Oxfam

Israeli–Palestinian conflict[edit]

In 2002, Oxfam Belgium published a poster inciting a boycott of Israel, with a caricature of a bloody orange. The resemblance of the bleeding orange to the antisemitic blood libel was considered blatant, notably by the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Following their complaint, Oxfam International communicated that it does not support the boycott of Israel, that it considers the poster message to have been inappropriate, that it regrets Oxfam's association with this type of message and offered an apology. Oxfam Belgium was reprimanded by the president Ian Anderson.^[73]


In October 2009, Oxfam was accused by Israeli NGO Regavim of aiding Palestinians in illegal activities in Kiryat Arba, including water theft. Oxfam has denied its participation.^[74]


In response to a 2012 Oxfam report that laid the blame for poor economic development in the Palestinian territories solely with Israel, a spokesman for the Israel embassy in the UK said: "Oxfam's latest report on the situation in the Palestinian territories puts a clearly political agenda above any humanitarian concern. Far from advancing peace, such an approach undermines the prospects of reaching a negotiated resolution to the conflict."^[75] In January 2013, Oxfam UK partnered with the Board of Deputies, who represent the Jewish community of the UK. The project, Grow-Tatzmiach, included sending 25 people to an activist training programme to help fight global hunger. In exchange for partnering, Oxfam agreed not to "call for a boycott of Israeli goods or to support groups that do so, and will not partner with organizations that advocate violence or oppose a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict". Despite this agreement, there were still those on both sides who objected to this project.^[76] As of 2013, Oxfam endorsed the two-state solution and wants Israel to lift the blockade of the Gaza Strip and dismantle all of the Israeli settlement infrastructure.^[76]


On 17 January 2014, Oxfam UK cancelled an exhibition, "Gaza: Through my Eyes", which had been due to take place at East London Mosque after Left Foot Forward presented information to the charity detailing homophobic and potentially anti-semitic comments by one of the organizers, Ibrahim Hewitt. Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell was reported as welcoming the event's cancellation but expressed disappointment that the organization "did no proper checks on (Mr. Hewitt) before agreeing to his presence."^[77]


On 29 January 2014, actress Scarlett Johansson resigned as an international spokeswoman for Oxfam after appearing in a TV ad for SodaStream, a company with presence in the West Bank. Her publicist stated that Johansson "respectfully decided to end her ambassador role with Oxfam after eight years ... She and Oxfam have a fundamental difference of opinion in regards to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement."^[78]


In February 2015, Israeli NGO Regavim released a report stating that the European Union had illegally funded the construction of houses; Oxfam and other NGOs participated in the project. Oxfam defended the construction "on humanitarian grounds."


In 2019, the Israeli intelligence services implicated Oxfam Belgium in funding the PFLP, which carried out a bomb attack the same year and killed the Jewish teenager Rina Sneirb. Oxfam Belgium transferred funds to the subsidiary in the amount of 288,002 euros from 2017 to 2018, but claims to have made no funding since.^[79]


In March 2020, the ambassador of Israel in the United Kingdom, Mark Regev, protested that antisemitic books, notably the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, were being sold on Oxfam's website. In response, the Oxfam GB chief executive apologized and removed the books from sale.^[80] In October 2020, NBC News reported that Oxfam was on the list of human rights organizations the Trump administration was considering branding as antisemitic.^[81]