“The soldiers are the grandchildren of the Nazis’ victims, the Nazis’ survivors. They have come here to consume food quickly and consume life quickly. This is the true image of Israel.” So goes a news story posted on the website of the Nazareth-based NGO I’lam: Media Center for Arab Palestinians in Israel (tinyurl.com/m385me). Founded by Arab Knesset Member Hanin Zoabi, I’lam does not hide its agenda: to question the legitimacy of Israel.
In 2000, Zoabi, a self-described Palestinian, co-founded the NGO I’lam, where she later served as director.
In an interview with the Bulletin in March, MK Zoabi stated that she supported Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons and that she is not loyal to the state of Israel as currently constituted.
Zoabi also has had kind words to say about terrorism. She stated to Australian news outlet GreenLeft, “We don’t live in the territories, we cannot throw stones and we cannot participate in the legitimate resistance against occupation.”
I’lam is also is funded largely by Washington DC-based New Israel Fund, an American Jewish philanthropic foundation, which also sponsors Israeli-Arab NGOs Adalah and Mossawa. All these groups call for the removal of Israel’s Jewish identity.
Zoabi, as director of I’lam, helped draft and signed the Haifa Declaration, which called for the end of Israel as a Jewish state.
I’lam has claimed that the Hebrew media contains “encouragement for killing and destruction” and “call[s] for the destruction of cities…and killing children.”
I’lam also stated, “The Israeli media should not shape public opinion that is separate from its surrounding environment [the Arab world]…” and demanded that “the Israeli media to avoid the…patriotic performance that it adopts.”
I’lam claims that “tomorrow [Jerusalem] will be the focal point of the Arab and Islamic world...” I’lam’s publications are replete with terms such as “massacre” and “ethnic cleansing.”
In a video about the October 2000 Arab riots, I’lam accuses Israeli security forces of executing Arabs “…in cold blood at a range of two meters.”
In 2008, the organization held a conference in Ramallah with journalists from the PA which “aimed to develop and facilitate working relationships…”
The connection of I’lam to the Palestinian Authority is reflected by its hired personnel.
The current director of I’lam, Sanaa Hammoud, is a former consultant to the PLO’s Negotiations Affairs Department. Wadea Awawdy, a former board member, has worked as a correspondent for the official Palestinian Authority publication Al-Ayyam.
I’lam’s International Relations Coordinator Nasser Victor Rego has called Hamas a “genuinely emancipatory liberation and resistance movement…”
Nasser did not respond to requests for comment.
I’lam board member Anton Shalhat has previously been prevented from leaving Israel due to a recommendation from the security establishment that he may “harm the security of the state.”
In an e-mail statement to independent journalist Harris Phillipson, an NIF spokesperson wrote, “The New Israel Fund does not require ideological conformity from its grantees … What we look for in grantees is the ability and track record to make a difference in advancing real social change in Israel, and a general commonality of values. Supporting I’lam’s work in no way signifies that NIF agrees with their position on the right of return or other difficult issues, only that we expect them to conform to our very rigorous standards for using our grant to execute their work.”
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