Radical activist resigns from B’Tselem
Lizi Sagie, B’Tselem’s data coordination director, resigned from the Israeli NGO following exposure of the Nazi analogy and other forms of anti-Israel demonization on her personal blog. After these items were published, Jessica Montell, B’Tselem’s executive director, repudiated Sagie’s comments and disassociated her organization from them.
First publicized by Yonatan D. HaLevi and then reported by NGO Monitor, Sagie’s blog, written throughout 2009, included numerous statements that are entirely inconsistent with the moral claims of human rights organizations. These include (translations by NGO Monitor):
- “The IDF Memorial Day is a pornographic circus of glorifying grief and silencing voices.”
- “Israel is committing Humanity’s worst atrocities… Israel is proving its devotion to Nazi values… Israel exploits the Holocaust to reap international benefits.”
- “We don’t erect gas chambers and extermination camps, but if there were any, how many people would actually resist it, and not only in their hearts?”
In addition to employment at B’Tselem, Sagie is an activist with Mossawa, co-authoring a March 2010 report that labeled the current Knesset as “the most racist in history,” and with Machsom Watch and New Profile. These Israel-based NGOs have yet to respond.
