he Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor called on the German government on Friday to immediately halt the activities and funding of its Corporation for International Cooperation operating in Jordan, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Federal Republic because of widespread antisemitism spread by employees of the humanitarian relief organization.

The deepening scandal – first reported by The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday – that has engulfed the German Corporation for International Cooperation prompted a flurry of responses from the Merkel government and corporation officials, promising an investigation into the alleged antisemitic Facebook posts by corporation workers.

NGO Monitor’s president, Prof. Gerald Steinberg, told the Post that “self-reporting and internal investigation by powerful institutions are entirely ineffective and inconsistent with good governance. This is particularly the case for government offices that move large budgets in sensitive areas, such as GIZ [the German Corporation for International Cooperation]. The officials in Berlin, Amman, the West Bank and Gaza who tolerated or were blind to examples of gross antisemitism cannot credibly make sure that this behavior stops completely. Only an independent and public investigation has credibility. Until then and the implementation of new procedures to ensure that German taxpayer funds do not go for hate, all GIZ funding and activities in the region must be suspended.”