Israel Empowerment Lobby decided to write an explanatory letter to the foreign ministries of Finland and Denmark, after their decision to upgrade Palestinian Authority representatives in their respective countries into embassies.
Dear Mr. Sovndal, IEL (Israel Empowerment Lobby) is an organization supported by the parliamentarian lobby in the Knesset, together with many Members of the Knesset, we promote understanding between Jews and Christians and build broad support for Israel and for other shared concerns. Our vision is that Jews and Christians will reverse their 2,000-year history of discord and replace it with a relationship marked by dialogue, respect, and cooperation. Over the years, we have been leaders in Jewish-Christian relations, building bridges of goodwill that have led to greater understanding and cooperation between members of these two great faiths.
As a chairman of IEL and being deeply involved in the issues concerning the Arab-Israeli conflict, I personally believe that Denmark is making a terrible mistake by upgrading the relationship between your country and the Palestinian Authority. Negotiations with the Palestinian Authority must be completed and agreed upon by both sides before other nations decide to interfere with the Palestinian Authority.
We know that the Danish Foreign Ministry – both directly and through its international development agency Danida – along with DanChurchAid, the NDC, and via EU frameworks, provides significant funding to some of the most politicized NGOs. Many of these groups use support from Denmark to oppose Israeli policies.
DanChurchAid, which receives tens of millions of dollars annually from the Danish government, supports and partners with active participants in the BDS campaign against Israel. NDC funds NGOs that distort international law and human rights rhetoric to condemn Israel. Such funding is inconsistent with Danish government policies and commitments to promoting peace and compromise, and frustrates the stated goals of “strengthening democracy, good governance and human rights.”
Despite of all, Palestine is not yet a state and hopefully, one day, it will become a fully functional and legally recognized state. By upgrading the diplomatic mission of the Palestinian Authority to the embassy level hijacks the delicate peace process and further undermines the trust that Israel has toward the Palestinian Authority and toward the world’s support for the peace process. I hope you will take heed to this letter and in the future, your government will act more carefully and responsibly vis a vis the Palestinian Authority and the peace process. Thank you for your time and your visit.
Sincerely, Eli Nacht
Dr. Eli Nacht, Chairman of IEL
