There is something almost inspiring about George and Amal Clooney. He is the Hollywood actor who became a moral symbol and a loyal supporter of the Democratic Party. She is an international lawyer who speaks about justice and universal values.
Together they shine - intelligent, admired, and seemingly always on the “right” side of history. But behind that polished image lies a more complex reality: the growing use of human rights as a political instrument that increasingly shapes US foreign policy and global power dynamics.
This week, John Prendergast, Clooney’s partner in founding The Sentry, published an article on Just Security urging the Trump administration not to lift sanctions on Israeli businessman Dan Gertler. On the surface, it appears to be another case of moral advocacy.
Yet in practice, it reflects a broader effort by figures linked to the Democratic Party, acting under the banner of human rights, to influence US policy and maintain the direction set by the Biden administration - even under a new Republican leadership.
An international report published in May, the Extractive Industry and NGOs Report 2025, names The Sentry as one of the key organizations that led a diplomatic and media campaign against the mining licenses granted to Gertler at the end of Trump’s first term.
Independent analyses by the Henry Jackson Society and by NGO Monitor’s M Report make the same point: some Western NGOs deploy human rights language to advance political goals.
In March 2021, after that campaign, the Biden administration canceled the license and fully reinstated the sanctions. According to that report and to US government statements, the reversal was followed by a retreat of Western investors from the African mining sector where Gertler operated and created space for actors that challenge American interests.
Under slogans such as “fighting corruption” and “global transparency,” a Western NGO identified with liberal circles advanced policies that, in practice, weakened the West while empowering its rivals.
At the same time, reports by Reuters and ABC News revealed that the US Department of Justice instructed federal prosecutors to prepare an investigation plan into George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, which is also active in Israel.
Politically motivated
The foundation categorically rejected the allegations, calling them politically motivated. The very consideration of such an inquiry indicates that political influence now reaches arenas presented to the public as human rights campaigns.
Congressional committees, meanwhile, are examining US funding for NGOs operating in Israel.
In early July, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan and Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast sent formal letters to several organizations — including Blue White Future and The Abraham Initiatives — demanding explanations for how US government funds reached bodies that, according to the committees, acted against Israel’s elected government.
The organizations denied the claims, but a follow-up memo pointed to a network of grants originating from foundations tied to progressive political donors. The resemblance between those funding patterns and the structure supporting The Sentry is difficult to ignore.
No one must doubt the personal sincerity of those involved in these causes. Yet the broader pattern is hard to miss. Critics point to a consistent pattern: groups that claim the moral high ground often act selectively, pressing corruption cases in some arenas while staying silent on harsher abuses elsewhere.
It may be idealism. It may also be politics. But in practice, policies presented as moral or righteous often end up harming America’s allies, weakening the West, and benefiting those who wish to undermine it.
The question remains: Are these organizations truly driven by a genuine concern for human rights, or are they Democratic-aligned networks using moral narratives to shape public opinion and government policy — including toward Israel?
Behind the noble rhetoric of human rights and transparency lies a well-oiled system of interests and political influence, whose impact is felt across Africa, the United States, and Israel.
Ben Kaplan is a foreign policy analyst and commentator on Middle East affairs.