Israel's anti-BDS programme: 'an untenable position'
In 2016, Israel tried to hire an American law firm to run its secret anti-BDS lawfare programme. The firm declined after learning of the true goals of the programme.
Earlier this week, The New Arab revealed how the Israeli government has been running a decade-long covert programme targeting BDS activities overseas.
The programme, jointly funded by the Israeli Ministries of Justice and of Strategic Affairs, disbursed some €594,000 to the Belgian law firm Van Bael & Bellis between 2016 and 2019 to wage lawfare on the BDS movement globally.
The investigation is based on documents leaked from the Israeli Ministry of Justice in April 2024, and published in July of the same year by the journalist collective DDoSecrets.
The documents also reveal that the Belgian law firm was not the Israeli Ministry of Justice's top choice, nor its second.
Indeed, the budget request for the programme submitted to the Tenders Committee within the Ministry - in charge of approving the hiring of external consultants - show that the Belgian law firm ranked last among the firms interviewed for the job.
'An untenable position'
Israel's top choice was an American law firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. Muckraker is choosing not to name the firm in question.
The American law firm originally agreed to the job for a measly $800 an hour, as part of a proposal it submitted in November 2015. We are publishing a redacted copy of the proposal below.
However, the Israeli Ministry of Justice was not satisfied. It insisted that the law firm advise on "broader efforts to counter BDS activists" on behalf of the entirely of the Israeli government.
Ultimately, the Atlanta-based law firm declined the job in April 2016, stating that its position and that of its Israeli counterparts were "irreconcilable".
"We have concluded that this would put our firm in an untenable position," an email from a partner at the law firm said.
Meanwhile, in its communications with the Tenders committee, the department in charge of the anti-BDS programme never admitted to this setback, claiming instead that it was "a conflict of interest" that ultimately led to the selection of Van Bael & Bellis.
It is not clear why the American law firm ultimately changed its mind. The US' Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) requires all entities, including law firms, to publicise their work for foreign governments. Should it have agreed to the job, the Atlanta-based law firm would have likely had to do the same.
Muckraker reached to the Israeli Ministry of Justice for comment. No reply was received in time of publication.
