THE ELECTRONIC INTIFADA
Israel passes law targeting human rights groups
Charlotte Silver Rights and Accountability 12 July 2016
Ayelet Shaked (Wikipedia)
Israel's parliament has approved a law that will require more than two dozen
Israeli human rights groups to prominently declare that they receive over
half their funding from foreign governments.
Known as the "transparency bill," critics say the law is in fact meant to
brand human rights groups as illegitimate.
After a lengthy debate on Monday night, the law received final appoval by 57
to 48 votes.
In response, the European Commission, the executive body of the European
Union, issued a timid admonishment.
"Israel enjoys a vibrant democracy, freedom of speech and a diverse civil
society," the European Commission claimed. "This new legislation risks
undermining these values."
In June, the justice ministry released the list of organizations that would
be affected by the law. The Tel Aviv newspaper Haaretz reported that 25 of
the 27 listed organizations worked on human rights or social justice issues.
They include well-known organizations such as B'Tselem, Who Profits,
Breaking the Silence and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel.
By applying only to nongovernmental organizations funded by foreign
governments, the law shields right-wing and settlement groups in Israel that
are lavishly funded by wealthy individuals and private groups from abroad.
For instance, a Haaretz investigation found that US private donors funneled
$220 million worth of tax-deductible donations to West Bank settlements
between 2009 and 2013.
A recent lawsuit filed in the US alleges that a coterie of wealthy
Americans, including Republican donor Sheldon Adelson, Hillary Clinton
backer Haim Saban, the recently deceased bingo king Irving Moskowitz and
Oracle founder Lawrence Ellison, have sent $1 billion to fund the Israeli
occupation, with $104 million going to the Israeli army in 2014.
After the law passed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the measure
would help "prevent an absurd situation, in which foreign states meddle in
Israel's internal affairs by funding NGOs without the Israeli public being
aware of it."
Public records of Netanyahu's last three election campaigns show that 90
percent of his contributions came from the United States, of which half was
given by just three families.
Adalah, the Palestinian legal rights group based in Haifa in present-day
Israel, described the law as a "grotesque game" that is "intended to
persecute and incite against human rights organizations, a practice which is
characteristic of dark regimes both past and present."
Israeli justice minister Ayelet Shaked, who sponsored the bill last
November, has stated that she does not believe that foreign governments
should fund any political NGOs in Israel.
Redundant
The law requires groups to report their source of funding to Israel's
registrar for nonprofits, publish the information on their websites, and
state it in official documents, including letters to government officials.
Initial versions had required that representatives of the targeted
organizations wear special tags when speaking at Israel's parliament, the
Knesset.
Israeli NGOs are already required to report their sources of income to the
registrar's office, which makes the information publicly available.
"It is therefore clear that the purpose of the law is to mark human rights
groups that offer alternative positions and critique government policy,"
Adalah said.
UN human rights experts have expressed concern that the law will chill
speech of human rights group in Israel by subjecting them to unique
penalties and requirements.
Ayman Odeh, the head of the Joint Arab List, told The Guardian the law aimed
to "intimidate and wipe away the few organizations that act and fight in the
public sphere for equality to the Arab public."
Israeli opposition leader, Isaac Herzog, denounced the law, telling
reporters that it is "indicative, more than anything, of the budding fascism
creeping into Israeli society."
The law will go into effect on the first day of next year.
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Israel passes law targeting human rights groups
Charlotte Silver Rights and Accountability 12 July 2016
Ayelet Shaked (Wikipedia)
Israel's parliament has approved a law that will require more than two dozen
Israeli human rights groups to prominently declare that they receive over
half their funding from foreign governments.
Known as the "transparency bill," critics say the law is in fact meant to
brand human rights groups as illegitimate.
After a lengthy debate on Monday night, the law received final appoval by 57
to 48 votes.
In response, the European Commission, the executive body of the European
Union, issued a timid admonishment.
"Israel enjoys a vibrant democracy, freedom of speech and a diverse civil
society," the European Commission claimed. "This new legislation risks
undermining these values."
In June, the justice ministry released the list of organizations that would
be affected by the law. The Tel Aviv newspaper Haaretz reported that 25 of
the 27 listed organizations worked on human rights or social justice issues.
They include well-known organizations such as B'Tselem, Who Profits,
Breaking the Silence and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel.
By applying only to nongovernmental organizations funded by foreign
governments, the law shields right-wing and settlement groups in Israel that
are lavishly funded by wealthy individuals and private groups from abroad.
For instance, a Haaretz investigation found that US private donors funneled
$220 million worth of tax-deductible donations to West Bank settlements
between 2009 and 2013.
A recent lawsuit filed in the US alleges that a coterie of wealthy
Americans, including Republican donor Sheldon Adelson, Hillary Clinton
backer Haim Saban, the recently deceased bingo king Irving Moskowitz and
Oracle founder Lawrence Ellison, have sent $1 billion to fund the Israeli
occupation, with $104 million going to the Israeli army in 2014.
After the law passed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the measure
would help "prevent an absurd situation, in which foreign states meddle in
Israel's internal affairs by funding NGOs without the Israeli public being
aware of it."
Public records of Netanyahu's last three election campaigns show that 90
percent of his contributions came from the United States, of which half was
given by just three families.
Adalah, the Palestinian legal rights group based in Haifa in present-day
Israel, described the law as a "grotesque game" that is "intended to
persecute and incite against human rights organizations, a practice which is
characteristic of dark regimes both past and present."
Israeli justice minister Ayelet Shaked, who sponsored the bill last
November, has stated that she does not believe that foreign governments
should fund any political NGOs in Israel.
Redundant
The law requires groups to report their source of funding to Israel's
registrar for nonprofits, publish the information on their websites, and
state it in official documents, including letters to government officials.
Initial versions had required that representatives of the targeted
organizations wear special tags when speaking at Israel's parliament, the
Knesset.
Israeli NGOs are already required to report their sources of income to the
registrar's office, which makes the information publicly available.
"It is therefore clear that the purpose of the law is to mark human rights
groups that offer alternative positions and critique government policy,"
Adalah said.
UN human rights experts have expressed concern that the law will chill
speech of human rights group in Israel by subjecting them to unique
penalties and requirements.
Ayman Odeh, the head of the Joint Arab List, told The Guardian the law aimed
to "intimidate and wipe away the few organizations that act and fight in the
public sphere for equality to the Arab public."
Israeli opposition leader, Isaac Herzog, denounced the law, telling
reporters that it is "indicative, more than anything, of the budding fascism
creeping into Israeli society."
The law will go into effect on the first day of next year.
