KARIOS defunded?

Immigration minister Jason KENNY has announced defunding of a Canadian ecumenical group called KARIOS Canada due to its anti-semitic pronouncements and positions.   An analysis of this has been done by another group - NGO Monitor.   Its very detailed position is that KARIOS goes well beyond criticism of the Israeli government.  It's pronounced positions actively attempt to undermine the sovereign actions and legitimacy of Israel as well as promote terrorist positions of the shadowy quasi-government of the "occupied" territory known as Hamas - specifically advocating and supporting:

• Palestinian Claims Regarding “Right of Return”
• Palestinian Narrative on the Peace Process
• One-state solution
• Campaigns against Israeli and Canadian policy on Gaza
• Church divestment campaign in Canada
• Lawfare in Canada
• Resources for education and action” on “Israel and Palestine”

A defining characteristic of these positions is that they tend to be singularly one-sided due to unquestioning acceptance of the propaganda efforts sustained by Hamas due to their total control of Palestinian territory and ability to coerce the population.  None of those constraints exist for journalists in Israel as a fully fledged democracy with a free society and unfettered press.  Presenting the Hamas positions as political dissent only serves to disguise the underlying antisemitism.  Ezra LEVANT has aired his views on the extent of these positions on his blog.  I agree with his assessment.

Outsourced Advocacy

KARIOS has been stung by this criticism and is arguing for re-instatement. I disagree.  In the past there has been an unhealthy blurring of the line between political advocacy and humanitarian community and social support activities.  Just as it does not seem to bother the opposition parties who are heavily criticizing our military in Afghanistan for handing off "prisoners of war" their own National Afgani security organizations on the speculation they may be mistreated, I fail to see why we should allow Canadian funded aid organizations to "bit the hand that feeds them" by spending precious resources on lobbying against their stated aims and goals.  Those funds are to be used for directly helping others - not attacking our own government. If the Anglican Church or Mennonite Central Committee wish to make such pronouncements they are free to do so using funds received from their congregations.  However it is not right that federal grants for Humanitarian Aid go toward such brazenly contrary political advocacy efforts.