U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to announce a process for labeling groups, including NGOs, as anti-Semitic, but without naming any names—at least for the moment.
Politico first reported the development on Wednesday.
The move would be a compromise, although Pompeo “could still change his mind and hold off on an announcement,” according to the outlet, citing three people familiar with the matter.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson declined to comment to Politico.
Late last month, Politico reported that Pompeo had been considering naming several prominent international NGOs, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam as anti-Semitic. Those groups don’t take U.S. taxpayer funding, but such designations would mean that the United States doesn’t support these groups and would call on foreign governments to follow suit.
However, the possibility of naming these groups caused pushback from some State Department officials, lawmakers and others, including the Anti-Defamation League.
Those in favor of designating groups as anti-Semitic say the three human-rights organizations support the anti-Israel BDS movement, even though Oxfam claims their organization does not. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have stated that they don’t have a stance on BDS.
