A UK-based charity organization has stirred backlash over an over-stay in Israeli illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank during a trip scheduled to Israel.
The charity known as The United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA) serves as a connection point between the Jews of Britain and Israel by organizing routine and free-of-charge visits to Israel under the name "Israel experience programs", to bring more British Jews "closer" to Israel.
After Birthright and FZY tour participants object to being given accommodation in West Bank settlement, UJIA says 'We understand this is a sensitive and divisive issue and are taking it very seriously'https://t.co/ang6WXtBN7
— Jewish News (@JewishNewsUK) August 9, 2022
However, the group's trips have drawn attention after two participants in another trip program organized by UJIA quit over several nights scheduled in the Almog, an illegal West Bank settlement near the Dead Sea.
One of the first groups that voiced out protest in a letter sent to UJIA was a British Zionist youth group that urged UJIA to end activities in the West Bank, saying "Sending U.K.-based programs to the settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories runs contrary to the very principles and values we teach in our youth movements. It not only upends our nuanced education about Israel and the conflict, but ultimately forces us to be complicit in a system we fundamentally disagree with. Our support for Israel does not include support for the occupation and the settlement enterprise".
UJIA responded that concerns are being taken seriously and that the charity registered in the UK commits to the UK stance on the matter.
Committing to International laws, the UK considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal and occupied territory, which has been disregarded by The United Jewish Israel Appeal.
Similar controversies often resurface among participants of Birthright trips organized by US-based organizations, particularly over the inconsistent stances of US administrations when it comes to Palestinian territories under Israeli military control since 1967.
The United Jewish Israel Appeal, the leading British sponsor of Israel experience programs, is investigating how a Birthright group ended up sleeping in a settlementhttps://t.co/PQm5vuSMuV
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) August 8, 2022
In December 2017, former US President Donald Trump ignited worldwide debates after he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in a violation of international laws that consider all areas that fell under Israeli control during the 1967 war as illegally occupied ones.
In 2019, Trump also recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria during the 1967 war.
