Politico reports that the US administration is expected to issue a statement on the issue • According to a source, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is pushing for this • The reason: Pro-Israel groups claim that the organizations support BDS • The impact on the organizations' continued activities is unclear at present
The Trump administration is considering declaring some prominent non-governmental organizations working for human rights - including Amnesty International, the Human Rights Watch and Oxfam - to be antisemitic, Politico reported.
The website claims that the official statement is expected to arrive from the Foreign Ministry as early as this week.
If implemented, it could provoke a storm among civilian groups and could lead to litigation.
Critics of the move fear it will lead other governments to take steps that will deepen the damage to organizations.
According to an assistant congressman linked to State Department officials, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is working to advance the proposal.
It was argued that the ministry's staff opposed it for fear that it would restrict freedom of expression, lead to lawsuits and harm the integrity of administrative law.
Pompeo's motives, according to sources who spoke with Politico, are to prepare the ground for a future presidential run and receive support from pro-Israel and evangelical voters, who are part of Trump's base.
The statement will be based on a report by Alan Carr, the U.S. envoy to fight anti-Semitism, that U.S. states do not support these organizations (including the economic aspects), and call on other governments to take the same step.
The report states that the bodies allegedly support the BDS and oppose the settlement project. Although they did not express a real position on the boycott movement, pro-Israel groups believe these are on the side and therefore claim anti-Semitism. Bob Godflo, CEO of Amnesty USA, He called the allegations "baseless."
The immediate impact on organizations is unclear.
The U.S. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, for example, do not rely on government funding. So does the U.S. Representative of Oxfam, but its affiliates in other countries may use U.S. money, depending on the circumstances.
