Update on the Oxfam/Miftah story

I previously posted about Elder of Ziyon's exposure of the Oxfam funded Palestinian 'charity' Miftah and its promotion of antiSemitism. Elder of Ziyon has numerous updates here and here. The latter article contains a response from Oxfam that is almost identical to the one I have just received from Supporter Relations, Oxfam GB following my own letter to them. I have made the following response using some of Elder's points and some new ones of my own (I have agreed with the person I am communicating with that I would not state their name on this site).

Dear XXXX

Thank you for your response but I am afraid it is unsatisfactory for the following reasons:.

1. The 'apology' was not made in Arabic, the language of the essay, so Arab readers
of Miftah will assume that Miftah (and Oxfam also) supports that blood libel. Moreover, you must be aware that Miftah did not issue its English apology until it was pressured to do so.

2.  Miftah have praised suicide bombers under their own name (see http://elderofziyon.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/miftah-removes-its-essay-praising.html) confirming that direct support for terrorism and anti-Semitism are a major part of Miftah's activities.

3. The section of Miftah's site where the offensive article was published was not a "blog" as you say but an essay section where they republish articles they think are interesting for their readers. They even index the section so their readers can read other articles from the same author, and Nawaf al-Zaru has been featured five times.

4. People who donate to Oxfam would certainly not do so if they were aware it funded organizations like Miftah. Not withstanding its anti-Semitism and terrorist support, when you say

"We have worked with MIFTAH since 2010... implementing Oxfam’s regional project Supporting Women’s Transformative Leadership in Changing Times. The project targets marginalized women and men to support women’s rights and gender justice with the goal of increased empowerment, self-confidence, and leadership roles for women in public and private spheres"

you might think this is something good, but you are simply confirming that Oxfam is spending money on things that have nothing to do with what charity donors in the UK think they are contributing to. In short you are defrauding them.

Unless I hear from you that Oxfam is immediately terminating its support for Miftah I will be reporting Oxfam to the Charities Commission. I will also be contacting my MP about this. It is just not good enough.

Yours

Edgar Davidson

UPDATE 8 April 2013: I have received a response from XXXX  saying

"I forwarded your feedback and comments to our Middle East team who deal with MIFTAH and who are currently in talks with the organisation regarding this matter. We will of course be happy to update you with any further information once we have it." 

At least Oxfam seem to be taking this seriously and are courteous enough to respond. To date I have not even received an acknowledgement from either Comic Relief or - disgracefully - the Board of Deputies of British Jews (who recently announced a partnership with Oxfam).

Update: anti-Israel charities