The Issues Behind Israel's NGO Law

[Mosby]

According to a Washington Post editorial, headlined “A Danger to Israeli Democracy” proposed legislation “that would stigmatize nongovernmental organizations that receive funding from overseas” reflects “the kind of tactic that Russia and China have employed to squelch dissent.” The editorial repeats the main points in press releases from groups opposing the proposal, claiming that “the legislation is aimed at delegitimizing progressive groups in Israel that have long been advocates for human rights and opposed to Jewish settlements. ...”

But Israel is not Vladimir Putin’s Russia or communist China, and the issues involved, including attempts to manipulate Israeli democracy through “civil society,” go beyond ideological slogans. The Knesset proposal currently under consideration and the public debate on efforts to curtail European government-funded political NGOs reflect very serious and widely held concerns among large parts of the society. The issues include the integrity of the democratic process, erosion of national sovereignty, pernicious demonization campaigns targeting the IDF, and external funding accountability and transparency.

https://www.lawfareblog.com/issues-behind-israels-ngo-law

[6chars]

1. Big difference between Israel and other countries mentioned

Israel has 8 million people and is the focus of billions of people including many who are playing to their own stakeholders when they seek to get involved with Israel (and many - probably billions - who would like to see it disappear). Russia and China have hundreds of millions / billions of people and no one much cares what they do. Furthermore, Israel's rule of law gives NGOs a lot of power to act as they wish, whereas China and Russia are effectively dictatorships.

[Little Tich]

2. Interestingly, the NGOs that are a problem for Russian and Turkish authorities are very similar to

or even the same as the ones that are targeted by the Israeli NGO law. I'm not sure how promoting human rights and democracy can be defined as European manipulation of Israeli democracy, but the rhetoric is strikingly similar to what Russia has to say about European meddling.

Compared with the Russian "foreign agent" law the Israeli NGO law is less extreme, but it's certainly a step in the same direction. Just as in Russia, NGOs like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Transparency International will be targeted by the Israeli NGO Law. There's nothing in the US Foreign Agent Registration Act that would target organizations like those, nor would NGOs like Breaking The Silence be targeted. The US Foreign Agent Registration Act is for those organizations that are promoting the interests of another country, like Invest Northern Ireland, Japan National Tourism Organization and Ketchum Inc. There are simply no similarities between the proposed Israeli NGO law and the US Foreign Agent Registration Act whatsoever.

This is one dangerous step to take, because criticism and exchange of democratic ideas is a cornerstone for a healthy democracy. The proposed NGO law is very similar to the Russian "foreign agent" law, and I don't think Israel should look towards Russia for advice on how to run a country.

The OP is written by Gerald Steinberg, a person that I hold in very low esteem. He's also the the president of NGO Monitor, an "NGO" that only exists to disseminate misinformation about NGOs perceived as being critical of Israel.

Here's the Wikipedia article on the Russian foreign agent law for comparison:

Russian foreign agent law
Source: Wikipedia

The Russian "foreign agent" law, officially "On Amendments to Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation regarding the Regulation of the Activities of Non-profit Organisations Performing the Functions of a Foreign Agent", is a law in Russia that requires non-profit organizations that receive foreign donations and engage in "political activity" to register as foreign agents.[1] The bill was introduced in July 2012 by legislators from the governing United Russia party and signed into law by President Vladimir Putin on 20 July 2012. The law went into effect in November 2012, but was not actively enforced until Vladimir Putin instructed law-enforcement officials to do so during a speech to members of the Federal Security Service (Russia) on Valentine's Day 2013, stating that "Any direct or indirect interference in our internal affairs, any form of pressure on Russia, our allies and partners is unacceptable.

Once registered, NGOs are subject to additional audits and are obliged to mark all their official statements with a disclosure that it is being given by a "foreign agent". The word "foreign agent" (Иностранный агент ) in Russian has strong associations with cold war-era espionage, and the law has been criticized both in Russia and internationally as a violation of human rights and as being designed to counter opposition groups.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_foreign_agent_law

[geek tragedy]

3. Article by the rightwinger who dreamed up the bill

Gerald M. Steinberg is a professor of politics at Bar Ilan University and founder/president of NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem-based research institute whose publications were instrumental in initiating the Israeli debate on political NGOs and foreign government funding.

[King_David]

6. What makes him a right winger?

Or any different from any Democratic party rep?

LGBT rights? Tax policy? Gun control ? Welfare cuts?

