The Backlash Against Israeli Human Rights NGOs: Grounds, Players, and Implications

Karine Lamarche (1)

1 CENS - Centre Nantais de Sociologie

This article examines the recent backlash against Israeli human rights and advocacy NGOs led jointly by right-wing organizations, by mainstream media, and by the government. Contrarily to what was theorized in the literature dedicated to movement/countermovement dynamics, it suggests that the birth and rise of ultra-nationalist movements created in reaction to domestic NGOs dealing with the consequences of the occupation cannot be explained by the achievements of the latter or by the threats they pose locally to segments of the Israeli population. Rather, this article shows they are an indirect consequence of recent global developments mainly stemming from the Palestinian internationalization strategy. Yet, these developments have strong effects not only at the international level but also at the local level. One of them lies in the fact that NGOs are now presented as “foreign agents” for obliquely nurturing voices that speak up worldwide against Israeli policy.

Mots clés: Israeli-Palestinian conflict; Countermovements; Backlash; Boycott

Domaines: Science politique

Karine Lamarche. The Backlash Against Israeli Human Rights NGOs: Grounds, Players, and Implications. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, 2019, 32, p. 301-322. ⟨10.1007/s10767-018-9312-z⟩. ⟨halshs-02149324⟩