Germany defunds 2 left-wing Israeli NGOs seeking ‘Nakba’ recognition and opposing military service

The German government decided to stop funding two radical left-wing Israeli NGOs, according to German media outlets.

The two NGOs are “Zochrot” and “New Profile,” which will reportedly lose a quarter and a half of their yearly budget, respectively.

“Zochrot” is the feminine plural present form of the Hebrew verb “to remember.” The group follows a radical feminist ideology and says its mission is to “expose and disseminate” information about the “Nakba,” the Arab term for “catastrophe” which is used to refer to the Palestinian defeat in Israel’s War of Independence 1948.

It wants to “promote accountability for the Nakba among the Jewish public of Israel and the implementation of the Right of Return of Palestinian refugees,” and it has also said it aims to challenge “the masculine historical narrative by focusing on compassion and inclusion.”

New Profile is a “feminist movement which acts for reducing the military’s influence on Israeli civil society and seeks to promote peace, non-violence, and a just and democratic society.”

The group claims “militarism – which is deeply rooted in Israeli society – makes society more violent, sexist, and racist, weakens civilian and democratic values, blocks the path to peace, and prevents the end of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, perpetuating human rights violations against Palestinians and other marginalized groups.”

It works to support Israelis who refuse army service, which is mandatory for most Israeli citizens. Those who don't want to carry out armed service can usually volunteer for service in Army Radio, the Spokesman's Unit, intelligence, or similar roles, while those who completely refuse to serve can be judged to sentences of several years in a military prison.

Additionally, the German government also recently defunded several Palestinian NGOs.

This caused KURVE Wustrow, the German human rights organization which had facilitated the payments to the Israeli and Palestinian NGOs, to start a petition demanding the government to reinstate the funds.

“Civil society in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories is exposed to strong pressure and reprisals. In addition to targeted attempts at intimidation, they are discredited, criminalized and financially weakened,” the group argued.

In its petition, the group also decried the “controversial” resolution against antisemitism that was recently approved in the German parliament with votes from the SPD, the Green Party, FDP, CDU/CSU and AfD. The only abstentions or votes against came from the radical left-wing BSW and Left parties.

KURVE Wustrow claims the resolution “threatens to intensify” the situation by pressuring “civil society, scientific and cultural projects” by denying funding “if they express critical attitudes towards the policies of the Israeli government.”

According to government-funded Deutsche Welle, Germany has stopped funding at least six Palestinian organizations since Oct. 7. The report claims this was done for political motivations and after pressure from Israel.

Germany’s Foreign Affairs Ministry rejected this as “inaccurate,” adding that it continues to fund “numerous NGOs in Israel and the Palestinian territories critical of the Israeli occupation policy.”

Zochrot’s director, Rachel Beitarie, told Deutsche Welle that she met with German officials before the decision was final. “The German past, the Nazi regime was brought up again and again in these conversations,” she said, adding that they told her that supporting Israel was important due to Germany’s past.

According to the NGO monitor, the German government annually “provides millions of euros to political advocacy NGOs in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.”

According to the group’s dossier about German funding for NGOs, the money reaches, among others, groups that “promote anti-Israel BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) campaigns; play a leading role in lobbying for indictments of Israelis at the International Criminal Court (ICC); and promote a “one-state” vision, antisemitism, and violence.”

“Many of these groups are linked to the EU-designated Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror organization,” the report added.

Last January, Germany decided to cut funds to six NGOs that had been designated by Israel as being linked to the terror group PFLP, according to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine.