Jew-Hating Liberal Left-wing FORD Foundation
The Ford Foundation: Funding International Terror?
By Steven Bernstein
November 12, 2003
American philanthropic organizations have given substantial amounts of
money
to Palestinian charities over the years, but their dollars may have
funded a
great deal more than charity. There is reason to believe that some of
this
money may have gone from philanthropic foundations, through Palestinian
NGO's, into the hands of terrorist organizations. The Ford Foundation
is one
philanthropic group whose money has made its way, through various
twists and
turns, into terrorists' hands.
With assets of approximately $10 billion, the Ford Foundation is
headquartered in New York City, with 13 offices worldwide. The Ford
Foundation played a large part in funding the United Nations World
Conference Against Racism, which occurred in Durban, South Africa,
ending
just two days before September 11, 2001. The stated purpose of this
Conference was to unite all of humanity against racism. However, the
Conference quickly turned into a circus of anti-Semitic and
anti-American
acts. The two main events were the Official Conference and the NGO
Forum. At
the NGO Forum, Jewish delegates were verbally and physically harassed,
and
the Official Conference revived the UN document equating Zionism with
racism, rescinded by the UN in 1991.
The Palestinian Committee for the Protection of Human Rights and the
Environment, also known by the acronym LAW (Land and Water), played a
key
role in narrowing the focus of the Conference, on Israel, America, and
Jews.
LAW members were on the Conference steering committee, and LAW
organized a
trip to Gaza for South African delegates, to demonstrate that Israel is
a
"racist, apartheid state." The Ford Foundation plays a key role in
funding
LAW. Since 1997, LAW has received $1.1 million from the Ford
Foundation.
However, despite signs displaying Jewish caricatures and anti-Semitic
cartoons, Ford has denied that any of their grantees engaged in hate
speech,
or were involved in anti-Semitic activities.
However, Ford also funds the Palestinian NGO Network, or PNGO, an
organization that comprises at least 90 Palestinian NGO's. From 1999 to
2002, PNGO received several Ford grants, totaling $1.4 million, and an
additional $270,000 supplemental grant. From available data, PNGO
receives
at least $350,000 annually from Ford.
Edwin Black, in a four-part article, "Funding hate: Ford Foundation
finances
anti-Israel Activists," written for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency,
states,
"The overwhelming majority of Ford's monies for the Middle East are
granted
to pro-Palestinian and Islamic rights groups." One of these groups,
which
Black discusses, is the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, in Gaza. The
Al
Mezan Center received $100,000 from Ford, for "community based advocacy
work
on economic, social and cultural rights in Gaza," which translated
means the
disruption of Israeli Defense Force activities.
An example of "community based advocacy work" can be found at Al
Mezan's
website, www.mezan.org. On the front page is a picture of Rachel Ailene
Corrie, a young American woman who was accidently killed by an Israeli
bulldozer, which was clearing brush in front of a house known to
contain
entrances to tunnels used by terrorists. Corrie was an "activist" with
the
International Solidarity Movement--ISM, a group allied with Al Mezan.
She
was attempting to stop the bulldozers from demolishing the house.
Earlier,
she was photographed burning an American flag in Gaza, while ranting
anti-American propaganda. Yet underneath her picture on Al Mezan's
website
is the phrase "Killed for Justice."
The description of her death, under the link "Conditions of the
Incident,"
is similarly bogus. There is no mention of why the bulldozers were
there,
and the two pictures above the text lead the reader to believe that
Ms.Corrie was killed in cold blood. Yet the evidence suggests that the
bulldozer in the picture did not kill her, and that her death was in
fact,
accidental. The rest of the text describes ISM as non-violent, however,
assault rifles and other munitions have been found at ISM sites, an
indication that ISM is not a peaceful organization. Another Palestinian
organization, the Health, Development, Information and Policy
Institute,
received two Ford grants totaling $135,000.
At their incendiary website, www.palestinemonitor.org, there is a link
titled "Boycott Israeli Goods," which leads to another website,
www.boycottisrael.org. At this website, the reader is met with a list
of
American companies to boycott. These include IBM, Disney, The Limited,
Nestle, Sara Lee, Starbucks, and Home Depot, each one an American
company.
The reason for their listing is also given. Starbucks is on the list
because
Howard Shultz, Starbucks' Chairman, "is an active Zionist." Disney is
listed
because the "Millenium exhibition at the Epcot Centre in Florida
depects
Jerusalem as the centre of Israel. Jerusalem is an illegally occupied
city
according to international law and can never be the capitol of Israel,"
and
so on. These are a few examples of how Ford Foundation money is used.
However, Ford has made grants, amounting to several million dollars, to
Israeli and American Jewish peace organizations. For example, Ford gave
$250,000 to Rabbis for Human Rights, for "rabbinically based"
educations
efforts "supporting human rights policies by Israel in the West Bank
and the
Gaza Strip." Rabbi Arik Ascherman, Executive Director of Rabbis for
Human
Rights, commented to the effect that their "experience with Ford has
been
very positive." However, he also said warily, "I would like to think
the
goals of the Ford Foundation do not include anti-Semitism." Jewish
delegates
to the UN Conference on World Racism might not agree.
Ford has also funded the New Israel Fund since 1988. They recently
announced
an award of $20 million to the New Israel Fund. On their Web site,
www.nif.org, The New Israel Fund announces several laudable programs.
One
is "Oggen: Association for the Eradication of Corruption in the
Business and
Public Sectors in Israel." The stated goal of this program is "to
eliminate
corruption in Israel's business and public sectors." The goal of
another
program is "to advance the status of Arab women; and to develop
leadership
among Arab women on a wide range of public issues." Yet Arabs in Israel
currently have more rights and freedoms than Arab citizens of almost
any
other country. Arabs in Israel certainly have more rights and freedoms
than
Jews have in Arab countries. Why is it that Israel must change? Why do
we
need a "New Israel"? What has Ford done to improve the lives of Jews in
other Middle Eastern countries? The cessation of terrorist violence and
the
acceptance of Israel by Palestinian Arabs will do more to advance the
rights of Arab men and women than monetary awards and grants.
However, on September 24, 2001, President Bush released Executive Order
13224, an Executive Order on Terrorist Financing; "Blocking Property
and
Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten to Commit,
or
Support Terrorism." It states in part, "I also find that because of the
pervasiveness and expansiveness of the financial foundation of foreign
terrorists, financial sanctions may be appropriate for those foreign
persons
that support or otherwise associate with these foreign terrorists."
Pursuant
to this order in June 2003, the U.S. Agency for International
Development
(USAID) informed U.S. tax-exempt organizations that if they partnered
with
Palestinian NGO's, those NGO's would be required to sign a
Certification
Regarding Terrorist Financing. This statement vows that no funds ever
have
been given or ever will be given to terrorist groups.
What was the response of recipient Palestinian NGO's?
Outrage. A short time ago, Al Mezan's director remarked to the effect
that
the requirement is illegal, should be boycotted, and a list of any
institutions signing the Certification should be published. Another
PNGO
member stated to the effect that there should be no conditions attached
to
funds receive by the Palestinian NGO's. Yet another PNGO member stated,
"Ford does not make us sign this agreement." If funds received by PNGO,
from
Ford Foundation and other charities, are not used for terrorist
activity,
then why the outrage? This question seems self-evident. Certainly, the
Ford
Foundation has no vested interest in financing international terrorism,
but
it must make a far better accounting of where its funds are going -- or
face
the consequences.
--
Left-wing liberals are EVERYTHING they accuse the right of being.
They are mean, vicious, hateful, greedy, cold-hearted, selfish,
intolerant,
bigoted and racist.
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