Israel approves controversial law on foreign funding of NGOs
With 57 votes in favor and 48 against, parliament passes the norm that regulates the activity of NGOs that receive foreign funding. Prime Minister Netanyahu says it will block the activity of those "meddling in internal Israeli affairs". Opposition denounces "seeds of fascism". Arab politicians: "An norm that is intimidating for those working for equal rights".
Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Israeli parliament has finally approved a controversial law regulating the activities of NGOs. It is now law that organizations that receive most of their funding from abroad - governments or institutions - will have to denounce their activities to the public revenue. Critics say the rule would favor some sort of witch hunt against progressive or "left-wing" groups and organizations, who are fighting for the rights of Palestinians.
This morning, a spokesman for the Knesset, Israel's parliament, confirmed the green light given to the law, approved with 57 votes in favor and 48 against, out of a total of 120 deputies and at the conclusion of a long and heated debate.
The preamble specifies that the norm wants to "regulate" the "phenomenon" of non-governmental organizations that "represent the foreign interests of foreign states" and that they act "under the aegis" of local realities with the aim of serving the interests "of the Israeli public".
The bill was vigorously promoted by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has long targeted NGOs and and human rights activists struggling against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. He stated that the official purpose is "to prevent absurd situations", which allow foreign nations "to meddle in internal Israeli affairs" without the public's knowledge.
In a statement on his Facebook profile at the end of the vote he also added that this bill "will increase transparency" and "strengthen democracy."
Government officials say that the law is not intended to affect any organization and NGOs in particular. Instead, it will promote transparency and will serve in the fight against "foreign interference" and attempts to "delegitimize" the State of Israel.
Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog has responded that the law is "the sign of a budding fascism that is beginning to flourish in Israel." Ayman Odeh, the leader of the Arab deputies in parliament, adds that the norm will seek to "intimidate and close down" organizations that "are fighting in the public sphere for the equal treatment" of Arabs and Israelis.
In fact, it is the left wing NGOs left that are being targeted because other NGOs - the reference is to the right-wing groups - which especially benefit from private donations, most of them from wealthy Americans of Jewish origin.
Among the movements that could fall victim to the law are the peace movement "Peace Now" (which receives EU funds), "B'Tselem" active in defending human rights in the territories, and even "Breaking The Silence", which collects evidence of Israeli soldiers involved in abuse and violence against Palestinians.
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