NGOs Archives - UN Watch https://unwatch.org/category/b-secondary-categories/ngos-en/ Monitoring the UN Promoting Human Rights Tue, 26 Aug 2025 11:23:57 +0000 en-US hourly 1 ICRC Head of Office posts Hamas propaganda, says “f*** neutrality” in leaked Facebook posts https://unwatch.org/icrc-head-of-office-says-f-neutrality-in-leaked-facebook-posts/ Tue, 30 Apr 2024 12:49:32 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=575268 GENEVA, April 30, 2024 — The International Committee of the Red Cross must immediately terminate their Head of Office Haythem “Ethan” Abid for openly participating in anti-Israel protests, publicly supporting Hamas videos while accusing Israel of “terrorism,” all in violation of the ICRC’s strict neutrality obligations.  “Humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality” […]

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]]> GENEVA, April 30, 2024 — The International Committee of the Red Cross must immediately terminate their Head of Office Haythem “Ethan” Abid for openly participating in anti-Israel protests, publicly supporting Hamas videos while accusing Israel of “terrorism,” all in violation of the ICRC’s strict neutrality obligations. 

“Humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality” are the fundamental principles listed prominently on the website of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In its code of conduct the very first rule is that “the conduct of ICRC employees must be consistent with the Fundamental Principles…” and there are separate provisions that “employees must refrain from taking a public stance on situations or events and from referring to political or military situations in their communications with third parties.”

Yet recently leaked Facebook posts show Haythem Abid, ICRC head of office in Algeria and director of the Libya sub-delegation, promoting and engaging in anti-Israel protests, calling Israel’s fight against Hamas “terrorism,” and provocatively stating online that he is no longer neutral, writing “Fuck neutral shit.”

In real life, he works as Haythem Abid:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On social media, he goes as Ethan Abid, but without hiding his face — and in fact openly showing his ICRC identity such as his cover photo next to an ICRC plane.

Haythem Abid (aka “Ethan Abid”) was hired at the ICRC in August 2018 as a Field Protection Delegate, and has since climbed the ranks to become an ICRC Head of Office.

In flagrant violation of the ICRC code of conduct, Abid has taken a public anti-Israel stance, posting online, attending political rallies, and explicitly renouncing his neutrality.

In this Facebook post from October 24th, 2023 — with the ICRC on his Facebook profile cover photo — Abid shows himself holding a large Palestinian flag at the giant “Free Palestine” rally of Sunday, October 22nd, which was co-organized by “Montreal4Palestine,” an antisemitic group that handed out candies on October 7th to celebrate the Hamas massacre, and which was subject to judicial sanction after its protesters hurled abuse at Jews in front of the Montreal Jewish community center.

 

Another Facebook post from October 27th, 2023 shows Abid circulating a flyer for another pro-Palestine rally co-sponsored by the “Palestinian Youth Movement,” which openly calls for the destruction of Israel and glorifies terrorist “martyrs.”

 

On December 2nd, Abid went live on Facebook attending another pro-Palestine rally:

 

In other Facebook posts shared on October 25th, Abid calls the current conflict in Gaza a “genocide.” He subsequently says that what Israel is doing in Gaza “is not fighting terrorism, it is terrorism.”

 

In another Facebook post that he published on October 8th, the day after the October 7th massacre, Abid posted a photo of the alleged killing in 2000 of Muhammad al-Durrah. In fact, that alleged incident was found to be staged and no one was killed or even hurt. But Abid’s intention was clear: he was attempting to justify the killing, maiming, raping, and torture of innocent civilians that took place in Israel on October 7th, as merited retribution.

 

On November 14, 2023, Abid posted a Hamas propaganda video on Facebook that praises the fact that Israel has been unable to defeat Hamas, claims Hamas treats hostages well, shows scenes of October 7th, and claims that God is on Hamas’ side so Israel will always fail.

 

 

Finally, if there was any doubt of Haythem’s contempt for the ICRC’s fundamental principle of neutrality, Haythem made his position exceedingly clear with a Facebook post on October 18th, 2023, where he said: “Fuck neutral shit, today being neutral is taking a side.”

 

Haythem Abid should be fired from the ICRC immediately for breaching the ICRC code of conduct and values.

But a larger questions remain: How many other Haythem Abids exist within the ranks of the ICRC?

