The co-chairman of Human Rights Watch, which promotes the Israel “apartheid” libel, is A senior partner in Index Ventures, which has been heavily invested in Israeli companies like MyHeritage, Outbrain, Lacoon and Adallom.
By Yakir Benzion, United With Israel
Neil Rimer, co-chairman of Human Rights Watch (HRW), which last month accused Israel of practicing “apartheid,” runs a Swiss-based venture-capital fund that invests tens of millions of dollars in Israeli start-ups, The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday.
Rimer has been on HRW’s board of directors since 2009 and last year was promoted to co-chairman of the organization’s international board of directors.Last week, HRW issued a report accusing Israel of “apartheid” and called on the United Nations to impose an arms embargo against the Jewish State.
In her article on Rimer, Post reporter Lahav Harkov noted that he is the the co-founder and senior partner in Index Ventures, which has been heavily invested in Israeli companies like MyHeritage, Outbrain, Lacoon and Adallom.
Harkov pointed out that Rimer’s profile on the HRW website only features 11 of the many companies he has worked with or invested in, and none of them are Israeli.
According to the Index Ventures (IV) website and various news reports, IV funds have invested in at least 21 Israeli companies.
IV’s Israeli investments are surprising in light of the fact that Rimer sits on the board of HRW, which accused Israel of practicing “apartheid.”
“Index Ventures did not respond to a request for comment on Rimer leading their fund, which makes money from Israeli start-ups, while chairing an organization that says Israel is an apartheid state,” the Post noted.
“Would love to know what [Rimer] is thinking – that Israel is not really apartheid? Or that it’s OK to invest millions in the apartheid economy?” tweeted Harkov after the article was published.
A month prior to the report, IV pumped tens of millions of dollars into Tel Aviv-based website maker Wix and was one of nine investors involved in a $90 million investment into the financial software company Capitolis, which is also based in Tel Aviv.
On its website, IIV says it “has teamed up with founders in the U.S., Europe and Israel who are building the world’s next great companies.”
Its website also features a 2,500-word article singing the praises of Israel as a “world leader” with “astonishing success.”
HRW is obsessed with accusing Israel of human rights violations, so why does its co-chairman oversee investment in companies in the “apartheid state”?