Amnesty International’s Deceit

Amnesty International [Amnesty], the internationally known human rights organization, has for many years engaged in anti-Israel agitation under the guise of advocating for the rights of Palestinians. Amnesty activities are intended to undermine Israel’s standing in the world and hamper the Jewish state’s capacity to defend itself. The group’s actions against Israel are often synchronized with other groups with a similar agenda (like Human Rights Watch) and the United Nations Human Rights Council. Such activity is especially visible during Israeli military operations in response to terrorist attacks.

Using the language of human rights, Amnesty lodges trumped up charges against the Israeli Defense Force, accusing it of war crimes and disproportionality in its responses to terrorist attacks. Amnesty often relies on dubious witness testimony, bolstered by controversial interpretations of laws and regulations relating to the legitimate use of force. In parallel to these accusations, Amnesty campaigns to render the Jewish state defenseless in the face of terrorist attacks, for example by lobbying the United States government to deny Israel crucial support for its military operations.

And so on Aug. 4, Amnesty’s web site contains a call to “Stop US shipment of fuel to Israel’s armed forces as evidence of Gaza war crimes mounts.” Characteristically presenting its charges in the context of a feigned evenhandedness, Brian Wood, who has the title of “Head of Arms Control and Human Rights” at the organization, states

“The USA and Iran are both guilty of enabling violations of international law by providing military support to the conflicting parties. Without the supply of military technologies neither side in the Gaza conflict could have repeatedly violated international law with impunity on such a scale. Until violators on both sides are held accountable, no shipments of military supplies that can be used for serious violations should be permitted,”

Of course, the effect of such calls for denying military supplies falls entirely on Israel. Iran and other suppliers of weapons to Hamas are not in the least bit affected by Amnesty’s call for an arms embargo – and Amnesty knows that. The result, if Amnesty’s demands were to be implemented, would be to give terrorists free reign to continue to launch rockets onto Israeli communities. In reality, Israel is the only target of Amnesty’s campaign.

Amnesty also published Updates that superficially reinforces its sham evenhandedness. But as always, the outrage is overwhelmingly directed at Israel, not at Hamas. Amnesty cannot find evidence of Hamas using civilians as human shields. It obviously doesn’t look very hard, as the Islamist organization’s own spokesman effectively called for citizens to act as human shields.

The war-crimes investigations Amnesty calls for start and end with Israel’s pre-ordained guilt. They are given the seal of approval from a U.N. Human Rights Commission dominated by serial human rights abusers doctrinally aligned against the Jewish state.

Amnesty International promotes itself to impressionable young Americans at the high school and college level.
People of conscience need to expose and publicize the moral rot at the core of Amnesty International. One place to start would be exposure of Amnesty’s major donors and their political and ideological allegiances.