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]]> Haythem Abid ICRC – LinkedIn Screenshot 2024-04-18 at 10.35.20 AM WhatsApp Image 2024-04-18 at 10.11.37 WhatsApp Image 2024-04-18 at 10.11.36 WhatsApp Image 2024-04-18 at 13.00.53 (1) WhatsApp Image 2024-04-18 at 10.11.36 (2) WhatsApp Image 2024-04-18 at 10.11.36 (1) WhatsApp Image 2024-04-18 at 10.11.37 (2) WhatsApp Image 2024-04-18 at 13.00.53 Screenshot 2024-04-18 at 1.38.28 PM Screenshot 2024-04-18 at 1.38.17 PM Screenshot 2024-04-18 at 1.48.36 PM WhatsApp Image 2024-04-18 at 10.11.37 (1) Whistleblower from Human Rights Watch: “HRW has so little credibility for most Israelis they do not even trust it with their corpses“ https://unwatch.org/whistleblower-from-human-rights-watch-hrw-has-so-little-credibility-for-most-israelis-they-do-not-even-trust-it-with-their-corpses/ Sat, 25 Nov 2023 18:52:45 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=568993 Farewell email from Human Rights Watch’s Danielle Haas to her colleagues: Dear Human Rights Watch, Because we live in dangerous times and this is a human rights organization dedicated to free speech, open dialogue, and rights for all, I’m sending a final email before leaving HRW. I’m hopeful, but wary, that an organization with a […]

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]]> Farewell email from Human Rights Watch’s Danielle Haas to her colleagues:

Dear Human Rights Watch,

Because we live in dangerous times and this is a human rights organization dedicated to free speech, open dialogue, and rights for all, I’m sending a final email before leaving HRW. I’m hopeful, but wary, that an organization with a mission to “Expose. Investigate. Change” can do just that when it comes to its own practices regarding its Israel work, with authenticity and without retaliation.

When I joined Human Rights Watch over 13 years ago as senior editor, I did so with years of experience in journalism covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and time in academia.

Human Rights Watch seemed to be a good blend of both; a leading human rights organization dedicated to rigorous research, focused on international law and human suffering, with a mandate to bring about change. I believed in, and stayed for, the broader mission.

But as the organization grew and its composition shifted, so too did the focus, tone, and framing of its Israel-Palestine work. Following the Hamas massacres in Israel on October 7, years of institutional creep culminated in organizational responses that shattered professionalism, abandoned principles of accuracy and fairness, and surrendered its duty to stand for the human rights of all.

HRW’s initial reactions to the Hamas attacks failed to condemn outright the murder, torture, and kidnapping of Israeli men, women, and children. They included the “context” of “apartheid” and “occupation” before blood was even dry on bedroom walls. These responses were not, as some have since characterized it internally, a messaging misstep in the tumult after the Hamas assault. It was not the failure of a few to follow robust internal mechanisms of editing and quality control, as others have claimed.

It did not happen in a vacuum.

Rather, HRW’s initial response was the fruition of years of politicization of its Israel-Palestine work that has frequently violated basic editorial standards related to rigor, balance, and collegiality when it comes to Israel.

It was the expression of years of select historical and political framing that could always contextualize and “explain” why Jewish Israeli lives were lost in Palestinian violence.

And it was the domination of HRW’s Israel-Palestine work by some voices that drown out others to the point where those who feel uncomfortable with HRW’s approach and processes – and they do exist – feel silenced.

To be clear: focus on, and criticism of, Israeli policies and actions is valid for a human rights organization.

But what I know from over 13 years at HRW is:

* Israel has featured in the World Report annual global review of human rights I oversaw for more than a decade almost as extensively as world powers including China, Russia, and the United States, and that the Israel-Palestine chapter has always been longer than those of rights-abusing goliaths such as Iran and North Korea.

* The 2021 “Apartheid” report, hailed internally in its goal to affect “narrative change,” sealed the slide. HRW knew its careful, legal argument would rarely be read in full. And there is little doubt it has not been by those – including Hamas supporters – who now bandy about the term with appalling ease. It’s a one-word gift to those who want to characterize Israel in as few words as possible with as little nuance as possible, a go-to “context” for any fate that befalls Israel and Jewish Israelis; 120 HRW researchers recently signed a petition calling for its inclusion in a press release about Israeli hostages.

* Internal fora nominally dedicated to both Israel and Palestine were, in practice, mostly dedicated to expressions of outrage over Israeli abuses and their consequences, both real and speculated. The focus on Israel dominated those spaces both before and after October 7, including the links shared; the space given to colleagues to articulate their lived realities and trauma; and ultimately advocacy.

