Olga Deutsch: Exposing the dark underbelly of human rights groups - interview

Olga Deutsch, vice president of NGO Monitor, discusses her upcoming role as president and CEO, her personal history of evacuation from Yugoslavia and Serbia, and the organization's work exposing anti-Israel activities and funding of human rights groups. She highlights NGO Monitor's impact on funding cuts and sanctions against terror-affiliated NGOs.

Olga Deutsch, vice president of NGO Monitor, is set to become its president and CEO in January, succeeding founder Prof. Gerald Steinberg. In an interview, she recounts her personal history: born in Belgrade in 1979, she was evacuated to Israel by the Jewish Agency in 1992 during the Bosnian war, and again in 1999 during NATO's bombing of Kosovo and Serbia. She eventually moved to Israel permanently in 2011. Deutsch describes her career path, including leading the European Union of Jewish Students, and her work at NGO Monitor for the past decade and a half. She discusses the organization's research exposing what she calls the 'dark underbelly' of human rights groups, including terror affiliation and antisemitism. Deutsch claims NGO Monitor's work has led to over $200 million in funding cuts to such groups and influenced US sanctions on five Palestinian NGOs and EU anti-incitement clauses. She emphasizes the ongoing nature of the fight against antisemitism and the importance of incremental successes.