Israelis guilty of...living and breathing.

Human Rights Watch alleges that Israeli agricultural settlements are exploiting Palestinian ‘child labourers’ – some as young as  11 years of age.

Human Rights Watch does not name one Israeli agricultural settlement guilty of such conduct but instead, seeks to brand the  entire Israeli agricultural settlement enterprise for the alleged wrongdoings of ...well, I am not sure who but I guess the generic 'Israelis' sounds about right according to Human Rights Watch.  

I watched the video produced by Human Rights Watch. Two sixteen year old boys, who chose to drop out of school and work as farm labourers as it is the only available job with their skill set. They think it sucks. I get it.

 I listened to a father justify removing his two sons from school at 14 years of age to take them with him to work on an Israeli agricultural settlement farm. Presumably, the father needed the money the boys could earn to support their family so having a family you cannot support without ruining your children's education sucks. I get that.

I read the report, and no where can I find a single settlement named as a guilty party to the alleged nefarious child labor practices.  Instead, what I did find was this quote:

 All of the children and adults working for the settlement farms whom Human Rights Watch interviewed said they were hired by Palestinian middlemen working for Israeli settlers, were paid in cash, and did not receive pay-slips or have work contracts.

Perhaps in the name of human rights, Human Rights Watch should turn over the names of these Palestinian middlemen who are exploiting children to the Palestinian Authority to deal with.  Or at the very least, name the guilty Israeli parties to face consequences under Israeli law.

But what you do not do, is exactly what Human Rights did; issue a 74 page report based on innuendo and unsubstantiated allegations and not name a single guilty party. All of which leads me to believe Human Rights Watch’s motivation in releasing this report was not justice for exploited Palestinian children but a malicious attempt to destroy the international market for Israeli produce, and that is potentially actionable.

From where I sit, someone needs to hold these NGOs accountable for their actions.

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Of course, Israeli officials have issued a statement.