* Some types of Israeli-Palestine expertise were valued more than others. There was no value placed on having a Jewish Israeli staff member who spoke Hebrew, had covered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for international media, a rich academic background, and 17 years’ immersion in the country. The profile of those entrusted with HRW’s-related work is different. The only contact I had with Israel-Palestine content over the years, despite working on virtually every other area of the world, was as World Report editor. I received thinly veiled insinuations and pushback when I highlighted factual inaccuracies in the Israel-Palestine chapter that were later corrected.

* HRW has so little credibility for most Israelis they do not even trust it with their corpses. Zaka, the emergency responder group that collected body parts after the Hamas massacres, said it did not want to talk to HRW because its members did not have faith the organization would not misuse and distort their eyewitness accounts of the carnage they had seen.

* When I named the constellation of my experiences over years to a senior manager as feeling a lot like antisemitism, he replied: “You are probably right.” He did not ask or do anything further.

Three weeks after the October 7 massacres, Human Rights Watch told staff it was “proud” of its response to the crisis.

The self-affirmation failed to address output that included, but is not limited to:

HRW’s first matter-of-fact announcement following the October 7 massacres that barely addressed what had happened, contrasting starkly with its thousands of statements over the years condemning a range of human rights abuses:

“Palestinian armed groups carried out a deadly assault on October 7, 2023, that killed several hundred Israeli civilians and led to Israeli counterstrikes that killed hundreds of Palestinians,” Human Rights Watch said in releasing a questions and answers document about the international humanitarian law standards governing the current hostilities.”

An early press release that could easily be construed as blaming the victim:

“The unlawful attacks and systematic repression that have mired the region for decades will continue, so long as human rights and accountability are disregarded.”

A piece on Israeli attacks on Gaza being devastating for Palestinians with disabilities that failed to mention the devastating impact of Hamas’ attacks on Israelis with disabilities. They included those murdered on October 7, among them a 17-year-old girl with muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy killed at a music festival; those who are now disabled because of the attacks; and Israeli hostages with pre-existing health conditions ranging from heart problems to diabetes.

Lack of context when using controversial figures that came from a Hamas-run ministry:

“[Washington Post] Reporter Adam Taylor quoted Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch Omar Shakir, who said, “Everyone uses the figures from the Gaza Health Ministry because those are generally proven to be reliable. In the times in which we have done our own verification of numbers for particular strikes, I’m not aware of any time which there’s been some major discrepancy.”

It is not logical, not possible, and not the case that everyone at HRW agrees with its pre- and post-October 7 Israel work or feels safe. Instead, it is a deeply worrying indication that staff are self-censoring because they fear isolation if they speak and that nothing will be done even if they do. It is a warning that they are cowed by the way in which critics of Human Rights Watch are talked about internally, and by the tone and content of banter before and during meetings, in listservs, and in message chats.

Maybe they’re also not reassured by responses like the one senior management sent me regarding a recent email I sent them, in which they said they “appreciate” my “feedback” and “learn” from it.

I hope so, but I doubt it.

The serious professional concerns I raised over the years with the Program Office, General Counsel, and MENA managers never went anywhere. They were always received – it appeared – through a filter of me being a Jew and/or Israeli, even though Muslim and Arab staff and those with overt political backgrounds are trusted as advocates and to oversee research.

Also, my comments are not “feedback.”

Rather, they amount to a charge and a challenge to Human Rights Watch: tackle the long-standing issues infecting your Israel work and the hostile internal climate that Hamas’ attacks brought into sharp relief but did not birth. Face down the conscious and unconscious biases that inform them. Address inaccuracies by omission.

Do so not because you are under pressure to be seen to be listening, but because you respect the professionalism and expertise of your many thoughtful, serious colleagues from diverse backgrounds who cannot do their work without fear of stigma and retaliation if they speak.

Do so because you care about the health of the organization, upholding your internal standards, and ensuring human rights advocacy is not a fig leaf for political beliefs, or worse.

Do so because you want not just to claim your mantle of moral authority, but to earn it.

Dani

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]]> The End of Amnesty International? https://unwatch.org/the-end-of-amnesty-international/ Mon, 08 Aug 2022 10:25:51 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=557901 By Hillel Neuer Amnesty International had to have known Russia would weaponize their report on Ukraine to justify killing Ukrainian civilians. But the organization’s leaders are blinded by knee-jerk anti-Westernism, anti-Americanism and anti-NATO views, which they associate with Western-backed Ukraine. Amnesty’s moral compass is broken. For some, this is a revelation. Not for others: over […]

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]]> By Hillel Neuer

Amnesty International had to have known Russia would weaponize their report on Ukraine to justify killing Ukrainian civilians. But the organization’s leaders are blinded by knee-jerk anti-Westernism, anti-Americanism and anti-NATO views, which they associate with Western-backed Ukraine. Amnesty’s moral compass is broken.

