How Israeli right will be able to hide behind proposed 'transparency law'
At the end of 2011, under strong pressure from the European Union, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blocked legislation designed to limit funding to human rights organizations in Israel. Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked of HaBayit HaYehudi, who has for years been spearheading a campaign against these organizations, recently found solace in the so-called transparency bill.
Under her legislative proposal, representatives of a nonprofit organization (NGO) funded mostly by “foreign state entities” would be required to wear an identification tag displaying their name and that of their organization when visiting the Knesset. When writing to a public official, the representatives would be required to note that their group receives foreign funding and detail its sources. Representatives caught in Knesset hallways without a tag would be fined 29,000 shekels (about $7,400). “The transparency law will guard against blatant interference by foreign states in Israeli public life,” the minister wrote on her website. She also stated, “The public and its representatives have a right to know who is stirring the pot [meddling in their business].”
Shaked, a member of a party whose top leaders are mostly religious Jews, undoubtedly knows the famous saying of the Jewish sages, “Practice what you preach” (Talmud, Hagiga 14:2). Therefore, let her, with all due respect, attach an identification tag to her shirt as well, so the public will know who is stirring her pot.
True, Shaked and her friends on the right do not enjoy the support of foreign states, which prefer instead to help organizations fighting for transparency under the occupation. Who gets to declare, however, that the money of a foreign state constitutes “blatant interference,” whereas the money of a foreign organization or person constitutes humanitarian assistance? What is the difference between the EU's support for Peace Now, an organization that exposes unauthorized outposts in the West Bank, and a donation by American Jews or evangelists to support the outposts? We will return to this issue later. First, let us examine the transparency of the foreign donations made to Shaked herself and to her partners in the struggle against the left-wing NGOs.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/11/ayelet-shaked-justice-minister-ngo-donations-right-left.html