‘Critic to Israel’: Document reveals how Israel scrutinised global NGOs

Published 21 July 2026 · politics

An internal government file obtained by Al Jazeera demonstrates how Israel collected data on charities it suspected supported BDS. An official document obtained by Al

An internal government file obtained by Al Jazeera demonstrates how Israel collected data on charities it suspected supported BDS. An official document obtained by Al Jazeera shows how Israel collected information on charities in 2013, singling out some of the world’s most well-known humanitarian organisations for their perceived positions on the Israel-Palestine conflict. The file, a spreadsheet that we accessed via an Israeli ministry website, listed more than 150 charities and basic details, such as the director’s name at the time, the organisation’s address, telephone number, email and area of work. But in a “comments” column, 15 were remarked upon with statements such as “critic of Israel” in the case of France-based Premiere Urgence Internationale, “involved in anti-Israel campaigning” for the Geneva-based Defence for Children International and “highly involved in BDS” – meaning the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign – to describe Mundubat in Spain. The document suggested Oxfam was “active in global BDS efforts” and encouraged NGOs to join “violations of international law” by supporting projects in the occupied West Bank “even if they have not been approved by the Israeli Civil Administration”. Oxfam told Al Jazeera the comments “appear to reflect allegations and interpretations, rather than an objective assessment” of its work. “As a long-established humanitarian organisation operating under rigorous compliance and accountability standards, we reject assertions that are not supported by credible evidence. Oxfam does not support or promote the BDS movement.” The spokesperson said the charity upholds international law and added that Israeli “settlements violate international humanitarian law”. ‘Nothing to do with security’ According to Tania Hary, executive director of Gisha, an Israeli NGO that advocates for the freedom of movement for Palestinians, the document “has nothing to do with security”. Rather, she said, it is “further proof that the Israeli government has been tracking the activities of organisations that do life-saving work for Palestinians living under Israel’s brutal occupation for decades”.

Gisha was not among those named in the file. The spreadsheet was obtained online via the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, then known as Israel’s Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Social Services. The ministry did not reply to Al Jazeera’s request for comment. Many of the comments cite as their source NGO Monitor, an Israel-based organisation that describes itself as a nonpartisan research institute. NGO Monitor’s website, however, lists campaigns that include “Mapping the anti-Israel NGO network in the US”. A report on the website reads: “Palestinian NGOs deny the very existence of Palestinian terror.” Mayssoun Sukarieh, senior lecturer in the Department of International Development at King’s College London, described NGO Monitor as a “right-wing” organisation “that monitors people who are pro-Palestine”. Israel felt ‘the bite of BDS’ in 2013 The document was created in October 2013, a time when the BDS movement against Israel was gaining momentum. That year, the renowned physicist Stephen Hawking refused to join a conference in Israel over the occupation of Palestine, several student bodies adopted academic boycotts and Canada’s largest Protestant church, the United Church of Canada, began a campaign against goods made in Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law. Experts said the file shows Israel’s methodology in monitoring charities and the BDS movement four years before it passed a law barring entry to anyone supporting the campaign. In 2013, “Israel was starting to feel the bite of BDS, and the ministry wanted to cross-reference different aspects of these organisations,” Sukarieh said. “Perhaps they were collecting data to reach that law,” she added, referring to the 2017 ban on BDS supporters. Giovanni Fassina, director of the European Legal Support Center, said the list was compiled in the “hype of the years Israel was passing laws and fighting BDS”.