For some, this is a revelation. Not for others: over many years, we sounded the alarm as a once-mighty organization began to embrace terrorists, racists, homophobes, misogynists and antisemites.

https://twitter.com/mateirosca/status/1556410272025550848

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]]> Amnesty joins with Iran to single out Israel for “apartheid” https://unwatch.org/amnesty-joins-with-iran-to-single-out-israel-for-apartheid/ Mon, 04 Apr 2022 16:27:16 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=553283 In a United Nations debate, after the Iranian regime, Syria, Venezuela, and Amnesty International accused Israel of “apartheid,” UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer took the floor to refute their lies, and call out their hypocrisy and double standards: Share: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Mr. President: We heard the world’s most racist regimes, joined by so-called anti-racists, saying “Israel practices […]

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]]> In a United Nations debate, after the Iranian regime, Syria, Venezuela, and Amnesty International accused Israel of “apartheid,” UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer took the floor to refute their lies, and call out their hypocrisy and double standards:

Share: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

Mr. President: We heard the world’s most racist regimes, joined by so-called anti-racists, saying “Israel practices apartheid.”

But I just visited the capital of Israel. I heard 200 minaret loudspeakers call Muslims to pray.

I saw Arabs and Jews walking together in the same parks, malls, and hospitals. In the Knesset, an Arab Muslim party is a central part of the coalition government.

Those claiming that the existence of the State of Israel is a racist endeavor—like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which manufactured massive reports making these claims—are telling terrible lies.

In recent years, these groups have accused major democracies of systemic racism. If so, why did they single out Israel, 0.11% of the world population, as the only democracy on the planet to be targeted by such an investigation and report?

Why no apartheid report on China herding one million Muslim Uighurs into camps?

Why no apartheid report on the 900,000 Black slaves in Mauritania, a member of this Council?

In 2015, at its annual assembly, Amnesty voted against doing a report on antisemitism. Why not?  “Unfortunately,” they tweeted, “we can’t campaign on everything.”

And why of all countries in the world is Amnesty campaigning to boycott Israel? Asked in an interview, the gist of its reply was: “Well, you have to begin somewhere.” Indeed.

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]]> Amnesty joins with Iran to single out Israel for “apartheid” - UN Watch In a United Nations debate, after the Iranian regime, Syria, Venezuela, and Amnesty International accused Israel of “apartheid,” UN Watch's Hillel Neuer Amnesty International,pinned Amnesty chief said Israel ‘murdered’ Arafat, and that Peres ‘admitted’ it https://unwatch.org/amnesty-chief-said-israel-murdered-arafat-that-peres-admitted-it/ Sun, 11 Apr 2021 19:21:30 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=549541 Agnes Callamard, the new head of Amnesty International, once declared that PLO chief Yasser Arafat was murdered, the Israelis did it, and President Shimon Peres admitted this. All of which are lies. NYT Interview of Shimon Perres where he admits that Yasser Arafat was murdered. #Israel http://t.co/zdjdrjdN — Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) January 12, 2013 On […]

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]]> Agnes Callamard, the new head of Amnesty International, once declared that PLO chief Yasser Arafat was murdered, the Israelis did it, and President Shimon Peres admitted this. All of which are lies.

On the contrary, the New York Times interview which she cited says that Peres protected Arafat, and justified his peace negotiations with him.

Arafat died at age 75, in a French military hospital near Paris. A French inquiry found no evidence that he was “murdered.”

UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer called on Callamard to apologize and to delete her false tweet.

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]]> Human Rights Watch chief mocks Jews https://unwatch.org/human-rights-watch-chief-mocks-jews/ Wed, 02 Sep 2020 18:26:35 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=546776 Following is an open letter from UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer to Human Rights Watch chief Ken Roth, which went viral on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/hillelneuer/photos/a.424734911728/10160003094311729/?type=3&theater   Dear Ken Roth, Today you revealed you love peace like the harlot revealed her love for the baby whom she asked King Solomon to cut into two. You chose to use […]

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]]> Following is an open letter from UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer to Human Rights Watch chief Ken Roth, which went viral on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/hillelneuer/photos/a.424734911728/10160003094311729/?type=3&theater

 

Dear Ken Roth,

Today you revealed you love peace like the harlot revealed her love for the baby whom she asked King Solomon to cut into two.

