New bill aims to punish foreign-funded organizations

[azurnoir]

Encouraged by the preliminary approval of their anti-boycott bill, which aims to impose harsh punitive fines on Israelis who call for boycotts of Israeli institutions, Coalition Chairman Zeev Elkin (Likud) and Knesset Member David Rotem (Yisrael Beiteinu) are seeking to expand another bill's reach to punish organizations that are financed by foreign funds.

The anti-boycott bill, which was passed in a preliminary reading on Monday night, is yet another layer in the mass of controversial laws that are ruffling the feathers of civil rights organizations. It asserts that anyone who initiates or encourages a boycott on an individual, a company or an organization within the territory of Israel - including Judea and Samaria – violates the law, and therefore must pay a fine that might amount to much more than the direct damage that the boycott might cause.

Essentially, strict enforcement of the law will even punish talkbackers who speak in favor of a boycott.

<snip>

Some 53 human rights organizations sent a letter to Elkin, demanding him to stop the legislature. "This law clearly intends to limit the activity of certain political positions and groups, only because their protest challenges the political consensus that exists in Israel," read the letter, which was signed by B'Tselem, the Association for Civil Rights, the Coalition of Women for Peace and Physicians for Human Rights, among others.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4039398,00.html

[bemildred]

1. "The only democracy in the Middle East." nt

[oberliner]

2. "The revised version of the law is based on the US system...

...that revokes tax benefits from organizations that act against the nation's policies and are largely financed by foreign funds."

Getting to be just like the US over there.

[bemildred]

3. Indeed, picked up a lot of our bad habits. nt

[oberliner]

4. Odd that the boycott the USA movement has not picked up more steam

Maybe that's been under-reported as well.

[bemildred]

6. We've been boycotting ourselves well enough without help. nt

[oberliner]

7. Not sure I get your meaning there

If it's a joke, it went over my head.

[bemildred]

8. We are so good at destroying our own economy that outside help is not needed. nt

[azurnoir]

5. has the US revoked the tax exempt status of the organizations

funding settlement activities in the West Bank? Or does

us policcy in your opinion support the settlement activity

Forward had an interesting blog entry on this

The Israel Project to N.Y. Times: Expose Anti-Israel NGOs, Too — Like the New Israel Fund

Read more: http://blogs.forward.com/jj-goldberg/129189/#ixzz1GnXiSPHu