[geek tragedy]

7. The fact that he dedicates his life to demonizing liberals and leftists

[King_David]

8. Really?

Think those targeted have the same policies as Democrats or even average Americans.

Nope....your compass is just so far off on this issue that it is absolutely nowhere near the Democratic Party principles.

[geek tragedy]

9. Lol, HRW and AI certainly do represent the Democratic Party

a lot more than rw cranks like Steinberg.

[King_David]

10. .

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1134&pid=123285

[geek tragedy]

11. .

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGO_Monitor

[azurnoir]

12. Steinberg was leading the charge that Obama's State Dept was interfering with Bibi's re-election

http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/03/20/watchdog-group-says-israeli-election-subject-to-massive-and-blatant-subversion/

[Mosby]

15. Nowhere in the article you linked to is the U.S. state department mentioned

[azurnoir]

16. The WaPo story linked to in the article does though remember the V-15 group :)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/03/20/netanyahus-claim-that-tens-of-millions-in-foreign-money-was-aimed-against-him/

[King_David]

27. Can you highlight the part where the US state department is mentioned?

I am missing it....

[azurnoir]

28. Google can be your friend Google V-15 Group and get back to me :)

[King_David]

29. In other words you can not ....

I will not Google and "get back to you"



You're 2 posts and links do not contain what you claim they do ... Best you delete them and Google and find other links to back up your claim or lose any credibility left ... Because I think you have a track record of doing this ....

Else we forced to call your claims bogus!

[azurnoir]

30. who's we as in "Else we forced to call your claims bogus!"are you speaking in the royal 3rd person?

[azurnoir]

31. oh and here ya go and not just the State Dept but Obama's admin too

from the wapo link in algeminer

V15 (“Victory 15”), which is tied to a U.S. group called OneVoice and included the involvement of a former top Obama campaign aide. “The activity of V15, and especially its activity on election day, was several million dollars, the overwhelming majority of which came from American donors,” the campaign claimed. A spokesman for OneVoice promised a response, but we have not received one–despite repeated requests, even after the publication of this column.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/03/20/netanyahus-claim-that-tens-of-millions-in-foreign-money-was-aimed-against-him/

and the Google you claimed you wouldn't do

OneVoice’s funding of V15 drew immediate rage from the Likud and from Republicans in America. Much of it was aimed at making the link to the Obama administration, since OneVoice had received a grant from the State Department. “Can the Department of State guarantee that none of these funds have been or will be used in… the partnership with V15 or any similar effort to exert undue influence over the Israeli political process?” Cruz and Zeldin asked in their letter to Kerry.

Read more: http://forward.com/news/israel/214246/is-v15-a-conduit-for-american-funds-to-benjamin-ne/#ixzz3wzvIZoCS

[King_David]

32. You should delete your other 2 links nt

[shira]

13. Demonizing the Regressive Left is not a Rightwing thing. n/t

[Little Tich]

17. I think his attempts to ostracize and curtail the activities of pro-democracy NGOs makes him

extremely right-wing. It's one thing to criticize, but trying to remove ideological opponents from the political discourse is definitely anti-democratic. Gerald Steinberg wants Israel to be like Russia.

[shira]

21. These NGO's are definitely not pro-democracy when they support vile thugs like Ezra Nawi

And the NGO law being proposed does nothing to curtail free speech or remove ideological opponents.

It's blatantly obvious these NGO's feel they have something to hide. It's so obvious when they fear "infiltration" and being exposed like Ezra Nawi was recently. These fears of infiltration and exposure do not bother groups that are not connected to the Regressive Left.

Ever wonder why Omar Barghouti of BDS and other leaders within that Regressive movement do not allow video recordings of their speeches or Q/A sessions after their panel discussions? They ban all recording devices at these anti-Israel events. This is a fact.

What do they have to hide? What do they really fear?

Pro-Democracy they are not - more like totalitarian fascists.

