selectively reports events to erase the context of terrorism, ignores human rights issues not consistent with the political agenda, and repeats un-sourced and anecdotal claims.

Amnesty promotes an overwhelmingly Palestinian narrative of events, blaming Israel for the end of the Gaza ceasefire and the weapons’ smuggling tunnels under the Egyptian border.

The section on “Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories” employs highly exaggerated language and absurd allegations. Amnesty accuses Israel of “unprecedented use of force” in Gaza, “virtual imprisonment,” and bringing the Palestinians to the “brink of human catastrophe,” and charges that “impunity remained the norm for Israeli soldiers.”

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