In response to reports that the left-wing Peace Now organization has asked the government of Finland for a grant to monitor Jewish construction activity in Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza) the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) will be asking the government of Finland for a grant to monitor Arab construction in Yesha.
"It would represent an unconscionable, racist double standard if Finland funds monitoring of Jews but not of Arabs,” said ZOA National President Morton A. Klein. “Therefore, we are presenting the Finnish government with an opportunity to prove that it is not biased, by asking it to provide the ZOA with the same level of funding to monitor the widespread Palestinian Arab construction in the territories."
The Israeli government has previously estimated that Arabs are building at ten times the rate of Jews in Judea-Samaria.
In an effort by the ZOA to underscore just how biased it would be for Finland to approve the funding for Peace Now and not that of their own request for funds, the ZOA has essentially duplicated Peace Now’s request for funds.
Peace Now requests funds for "regular bi-monthly ground surveys" of Jewish construction, using volunteers, and "renting a light plane twice a month" to engage in "aerial photography" of Yesha’s Jewish communities according to a report in the Israeli weekly Makor Rishon by the Israel Resource News Agency (Jan. 23, 2004).
Peace Now’s grant defines its goals as: "To monitor settlement developments on the ground, accurately and reliably; To make this information available to the Israeli and international public” and states that they will engage in "contacts with diplomats, leaders and press in order to convey reliable information on all aspect of settlement issues.” The breakdown for the monies requested was listed by Peace Now as $17,000 to hire a coordinator; $13,000 to rent a jeep; and $20,000 to conduct aerial surveys. The ZOA’s grant request uses the same language, word for word, but in place of Peace Now’s stated goal, “to advance fulfillment of the Road Map,” ZOA says the requested funding is “to advance analysis of the Palestinian Authority’s failure to fulfill the Road Map.”
One additional difference between the two grant requests is that while Peace Now states that it already receives $100,000 from Americans for Peace Now and 150,000 Euros from "European Foundations" for its settlement watch project, the ZOA has pointed out that it does not receive such funding, thus making the Finnish government's support for the ZOA initiative all the more necessary.
"It would represent an unconscionable, racist double standard if Finland funds monitoring of Jews but not of Arabs,” said ZOA National President Morton A. Klein. “Therefore, we are presenting the Finnish government with an opportunity to prove that it is not biased, by asking it to provide the ZOA with the same level of funding to monitor the widespread Palestinian Arab construction in the territories."
The Israeli government has previously estimated that Arabs are building at ten times the rate of Jews in Judea-Samaria.
In an effort by the ZOA to underscore just how biased it would be for Finland to approve the funding for Peace Now and not that of their own request for funds, the ZOA has essentially duplicated Peace Now’s request for funds.
Peace Now requests funds for "regular bi-monthly ground surveys" of Jewish construction, using volunteers, and "renting a light plane twice a month" to engage in "aerial photography" of Yesha’s Jewish communities according to a report in the Israeli weekly Makor Rishon by the Israel Resource News Agency (Jan. 23, 2004).
Peace Now’s grant defines its goals as: "To monitor settlement developments on the ground, accurately and reliably; To make this information available to the Israeli and international public” and states that they will engage in "contacts with diplomats, leaders and press in order to convey reliable information on all aspect of settlement issues.” The breakdown for the monies requested was listed by Peace Now as $17,000 to hire a coordinator; $13,000 to rent a jeep; and $20,000 to conduct aerial surveys. The ZOA’s grant request uses the same language, word for word, but in place of Peace Now’s stated goal, “to advance fulfillment of the Road Map,” ZOA says the requested funding is “to advance analysis of the Palestinian Authority’s failure to fulfill the Road Map.”
One additional difference between the two grant requests is that while Peace Now states that it already receives $100,000 from Americans for Peace Now and 150,000 Euros from "European Foundations" for its settlement watch project, the ZOA has pointed out that it does not receive such funding, thus making the Finnish government's support for the ZOA initiative all the more necessary.