Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, December 2006, page 60

Waging Peace

Children’s Charity Fights Smear Campaign

	Children in Nablus enjoy extra help and services provided by Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund (Photo Courtesy PCWF).

A VICIOUS SMEAR campaign attempted to destroy Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund’s reputation and charity work—but, instead, the tables may be turning. PCWF provides help—including food, clothing, educational tools and health care—to needy Palestinian children in refugee camps. A non-political, non-religious enterprise, PCWF was established in 2002 to promote arts and crafts made by Palestinian men and women artisans. Craft sales abroad help the Palestinian economy and teach U.S. and European buyers about the rich Palestinian culture.

PCWF’s Riad Elsolh Hamad, based in Austin, Texas, coordinates volunteers and staff in more than 10 countries, including the U.S. and European nations. He has spent the past 35 years serving his local community and toiling for human and civil rights for various national and ethnic groups. 

Hateful articles appeared in the online publication FrontPage Magazine (of which David Horowitz is editor-in-chief), Daniel Pipes’ Campus Watch, NGO Monitor, and Militant Islam Monitor. Joe Kaufman, chairman of Americans Against Hate, along with Pipes, Horowitz and Dori Gold ofthe Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs have published slanderous and defamatory articles against Hamad and PCWF, along with other human rights groups, alleging “links to terrorism in the West Bank and Gaza” and describing PCWF as a “Militant Islamic charity based in the Gaza Strip.” Both statements are false: PCWF is based in the United States, and works within U.S. law.

PCWF filed a Federal libel lawsuit in Federal Court in April 2006 against Horowitz, Kaufman, Pipes, MilitantIslammonitor.org and others who published and republished the slanderous articles. During the discovery process, none of the defendants was able to provide any evidence to support their allegations.

Hamad was able to obtain an official letter from the U.S. Department of Justice stating that there are absolutely no records or investigations tying himself or PCWF to any criminal or violent activities.

In the course of the legal battle, MilitantIslamMonitor.org turned out to be a real scam. The discovery process revealed that the Web site unlawfully used the telephone number of the facilities of the Adult Correctional Services of the State of Illinois. And because the Web site used the address of a medical collections service in Peoria, Illinois, it could not be served.

Now the tables have turned. PCWF staff charge that MilitantIslamMonitor.org is engaged in criminal activities and fraud because it collects donations amounting to tens of millions of dollars which may be used to fund illegal activities in the U.S. and Israel. There is no doubt that the Web site is creating animosity between the peoples of the United States and the Arab and Muslim communities around the world, (although that is neither illegal nor unusual).

The Illinois attorney general’s office has referred this matter to the Office of Internet Crimes, which will determine the next steps. The next steps for Americans wishing to help Palestinians is to support PCWF and other charities (see p. 75) and call for an investigation of those who fabricate damaging “investigative reports” which seek to ruin reputations and good work. For more information visit <www.pcwf.org>.

         —Delinda C. Hanley