You chose to use a Yiddish word—something you never do—purely to mock Jews celebrating the Israel-UAE peace accord.

Otherwise, you never use Jewish words or ideas, or make any positive Jewish references at all.

Your contemptuous actions, comments and attitude toward Jews, Judaism and the Jewish state over decades make one thing clear: you are ashamed of your Jewish identity.

That is why, every single day, you devote your foul, fervid fury to depicting the Jewish state in Nazi-like terms.

This year alone, you accused Israel of “war crimes” 10 times more than you did against Iran, Syria, Hamas, Russia, China and Venezuela — put together. Likewise, over an 18-month period in 2017-2018, you devoted more than 70% of your tweets alleging “illegal” acts to the criticism of only one single country: Israel. By contrast, only 1% of your tweets accused Syria, Russia, Iraq, Libya or Yemen of the same.

Even the founder of your organization, my late friend Robert Bernstein, saw how your pathological self-hatred led you down the dark path of defending terrorist groups that seek Israel’s destruction — and Bob denounced you for it in the New York Times.

Human rights is not your real motive, but invoking its precepts grants you the cover of virtue even as you act out your bigotry, aggression and hostility toward a people that, throughout history, has always been the easiest and most career-enhancing to target.

It’s time for you to go — and if not, I call on Human Rights Watch to fire you.

Sincerely,
Hillel C. Neuer
Executive Director
United Nations Watch
Geneva, Switzerland

 

Ken Roth’s every comment on the UAE-Israel peace accord has been negative or condemnatory:

 

 

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]]> Amnesty International declares jailed Gaza activist Rami Aman a ‘prisoner of conscience,’ calls for his immediate release https://unwatch.org/amnesty-international-declares-jailed-gaza-activist-rami-aman-a-prisoner-of-conscience-calls-for-his-immediate-release/ Thu, 07 May 2020 01:04:39 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=529487 GENEVA, May 6, 2020 — Amnesty International has declared Gaza peace activist Rami Aman, detained by Hamas since April 9th for holding a video call with Israeli peace activists, to be a “prisoner of conscience,” and the group called for his “immediate and unconditional release.” The statement is significant because the world’s largest group dedicated to freeing political prisoners had for […]

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]]>

GENEVA, May 6, 2020 — Amnesty International has declared Gaza peace activist Rami Aman, detained by Hamas since April 9th for holding a video call with Israeli peace activists, to be a “prisoner of conscience,” and the group called for his “immediate and unconditional release.”

The statement is significant because the world’s largest group dedicated to freeing political prisoners had for the past month refused requests to issue any statement for Mr. Aman and other members of his Gaza Youth Committee arrested for the video call — even as Amnesty’s former researcher was the one who had pressed Hamas to arrest Mr. Aman, as reported by the New York Times. (See full story below on Hind Khoudary.)

A number of other human rights organizations and activists have been outspoken since Aman was arrested, yet Amnesty persistently refrained from issuing any statement on the case, restricting itself to making guarded and indirect replies to media queries.

“We absolutely condemn arrests of individuals because of practicing their right to peaceful expression and assembly,” said Saleh Hijazi, Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East, in a reply to Agence France Presse last month, taking pains not to mention Mr. Aman’s name, or to issue any specific statements, petitions or tweets calling for his release.

UN Watch, an independent Geneva-based non-governmental human rights group, led a campaign urging Amnesty chapters worldwide, and its Chair Sarah Beamish, to speak out for Aman’s release. Thousands shared tweets and asked Amnesty chapters to speak out.

“Better late than never,” said Hillel Neuer, UN Watch’s executive director. “We welcome Amnesty’s important designation that Rami Aman and his fellow activists are prisoners of conscience.”

“However, Amnesty’s statement appears for now to be buried as a research document on their website, while it’s important that they pro-actively campaign for Aman’s release, as they do for other causes, including with petitions, press releases and social media posts.”

Above: Hind Khoudary prompted Hamas last month to arrest peace activist Rami Aman, according to the New York Times. 

Amnesty’s Former Researcher Had Reported Rami Aman to Hamas

According to the Times, Ms. Hind Khoudary “posted angry denunciations on Facebook of Mr. Aman and others on the call, tagging three Hamas officials to ensure it got their attention.”

