[JTA ] Michael J. Jordan - Many of the anti-Israel activists at the UN anti-racism conference in Durban, South Africa, in 2001 were egged on by Ford Foundation-backed, pro-Palestinian groups. Hoping to head off a similar debacle, Ford says it will not pay for any organization to participate in the follow-up conference to Durban, slated for April in Geneva. Yet Ford today is funding several organizations that engage in the "Durban strategy" - to paint Israel as a "racist, apartheid" state and isolate the Jewish nation through boycotts, divestment and sanctions - according to a months-long JTA investigation. A 2008-09 Ford grant for $305,000 went to the Arab NGO Network for Development, which features a map on its Web site that fails to note the existence of Israel. Beneficiaries of Ford funds include the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, Muwatin: Palestinian Institute for the Study of Democracy, The Palestinian Center for Human Rights, and Miftah: The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy. All these groups signed onto boycott and divestment petitions against "Apartheid Israel."
2008-07-24 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive