A proposed law would force human rights NGOs to sport special labels indicating that they receive foreign funding. Maybe it’s time to talk about what kind of policies Israeli taxpayers are funding.

By Mossi Raz

I said it before and I’ll say it again: Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked’s “Transparency Bill” is a semi-fascistic law that harms democracy and silences dissent in a way that is reminiscent of Putin’s Russia.

The legislators of the bill have an advantage over the Israeli Left in nearly every aspect: they have organized settlements in which the residents pay municipal taxes that go toward the settlers’ political struggle; they have national service that is made up largely of the religious, settler community; they have the Settlement Division; and most importantly, they have the Knesset Finance Committee. With all these billions of shekels, why are they jealous of the morsels Europe gives to left-wing NGOS?

Today I prefer to write this article differently: there is no shame in accepting money from European governments who seek justice and peace. Personally, I am willing to walk around with a tag that says “Funded by the European Union,” even though this isn’t true at all (as someone whose salary is paid for by the Meretz party, I am not allowed to receive any foreign funding).

People who receive foreign donations for their political campaigns and West Bank settlements — which sometimes come from decent people, other times from criminals, sometimes from normal public institutions, other times from fanatic anti-Semites — are those who need to feel ashamed of their funding sources. Where did we get this twisted idea that private money, no matter where it comes from, is more acceptable than public money? In the eyes of the Right, the money of a criminal is better than the money of a government that has been democratically elected and promotes policies of justice.

I always thought about how the average Israeli taxpayer funded West Bank settlements all while settler leaders incited against Yitzhak Rabin during right-wing protests. Meanwhile, European countries funded memorial events for the slain prime minister. I always thought it was a good idea to expose what the Israeli government paid for versus what other foreign governments funded. Maybe then someone would start to realize what is actually taking place here.

While I walk around with my tag, Foreign Minister Shaked will be forced to walk around with a tag stating her shady funders. While left-wing organizations divulge what is already well known about their sources of funding, extremist right-wing groups — which are exempt from disclosing their funders — will be forced to do so. Netanyahu will be forced to walk around with a tag reading: “Funded by Sheldon Adelson.”

After all, the Right was up in arms after the European Union decided to mark goods produced in West Bank settlements. We can only guess how it will react when we start marking those who fund the settlements themselves.

Mossi Raz is the secretary-general of Meretz. This article was first published in Hebrew on Local Call. Read it here.

Source: http://972mag.com/the-eu-might-fund-leftist-ngos-but-israelis-fund-the-occupation/115314/

Peace Now press release - While left-wing NGOs receiving funding from donor countries already report about their donations quarterly, right-wing NGOs` donations from abroad are much larger and are highly nontransparent. Last week we published a report indicating that 94% of the funding of right-wing NGOs is nontransparent. Right-wing NGOs also receive public funding from the government, which means that we, Israeli citizens, help support their activities.

In the past few weeks we have witnessed a dangerous anti-democratic wave. Inciting campaigns and massive de-legitimation efforts against individual activists, against peace and human rights organizations and against President Rivlin appeared online, in newspapers and on billboards. Focusing mainly on funding sources rather than on the actual content of our struggle, the campaigns tried to portray peace activists as "foreign agents," using soviet rhetoric to advance their goals.

But we will not be silenced. Earlier this month we held a march in Tel Aviv against the dangerous incitement. Thousands of protesters marched from the Likud headquarters to the Rabin Memorial holding torches, Peace Now flags and signs saying "the right wing will not silence me." To read about the march in the Times of Israel click here. Last Saturday Peace Now activists demonstrated in front of the Minister of Justice against the passing of the anti democratic NGO bill (see more below).

For more photos from the march click here.

Yesterday the Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved the NGO bill, a bill which targets peace and human rights organizations specifically. The argument behind the bill is that organizations receiving funding from donor countries must become more transparent but in reality the bill is a part of an orchestrated effort to silence those who dare to disagree with the government's policies.

We will not be silenced. While left-wing NGOs receiving funding from donor countries already report about their donations quarterly, right-wing NGOs' donations from abroad are much larger and are highly nontransparent. Last week we published a report indicating that 94% of the funding of right-wing NGOs is nontransparent. Right-wing NGOs also receive public funding from the government, which means that we, Israeli citizens, help support their activities.

Click here for an article by Uri Blau about how the U.S. supports settlements through tax deductible donations to settler organizations.

To watch a TV report on our exposure of Honenu receiving tax deductible donations while providing grants to convicted Jewish terrorists click here.

We will not be silenced. Over the past two weeks we appeared daily in Israeli TV, radio and newspapers and spoke out against the incitement efforts. Our social media campaigns had a reach of 1 million users, and illustrated how the incitement we see did not appear out of nowhere, but rather, that it is connected to the actions (and inaction) of high level officials. To like our Facebook page click here. To follow us on Twitter click here.



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