[geek tragedy]

4. EU throws out NGO Monitor case, tells Gerald Steinberg to pick up the tab

http://972mag.com/eu-throws-out-ngo-monitor-case-tells-gerald-steinberg-to-pick-up-the-tab/62491/

[geek tragedy]

5. Foreign influence, transparency problems of NGO Monitor

http://972mag.com/questions-regarding-foreign-influence-transparency-of-ngo-monitor/35854/

We have also learned from Haaretz that NGO Monitor had a budget of over NIS 2 million in 2010, and that it employed 27 people. Gerald Steinberg had a yearly salary of NIS 211,000, more than twice the average Israeli income. Haaretz’s piece reveled that NGO Monitor, which is so sensitive regarding foreign influence on Israeli politics, is basically an American organization, registered in Israel. Most of its donations come from the States; reporter Uri Blau was even answered in English when he called the organization’s Jerusalem office…

This is a major point: the campaign against human right groups in Israel is done under rhetoric which is all about “preventing foreign influence” and therefore “defending local democracy“, yet much of the right’s work in Israel is financed from abroad – especially, but not exclusively, by American Jews and Christian Zionists – not to mention the most important element in shaping the political conversation, Sheldon Adelson’s free tabloid Israel Hayom, the most widely read paper in Israel. Israel Hayom was and still is a losing operation, intended only to manipulate public opinion in favor of the right.

To sum it up, if the people behind NGO Monitor were even remotely interested in democracy or transparency, they would have had something to say about the unknown donors and shady practices of rightwing NGOs like Elad and Im Tirzu; but NGO Monitor itself is a right-wing group, working to limit the public debate in Israel, to stop advocacy and civil rights work for the advancement of the Arab minority (see for example its latest attack on Adalah, the local version of the NAACP), and to prevent criticism of Israeli policy in the occupied territories and beyond.

[shira]

14. This is rubbish. There is no transparency for private donations to certain orgs in the USA.

Hence, "private".

Pretending Israel is somehow worse is beyond lame.

[Little Tich]

18. Nor would an NGO like Breaking the Silence be classified as a foreign agent in the US. n/t

[shira]

25. If Veterans against Iraq War were mostly funded by Iran....

....you better believe they'd be classified as a foreign agent in the US.

[Israeli]

19. Here is an interesting " issue " for you .....

Knesset Transparency C'tee: Gov't unknowingly funding 'price tag' activities

Funds transferred by different ministries to Samaria and Binyamin local councils used to fund NGOs encouraging Jewish terror activities against IDF soldiers, Israeli citizens, Palestinians, says c'tee chairwoman Shaffir.

Itamar Eichner
Published: 01.10.16, 17:48 / Israel News

The Knesset's Transparency Committee has received documents and testimony that indicate different government ministries have been unwittingly funding groups that undermine the State of Israel by encouraging "price tag" attacks and illegal outposts.

"It's awful to find out that while we've been paying taxes so the state can provide us with quality of life, millions of shekels from our money are being transferred to support activities that most of the citizens of Israel would not be willing to fund, including activity against the state itself and the rule of law," said committee chairwoman MK Stav Shaffir (Zionist Union).

"The funds reached NGOs that encourage the twisted idea of 'price tag' attacks from the Agriculture, Education and Welfare Ministries, and the Authority for National-Civic Service," Shaffir continued.

"The indirect support of Jewish terror activities against the IDF, the citizens of Israel, and Palestinians, using public funds that belong to all of us - is an outrage. Government ministers condemn the 'price tag' violence, but at the same time embrace (the perpetrators) with budgets and support. The government is simply undermining itself," she added.

For example, the documents obtained by the committee show that the Interior Ministry transferred millions of shekels of taxpayer money earmarked for the Samaria and Binyamin local councils.

The local councils in turn used these funds to establish the Samaria Settlers Committee and the Binyamin Settlers Committee.

These NGOs encourage activity meant disrupt the work of security forces coming to evacuate illegal structures and outposts.

The Binyamin Settlers Committee received some NIS 3.5 million from its local council, while the Samaria Settlers Committee received some NIS 1 million a year from its own council.

Source: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4751015,00.html

[Israeli]

20. Calling Out the Two Liberals Who Can Stop Israel's NGO Bill

MKs Rachel Azaria and Roy Folkman worked at groups funded by the NIF. Have they checked their liberal, progressive values at the door of the Knesset?

Uri Keidar Jan 11, 2016

"The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who in time of great moral crisis preserve their neutrality." J.F. Kennedy (after Dante)

Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked was called out in an editorial last week by the Washington Post. WaPo, no left wing outlet by any means, slammed her for the recent ‘Transparency Bill’, or more accurately, the Left-wing-NGO-Labeling Act she initiated and promoted during the past few weeks. In the name of "transparency" Shaked pushes a radical right-wing agenda, which leaves right wing NGOs without any need for disclosure regarding their financial sources and focuses only on liberal and progressive groups.

