Halima Begum, a former CEO of Oxfam Great Britain, who resigned from the global charity in December, has accused the charity of antisemitism.
Begum was forced out of Oxfam over accusations she bullied staff. She is suing the organization, which she accused of having a “toxic antisemitic culture” at a recent employment tribunal. She also accused the group of sexism.
In an interview with Britain’s Channel 4 on Feb. 13, Begum said Oxfam placed an excessive focus on Gaza within the organization. “It always felt as though we were disproportionately working around the crisis in Gaza.”
She said that Oxfam was quick to accuse Israel of genocide. “To use the word ‘genocide’, it has to be something we arrive at with consultation and evidence and good legal advice, and to try and use that term before we are ready as an organization feels quite risky to me,” she said.
Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of NGOs purportedly battling global poverty.
Amichai Chikli, Israel’s minister for Diaspora affairs and combating Antisemitism, said: “The CEO’s public statements reflect the narrative and intensity of antisemitism within Oxfam. Dr. Begum herself, who is Muslim, has been a vocal critic of the State of Israel. Therefore, when she testifies about the level of antisemitism within the organization and levels these accusations herself, her remarks should resonate around the world all the more.”
The ministry’s director general, Avi Cohen-Scali, added: “This is yet another example of the hypocrisy and antisemitism within international organizations that cloak themselves in a humanitarian mantle.”
NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem-based watchdog group, issued a statement regarding Begum’s remarks: “Revelations of vicious antisemitism and anti-Israel bias at Oxfam are as predictable as they are tragic.
“Former Oxfam CEO Halima Begum’s assertions of overt bias—along with pressure to prematurely brand the Gaza war a genocide without evidence—echo developments at other NGOs, where activism and bigotry have replaced objectivity and universal human rights,” NGO Monitor said.
“At Human Rights Watch, for example, a major internal blowout over a leaked anti-Israel report has cost the organization its Israel/Palestine desk and exposed the degree to which antisemitic zealots have been given free rein to shape the human rights industry to their warped liking,” it added.
“Slowly, superpower NGOs are being exposed from the inside—their anti-Israel rot bared for all to see. A major return to founding principles is required to ensure that human rights once again become driving ideals inside the world’s most influential NGOs,” the group concluded.
