BDS International donation accounts frozen for suspected ties to terrorism
"This is a significant achievement in the struggle against the Palestinian boycott organizations that in reality, are driving all the BDS organizations of the world," said Erdan.
By SARA RUBENSTEINUpdated: DECEMBER 22, 2018 20:50BDS News(photo credit: screenshot)
The Ramallah-based BDS International Committee had its online donation account frozen on suspicion of ties to terrorism by its fundraising site Donorbox, according to a Ministry of Strategic Affairs report on Friday.The American website DonorBox, a popular fundraising platform for non-profits which serves as the umbrella organization of the Palestinian Boycott Coalition, announced that it is freezing the accounts of the BDS National Committee (BNC), which operates from Ramallah and is headed by an Israeli resident, Omar Barghouti.DonorBox reached its decision after receiving a complaint from Shurat HaDin–the Israel Law Center with information provided by the Strategic Affairs Ministry that the organization is affiliated with declared terrorist groups and it misleads donors by falsely claiming that it is a US-based charitable organization.“This is a significant achievement in the struggle against the Palestinian boycott organizations, that in reality are driving all the BDS organizations of the world,” said Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan. “We are leading, together with civil-society partners, intensive activity to counter the funding of the BDS campaign by revealing its destructive goals, its antisemitic nature and its connections to terror,” he said.“Our efforts are bearing fruit. We will continue to work to reveal the true nature of BDS, counter its funding and curtail its impact.”Shurat HaDin president Adv. Nitsana Darshan-Leitner said on Friday that: “We have no intention to allow terrorist organizations and their accomplices to raise money online without interference. Fundraising is oxygen to terrorists; we will use every legal way possible to choke off every platform they use to raise funds.“We hope that our successful action against Donorbox will send a clear warning to all online fundraising platforms on the Internet and will ensure that these funds are not used to finance terrorism.”BNC, the Ramallah-based leader of the global BDS movement, consists of 27 Israel-boycott groups. Its first member organization is the Palestinian National and Islamic Forces (PNIF), which includes five internationally-recognized terrorist organizations such as Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Islamic Jihad. The organization leads global boycott and divestment activities from its Ramallah headquarters, and is responsible for numerous BDS campaigns, including against artists and Israel’s banking sector.