The next morning, Hamas arrested him for “betrayal of our people and their sacrifices.”

On her Facebook page when she made the post, Khoudary had prominently listed herself as an Amnesty International employee.

The London-based human rights organization had previously described Khoudary as an “Amnesty International Research Consultant” and an “Amnesty International worker.” When the controversy broke, however, the group said she was only a “freelancer.”

In wake of the controversy days after Aman’s arrest, Facebook deleted Khoudary’s Facebook post where she had tagged the Hamas officials. However, the screenshot is preserved here.

Human rights activists condemned Khoudary’s actions.

“You should be ashamed of yourself,” Peter Bouckaert, a former senior official with Human Rights Watch, wrote to Khoudary.

“It is disgusting that a so-called ‘journalist’ got an activist for dialogue arrested by Hamas. Hind was in a journalist group I run on Facebook and I kicked her out immediately,” he added on Facebook.

In Khoudary’s original post from April 9th, she tagged Hamas media office chief Salama Marouf, Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad, and Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman, Iyad Al-Bozom.

Hours later, Mr. Aman was arrested, and in an official Hamas statement, Al-Bozom declared that the activist’s peace dialogue was a “crime” amounting to the “betrayal of our people and their sacrifices.”

For a timeline on the arrest of Aman, the controversy in Gaza, and Amnesty’s response, click here.

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]]> Rami Aman and GYC – web photo of Hind Khoudary on Amnesty – web Timeline: The Disappearance of Rami Aman & Amnesty International https://unwatch.org/the-disappearance-of-rami-aman-amnesty-international-timeline/ Wed, 06 May 2020 22:50:44 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=528875 Timeline: Hamas’ Arrest of Rami Aman & Amnesty International April 6: Rami Aman, founder of a Gaza youth activist group, conducts a Zoom video call with more than 200 Israeli and Gaza peace activists. An invitation to the Zoom conference was posted on Facebook for an opportunity to “open a channel of communication between Gazans […]

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]]> Timeline: Hamas’ Arrest of Rami Aman & Amnesty International

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April 6: Rami Aman, founder of a Gaza youth activist group, conducts a Zoom video call with more than 200 Israeli and Gaza peace activists. An invitation to the Zoom conference was posted on Facebook for an opportunity to “open a channel of communication between Gazans and Israelis.” During the call, Aman encourages participants to believe in peace and continue advocating for change.

April 8: Amnesty International’s former research consultant Hind Khoudary denounces Rami Aman in a series of vituperative Facebook posts, denouncing Aman here, here and here. In another post (screenshot), she tagged three Hamas officials in order to call their attention to Rami Aman and his Zoom call.

Khoudary’s actions are soon condemned privately and publicly by a fellow Palestinian journalist for “endangering someone’s life.”

Screenshots of her posts are in this thread:

 

 

April 9: Hamas authorities arrest Rami Aman. He disappears, and has not been heard of since. His arrest is announced on Facebook by Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman Iyad El-Bozom, and reported by Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, and many others. 

April 9: Islamic Jihad condemns Rami Aman.

Another group, the Association of Palestinian Independent Personalities, distanced itself from Rami Aman (who apparently had listen a connection to the group), and it praised Hamas’ actions, saying:

“We affirm our respect for and appreciation of the [Hamas] security forces to prosecute all those who engage in such behaviors that contradict our national values and harm our people’s interests, and we demand that that they hold them accountable.”

April 10: The New York Times reports on the arrest of Rami Aman, and on the particular role played by Hind Khoudary: “He [Rami Aman] came in for vituperative criticism online, and early Thursday morning, a freelance Gaza journalist, Hind Khoudary, posted angry denunciations on Facebook of Mr. Aman and others on the call, tagging three Hamas officials, including Mr. Al-Bozom, to ensure it got their attention.

New York Times Gaza reporter Iyad Abuhweila would come under scathing attack from Palestinian groups in Gaza for having reported Khoudary’s role. One Hamas-linked social media account pointed the finger at the Times in this video (at 3:40).

April 11: Long-time Human Rights Watch official Peter Bouckaert condemns Khoudary for reporting Rami Aman, and removes her from a private Facebook group. “You should be ashamed of yourself,” Bouckaert writes to Khoudary.

In a post on his Facebook feed, Bouckaert adds:

It is disgusting that a so-called ‘journalist’ got an activist for dialogue arrested by Hamas. Hind was in a journalist group I run on Facebook and I kicked her out immediately. Conflicts are resolved through dialogue and understanding, not hatred. Feel free to disagree with me, I need to free up some friend space! You make peace with your enemy, not your friends.

