Over the past eighteen months or so, Amnesty International has been in the vanguard of the delegitimisers and vilifiers of Israel. Even though impartiality is a core value of Amnesty within its statute, the London branch has hosted meetings addressed by Jeff Halper, who frequently calls Israel an ‘apartheid’ state – an antisemitic statement – Ben White, author of the book with an antisemitic title “Israel Apartheid” (a book replete with misquotations and untruths) and the Christisons, who make the antisemitic charge of ‘dual loyalty’ about US supporters of Israel and make wry jokes about Congress being “Israeli-occupied territory.” (They are also 9/11 ‘troofers’).
http://www.hurryupharry.org/2009/10/15/amnesty-international-uk-going-ou...
Amnesty has also got far too close to organisations that support radical Islamism and suspended Gita Saghal when she queried the propriety of this.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article7024113....
http://www.hurryupharry.org/2010/02/10/a-letter-from-denis-macshane-mp-t...
Amnesty published a report about water resources in Gaza which was shamefully biased and intended only to vilify Israel; it was not so much a piece of research as a piece of fiction.
http://www.hurryupharry.org/2009/11/01/amnestys-well-of-truth-is-brackis...
The good – no, wonderful – news is that Eric Lee wants to change things at Amnesty by standing for election to the Amnesty International UK Section Board.
You can read his aims for yourself:
http://amnestyhaslostitsway.wordpress.com/
http://www.ericlee.info/2010/02/off_and_running_i_am_now_a_can.html
I know Eric and have spoken in a debating team with him. I cannot think of anyone better to restore sanity to Amnesty as regards Israel.
If you are a member of Amnesty UK, please don’t waste this chance!