While Iran Speaks with Missiles, NGOs Blame Israel
Silence on Iran, Sanctions for Israel – NGO Responses to the War: NGO Monitor Report
In 1989, Iran’s Supreme Leader Khomeini issued a global death sentence on Salman Rushdie—for the crime of writing. It was a declaration of war on free thought and the first export of Iran’s ideological violence. On 12 August 2022, nearly 34 years later, Rushdie was stabbed while speaking at the Chautauqua Institution in New York. The West mostly stayed silent. Now, Iran has revived this tactic, issuing fatwas against Trump and Netanyahu—marking them as targets. The message is clear: defy us, and you will be hunted down, even if it takes decades. Yet once again, many remain silent.
And the silence is deafening—louder than ever—as Iran arms global militias, pursues nuclear weapons, and rains missiles on Israeli cities. And still, the outrage flows in only one direction. Western NGOs, “peace” councils, and human rights groups save their condemnation for Israel alone.
A new report from NGO Monitor shows how global NGOs, especially those funded by European governments to “uphold human rights and international law,” didn’t just stay quiet. They blamed the victim. Again. When Israel struck Iranian nuclear and military targets—targets linked to a regime that funds Hamas, Hezbollah, sponsors global terror, and openly threatens genocide—Western NGOs condemned it as “aggression.”
Let’s be clear: Iran is not just a state actor. It is a state sponsor of terror, a violator of international law, and the core funder of a global proxy war spanning Gaza, Judea and Samaria, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, Latin America, Europe, the US, Canada and beyond. Chanting “Death to Israel” daily and building an nuclear bomb. But to read the NGO statements released in June 2025, you'd think Israel bombed Tehran for sport.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International condemned Israel, while ignoring the Iranian regime’s violations of nuclear nonproliferation agreements and war crimes.
AFSC, CODEPINK, and DAWN not only justified Iran’s missile attacks, but blamed U.S. support for Israel as the “real crime.”
FIDH, Al-Shabaka, and the European Council on Foreign Relations reframed Iran’s aggression as a “response” and cast Israel as the regional aggressor—despite Iran’s repeated promises to erase it from the map.
Masar Badil, a Palestinian revolutionary group aligned with the Iranian axis, outright called for the expulsion of U.S. military forces from the region—and endorsed total war against Israel.
Some groups, like Zochrot and B’Tselem, accused Israel of “fabricating the war” as a “media distraction” from “genocide” in Gaza—a claim as cynical as it is detached from regional reality.
What They Said—And What They Didn’t
Across these statements, three trends dominate:
Israel as Perpetual Aggressor
Every act of self-defense is “genocide.” Every strike is “colonialism.” Every war, regardless of context, is framed as Israeli-instigated. No nuance, no complexity—just blame.Iran as the Victim—or the Avenger
Despite launching missiles at civilian targets, Iran is portrayed as justified, restrained, even noble. Its role as a state sponsor of terrorism? Completely ignored.The West as Enabler
The United States, Europe, and NATO countries are all lumped together as Israel’s willing accomplices. Their crime? Supporting an ally under attack.
But as always, what’s missing is always more revealing. Not one of these groups issued a condemnation of Iran’s attack. Not one acknowledged its own side’s violations. And almost none offered even token calls for de-escalation or dialogue. There is none. Because for these NGOs, “international law” is not a framework. It’s a club to beat only one country: Israel.
We are watching a transformation of the international order. Not just in weapons and warheads, but in the language of “human rights.”
The real battleground is no longer just missiles and tanks—it’s the courts of public opinion, social media feeds, Geneva conferences, and the press releases of so-called human rights NGOs. On this front, truth isn’t judged by facts or law, but by narratives, viral outrage, and selective storytelling.
Iran has mastered this game. Its leaders shout “Death to Israel” knowing full well that Western NGOs will look the other way—or worse, amplify their message under the guise of neutrality—while the real victims pay the price.
It's mind boggling.
Most of those NGOs, of course, are funded by your tax dollars. Or Qatar. Or both.