April 12: At about 2:00 am Gaza time, Facebook deletes Hind Khoudary’s April 8th post which had denounced Rami Aman to Hamas. Khoudary herself subsequently reported that Facebook had deleted her post.

April 12: UN Watch calls for the release of Rami Aman and is the first to point out that Hind Khoudary was affiliated with Amnesty and that her Facebook profile page, even at the time that she denounced Rami Aman, listed herself as working with Amnesty International. UN Watch calls on Amnesty International to launch an inquiry into why they hired someone with such an overt record of supporting terrorism. UN Watch repeatedly urges Amnesty to speak out.

April 12:  Hind Khoudary doubles down by justifying her actions and decrying “normalization” with Israel, calling dialogue with Israeli peace activists an unacceptable “crime” that ignores the role of “Israeli state and citizens” in the “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians. Khoudary censures Palestinian peace dialogue and engagement with Israelis as “collaboration with enemies.” See more comments here.

Khoudary makes a series of posts bitterly complaining about New York Times reporter Abuhweila for having told the world about her role in reporting Aman to Hamas without ever asking her. (Most are now unavailable due to Khoudary disabling her Facebook account.)

In one later tweet, she wrote “I hope New York Times starts asking people before they highlight them in their articles, take their permission, and stop writing their own assumptions and analysis on the behalf of others.”

April 12:  The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate issues a statement condemning UN Watch for having called out Khoudary, and singling out the New York Times’ journalist in Gaza for not obtaining Khoudary’s permission before reporting her role:

The Journalists Syndicate also reminds of the necessity to adhere to the profession and not to publish any information and attribute it to anyone without obtaining their approval because this is considered a professional violation, as happened by one of the fellow journalists working for an American media out of the Gaza Strip, where he referred to colleague Hind in a previous report published on the 10th of April, without consulting her or obtaining her permission, which resulted in defamation of her through platforms of the occupation government, including UN WATCH.

It is noteworthy that his colleague Al-Khudari worked as a reporter in the Gaza Strip with several Arab and international institutions over the past four years and is well known for her high professionalism and is an integral part of the Palestinian media.

April 13: UN Watch’s social media posts on Facebook and Twitter are widely shared, and many people call on Amnesty to speak out and criticize Hind Khoudary for reporting Rami Aman to Hamas. See more posts here, here, here, and here. 

April 13: Hamas-linked activist Ramy Abdu — formerly the Regional Director of the outlawed Council of European Palestinian Relations (CEPR), the pro-Hamas lobbying group for the European Union — supports Hind Khoudary in a Facebook post and tweet, saying criticism of Khoudary violated her “freedom of expression.”

April 13: Numerous other Hamas-linked social media accounts back Hind Khoudary, as reported in an article attacking UN Watch on the Hamas-linked website Arab 48, a platform blocked by the Palestinian Authority.

April 14: Hamas propaganda site Shehab News posts article defending Khoudary. Various Hamas bots express solidarity with Hind Khoudary in identical posts.

Palestinian entities in print, social media and videos attack UN Watch, including PA Minister of Women’s Affairs Amal Hamad who praised Khoudary for helping jail Rami Aman.

April 14: Anti-Israel activists in Gaza discover that Hind Khoudary herself had written for an Israeli magazine. She apologizes.

April 17: Hind Khoudary speaks out against the New York Times for their report on her role. UN Watch continues to press Hind Khoudary and call on Amnesty to free Rami Aman. 

April 18: Hamas propaganda agency Shehab News” posts 10-minute video justifying the arrest of Rami Aman, and attacking “normalization” with Israel. The role of UN Watch was singled out (at 3:50).

April – May: UN Watch repeatedly urges Amnesty to speak out for Rami Aman, tagging Amnesty International and its chapters in Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland and elsewhere, as well as senior Amnesty officials. Amnesty remains silent.

May 5: UN Watch appeals to Amnesty International Chair Sarah Beamish, a lawyer in Toronto, to speak out.

May 6: Finally, Amnesty International changes course, publishing a “research” statement on their website calling for Aman’s release, and declaring him a prisoner of conscience.