(Shaked responded in an op-ed of her own where she compared her bill to the U.S.'s Foreign Agents Registration Act and claimed her critics' claims are "exaggerated," and exist as part of the "same foolish attempt [as BDS] to besmirch Israel’s name.&quot

Frankly, I think attacking Shaked – a tactic chosen by many progressive organizations - misses the target. Shaked is a radical right-wing politician and her actions are to be expected (and condemned), but she alone cannot pass her bill, or any other bill for that matter. Israel’s current coalition is an extremely narrow one; literally every single one of its members must support each bill in order for it to pass.

In such a political reality, we should focus our attention on those genuine and self-styled liberals and centrists in government, and not only on the right-wing parties and leaders.
Take MK Rachel Azaria, for example. Azaria came to power through hard work among communities and NGOs focused on progressive Jewish pluralism. She led Mavoi Satum, an organization providing legal and policy support for agunot, women who have been refused divorce by their husbands, (and a grantee of the New Israel Fund). Her entire public career is based on promoting liberal values. A single public statement by Azaria would stop the law from ever getting promoted during the current Knesset.  In a shaky coalition of sixty one, a strong statement by even one Member of Parliament stops any bill.

Another frustrating example is that of Kulanu faction chair, MK Roy Folkman. Folkman was a joint project coordinator in Sikkuy, an NGO that is devoted to promoting civil equality for the Arab-Israeli community (and another New Israel Fund grantee.) As an anecdote, it is noteworthy that Folkman's colleague in that project was Ayman Odeh, leader of the Joint List today. Folkman is a faction - chairman in today's fragile coalition, who was funded by the New Israel Fund, yet refuses to defend it in public. Shouldn't we be focusing our energy on calling him out?

American Jewish liberals have been, rightfully, attentive to that anti-NGO bill. It is important to talk about the hypocrisy in Minister Shaked's one-sided bill, but the primary focus should be on those “liberal” elements within the coalition, who by their deafening silence, allow the radical right to control the Israeli public narrative.

MK Azaria and MK Folkman both should have raised their voices and put a stop to this bill long ago. To date, they have failed us and it is time for their supporters, friends and colleagues, in Israel and abroad, to hold them accountable. Their neutrality should not be accepted. The Kulanu party chairman Moshe Kahlon has indicated that he "can live" with this NGO law being passed, and it certainly seems that Azaria and Folkman didn't make it hard for him to do so. As both of them have strong progressive roots, it seems that the liberal public must question their current agenda at this point.

The actions should be rather plain and simple. Israelis and liberal American Jews should contact these MKs and demand their voices to be heard. Azaria and Folkman grew in our institutions, and benefitted from our support. They cannot shirk from that responsibility now. Not less important, they must understand the political price they will have to pay for standing with the extreme right on these and other issues.

Our current political reality is a rare one. Usually, no MK has the power to stop a law on her own. It takes a few votes, which are not always obtainable. This is not the case today. As the history of Israeli democracy unfolds before our eyes, Azaria, Folkman and their likes need to choose a side. It takes a lot of courage, taking a brave step and single-handedly going against your coalition partners and party leader, but isn't this what principled politics is all about? Azaria and Folkman are now writing the first chapters of their story in politics. All progressive leaders and supporters must approach them publicly in order to give them the opportunity to make the opposition to the NGO Bill an optimistic story about leadership, and not another sad story that deals with political cowardice.  

Uri Keidar is the Chairman of the Israeli Labor Party Youth Wing and former chairman of Ben Gurion University Student Union.

Uri Keidar
Haaretz Contributor

Source: http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.696729

[shira]

22. What do you fear from this NGO law? I don't really get it.

NGO's will be able to do everything they currently do now. So what's the fuss all about?

They feel they won't be taken seriously if it's discovered that they are mostly funded by foreign governments?

What's the problem?

[azurnoir]

23. well why do you seem to support it so much, what do you like about it?

[shira]

24. It's just transparency, that's it. To be fair...

.....it would be nice if private donations were publicized too since it would be rather easy for a few bad millionaires or billionaires to mostly fund some NGO's.

I don't see the problem either way.

Are private donations here in the US subject to transparency laws? Are they in any Western nation?

[azurnoir]

26. so you feel that listing as "foreign agents" on each and every publication is mere transparency?

let's do the same with ImTirzu, LeHava, ZOA and all settlement organizations ect then it's all good right? oh wait most money's are funneled to them through tax exempt "private" organizations, but if they are tax exempt can they be really considered private?