Trump Admin Weighs Declaring Several Groups Anti-Semitic

The Trump administration is reportedly considering declaring several major human rights organizations anti-Semitic — including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Oxfam — adding governments should not support them.

Politico, citing unnamed sources, first reported the proposed declaration is being pushed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, although it has run into opposition among career State Department employees. The Washington Post later said it had confirmed the planned declaration.

According to Politico, the declaration is expected soon, and would likely be in the form of a report from the office of Elan Carr, the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism. 

The report would mention organizations including Oxfam, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International, and declare it is U.S. policy not to support such groups, including financially, and urge other governments to cease their support.

The report is expected to call out the groups' alleged or perceived support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which has targeted Israel over its construction of settlements on land Palestinians claim for a future state.

It is also expected to point to reports and press statements such groups have released about the impact of Israeli settlements, as well as their involvement or perceived support for a United Nations database of businesses that operate in disputed territories, Politico reported.

The groups named do not officially support the BDS movement or take a position on it, Politico noted. But all have been critical of Israel’s settlement policies and its treatment of the Palestinians.

All the groups vehemently denied the allegations of anti-Semitism.

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