May 7: UN Watch publishes open letter urging Amnesty to actively campaign for Aman’s release as they do for other prisoners:

https://www.facebook.com/hillelneuer/photos/a.424734911728/10159603399571729/?type=1&theater

 

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]]> Timeline: The Disappearance of Rami Aman & Amnesty International - UN Watch Timeline: Hamas' Arrest of Rami Aman & Amnesty International https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdDimj0NR88 April 6: Rami Aman, founder of a Gaza youth Amnesty International YouTube player Amnesty International official gets Hamas to arrest peace activist https://unwatch.org/amnesty4hamas/ Sun, 12 Apr 2020 00:57:36 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=528824 GENEVA, April 12, 2020 — Amnesty International is being asked to fire a Gaza researcher after the New York Times reported that she got Hamas to arrest a Palestinian peace activist for holding a Zoom call with Israeli peace activists. Gaza Youth Committee leader Rami Aman, 38, who organized the peace dialogue, has not been […]

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GENEVA, April 12, 2020 — Amnesty International is being asked to fire a Gaza researcher after the New York Times reported that she got Hamas to arrest a Palestinian peace activist for holding a Zoom call with Israeli peace activists.

Gaza Youth Committee leader Rami Aman, 38, who organized the peace dialogue, has not been heard from since he surrendered Thursday morning at Hamas Internal Security headquarters in Gaza City, a family member said late Friday afternoon.

According to the Times, Hind Khoudary, who is described by the London-based human rights organization  as an “Amnesty International Research Consultant” and “worker”, “posted angry denunciations on Facebook of Mr. Aman and others on the call, tagging three Hamas officials to ensure it got their attention.” Then Hamas arrested him for “betrayal of our people and their sacrifices.”

In wake of the controversy this weekend, at about 1:00 am Gaza time on April 12th Khoudary deleted the Facebook post where she had tagged the Hamas officials. Here is the screenshot:

See some of Khoudary’s numerous other Facebook posts from that day denouncing Aman here, here and here.

Even long-time Human Rights Watch official Peter Bouckaert, who always sided with Hamas in its wars with Israel, has condemned Amnesty International’s researcher, and removed her from a private Facebook group. 

“You should be ashamed of yourself,” Bouckaert wrote to Khoudary.

https://twitter.com/Hind_Gaza/status/1248854874059612160

In a post on his Facebook feed, Bouckaert added:

It is disgusting that a so-called ‘journalist’ got an activist for dialogue arrested by Hamas. Hind was in a journalist group I run on Facebook and I kicked her out immediately. Conflicts are resolved through dialogue and understanding, not hatred. Feel free to disagree with me, I need to free up some friend space! You make peace with your enemy, not your friends.

https://www.facebook.com/peter.bouckaert/posts/10156683762907024

In Khoudary’s original post from April 9th, she tagged Hamas media office chief Salama Marouf, Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad, and Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman, Iyad Al-Bozom. Hours later, Mr. Aman was arrested.

Al-Bozom then called the activist’s peace dialogue a crime, saying it amounted to the “betrayal of our people and their sacrifices.”

UN Watch Executive Director called on Amnesty International to fire Khoudary immediately.

“A human rights group cannot employ an accomplice to Hamas terror, someone who causes peace activists to be jailed and probably tortured, all because they engaged in dialogue. Amnesty should explain why they hired her in the first place, and why before that they had cited her as a supposed journalist,” said Neuer.

“It’s clear from her social media posts that Khoudary has been a long-time and open supporter of both Hamas and Hezbollah acts of terrorism against Israelis. Amnesty must conduct an independent inquiry into who at the organization knew of Khoudary’s support for terrorist violence.”

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]]> Hind Kohudary, Amnesty International Research Consultant hind khoudary denounces peace activist Hind Khoudary FB post Human Rights Watch debating Ken Roth’s "judgment and leadership" over controversial Saudi donation https://unwatch.org/human-rights-watch-debating-ken-roths-judgment-and-leadership-over-controversial-saudi-donation/ Sun, 08 Mar 2020 01:14:55 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=528685 Human Rights Watch’s Ken Roth solicited a Saudi billionaire for a $470,000 gift by promising not to use the funds to defend LGBT people in the Middle East — just after his organization had cited the donor’s abuse of workers in a report on “slavery-like conditions.” According to The Intercept, “the controversial donation is at […]

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]]> Human Rights Watch’s Ken Roth solicited a Saudi billionaire for a $470,000 gift by promising not to use the funds to defend LGBT people in the Middle East — just after his organization had cited the donor’s abuse of workers in a report on “slavery-like conditions.”
According to The Intercept, “the controversial donation is at the center of a contentious internal debate” about Roth’s “judgment and leadership.”

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