Soccer Dad: A foreign investment in israel

February 28, 2006

A foreign investment in israel

Peace Now describes itself as a mainstream, Zionist movement. Go to there website and you'll find this description of its ideology.

Now, within a framework of security for Israel with the goal of better securing the Zionist vision of a Jewish and democratic state, it is time to extend the right of sovereignty to the Palestinian people.

Peace Now's support for removing Israelis from Yehuda and Shomron is also portrayed by Peace Now as supported by most Israelis. In this essay from last year, Peace Now's CEO, Debra DeLee wrote

For all these reasons, most Israelis support removing settlements.

(One would think that someone who knows so much about Israel would get little things right when writing about Israel. At the beginning of the essay she quotes a political commentator Yossi Yerter. The name is Verter not Yerter.)

Though not quite as openly as I had expected Peace Now (or its American branch, Americans for Peace Now) describes itself as being both Zionist and popular in Israel. In fact, it is neither.

Since 1992 the only Israeli candidate for Prime Minister to win election while embracing a platform that can be said to reflect the views of Peace Now was Ehud Barak. (In 1992, one of Yitzchak Rabin's promises was that he would never talk to the PLO. It was the machinations of Shimon Peres and Yossi Beilin that brought about Oslo.) Most recently Amram Mitzna was soundly defeated when he promoted unilateral withdrawal from Gaza. Yossi Beilin's pro-concessions at all costs ideology was also soundly defeated as he left Labor for Meretz and didn't receive enough votes to join the Knesset in 2003. So whenever Peace Now talks about its support in Israel, it is not talking electorally.

Now an article in the Israeli newspaper Mekor Rishon shows that a majority of Peace Now's funding comes from outside Israel. The people who put their money where their mouth is in supporting Peace Now are foreign governments not Israelis.

As Tel-Chai Nation observes

Five European states and Canada have donated money to their moonbat activities, and include Britain (220,000 pounds), Norway (2.4 million kroners), Finland (50,000 Euros), Holland, Germany and Canada (900,000 Euros altogether).

Peace Now, as pointed out above, is a foreign-funded political organization, serving the interests of these foreign governments. They certainly don't need the help of the common rank-and-file citizen, that's for sure.

But according Tel Chai Nation, quoting from the article, this doesn't much bother Peace Now

Internal documents of the extreme left-wing organization "Peace Now" that reached Makor Rishon fully confirm old suspicions on the right: the bulk of the movement's activities are funded by foreign governments. The director of the organization, Yariv Oppenheimer, said in response to the expose, "The question is not where the money came from, but where it goes to."

Where does it go? A commenter on Joe Settler's blog answers that question

... you might want to take a look at the 'Americans for Peace Now', here:
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/4989.htm

Note particularly, the 'efficiency', of $0.12 [which means out of every dollar some sucker gives them, twelve cents are actually used for anything but 'overhead'].

Also, note the CEO compensation - $200,638, which is 12.26% of total...

Maybe that's why, when you click on the link for Financial Information at the APN website you get this

To receive copies of annual reports, registration information, and 990 forms, please contact the Americans for Peace Now Chief Financial Officer Mark Bilsky at (202) 728-1893

It's not the sort of thing you want to advertise: that your organization devoted to "doing good" is an opportunity for its officials to do quite well.

I previously commented on Peace Now's latest activities here and here.

Technorati tag: Peace Now.