Friday, February 24, 2017

Human Rights Watch responds to Israeli visa ban by reminding Israeli government of its close cooperation with it

"Human Rights Watch said the decision was particularly surprising given that the organization regularly meets and corresponds with Israeli government officials, including representatives of the military, the police, and the Foreign Ministry. Last year, the Foreign Ministry asked Human Rights Watch to intervene in a case involving Israeli victims of human rights abuses."  This is quite revealing: imagine if Human Rights Watch were to respond to an Iranian or Syrian regime ban by reminding the government of its longstanding relationship with it.  Also, the last reference to a "case involving Israeli victims of human rights abuses" could be explosive.  We know that this could not be a reference to Israeli repression of Arabs who hold Israeli citizenship.  So what is the reference about?  Is this a reminder that Human Rights Watch helped in cases involving Mossad agents operating in some countries?  I don't know that this is the case, but this requires further explanation especially that it refers to some secret cooperation between Israel and HRW.  Where are those "Israeli victims of human rights abuses"? Who are they? The statement by Human Rights Watch then provided a defense of Israeli government: "The Israeli government is hardly the only one to disagree with our well-researched findings".