From: The New Arab News January 7, 2025 Germany defunds two Israeli rights organisations, critical of Gaza war
The German government has defunded two Israeli human rights organisations that are critical of the war on Gaza and Israel's policy towards Palestinians.
The German government has defunded two Israeli human rights groups known for being critical of Israel's war on Gaza and its occupation of the West Bank.
The move to cut off funding to the Israel-based human rights groups Zochrot and New Profile was part of a broader attempt to stop the federal funding of human rights organisations which criticise Israeli policies and the continued war on Gaza, the German media outlet Deutsche Welle (DW) reported.
Germany's funding cut has resulted in the end of ongoing projects the groups had previously cleared in late 2023
Zochrot which means "Remembering" in Hebrew, advocates for accountability for the Nakba, Arabic for the word "catastrophe" and a term used to refer to Zionist militias killing and expelling hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their villages in 1948
The group advocates for the right of return of Palestinian refugees and works to inform people of this legal right, something that the Israeli government strongly opposes.
It has lost about a quarter of its budget due to the German funding cut.
