The U.S. government is funding non-governmental organizations that politically agitate against Israel and undermine American policy in the Middle East. A report presented to Congress yesterday by NGO Monitor paints a picture of systematic vetting failures. The report is available here:

This NGO Monitor report relates to U.S. government funding for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that operate in Israel and the Palestinian Authority, specifically to groups whose activities contribute to the political campaigns designed to demonize and delegitimize Israel.

Our detailed analysis shows that, in many cases, these NGO activities directly contradict U.S. government support for peace efforts and for promoting Palestinian democracy. Grants are awarded without due diligence, there is no requirement for independent evaluations prior to grant renewals, and there are pronounced inconsistencies between stated objectives and the implementation of funded projects.

Among those are organizations such as MIFTAH, which received funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and which earlier this year was engulfed in scandal for glorifying Palestinian suicide bombings against Israeli civilians.

NGO Monitor’s report includes specific recommendations designed to avoid the dynamic under which U.S. funds go towards activities that “directly contradict U.S. government support for peace efforts and for promoting Palestinian democracy.”

[Photo: Salaam Shalom / Flickr]