Leftists Shocked:
By Gil Ronen, INN
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation voted Sunday to support a bill limiting the funding that political non-governmental organizations (NGOs) may receive from foreign governments and international bodies to 20,000 shekels per year. The bill was authored by MK Ofir Akunis (Likud).
The Committee also voted in favor of a bill submitted by MK Faina Kirshenbaum (Yisrael Beitenu) that would deprive NGOs that rely on foreign funding of tax exempt status and levy a 45% tax on foreign donations.
Bills that receive the Committee’s approval are considered to be relatively certain of passing in the Knesset.
The ministers supporting the bills included Limor Livnat, Gilad Erdan, Yossi Peled, Gidon Sa’ar and Moshe Cachlon (Likud), Yitzchak Aharonovich, Sofa Landver, Yuli Edlestein and Stes Misezhnikov (Yisrael Beitenu) and Daniel Hershkovitz (Jewish Home).
Ministers Benny Begin, Michael Eitan, Dan Meridor (Likud) opposed the bills, as did ministers Shalom Simchon and Orit Noked (Independence).
Begin, Eitan and Meridor filed immediate appeals against the decisions in order to force a debate in the Cabinet.
The leftist camp in Israel is extremely upset by the bills, which would deprive it of much of its prowess. Proponents of the bills note that the American Foreign Agent Act provides similar protection against foreign meddling in US affairs. Opponents say the bills are anti-democratic and stifle free speech.
yamit82:
Kol Hakavod, very noteworthy response of yours re the ‘nesichim’ (Prince’s). I remain as a Likud member but only through Manhigut Yehudit. The one hope that you talk of in your final sentence – I see through Moshe Feiglin who has my full support and Im chiloni l’gamrei.
I think that France would make a good homeland for the Palestinians.
Herut ceased to become a right wing ideological party when Begin joined up with the Liberals to form Gahal. Sharon killed any real ideological substance to the political right when he forged Likud. Begin put the final nail in the ideological coffin when he opened up Likud to Sefardic Jews who till then had no political home. While then most Sefadic Jews hated both Arabs and Mapai no necessarily in that order, they were not Land of Israel ideologues but Live and let Live pragmatists who seldom challenged central authority and viewed the PM as a King. Begin co-opted this sectarian group which gave him his first electoral victory. As a classic demagogue he knew which rhetorical buttons to push in is diatribes and was versed in enough traditional Judaism to appeal to Sephardi sensitivities.
More than a right wing ideologue Begin was a Liberal Democrat and he proved his ideological loyalties to democratic principles over Jewish ones many times, especially with the Sinai withdrawal.
It’s MO, that Israels slow retreat and national malaise began with Begin, first the giving up of Sinai and the dismantling of permanent Jewish settlements, towns and military and then the 1rst Lebanese war, where we wasted over 600 of our soldiers for no good reason and i the end did not achieve any of our military and political objectives. Hezbollah and Hamas were Israeli stepchild’s,we financed, armed and used them against Arafat and Fatah. Sort of like what America did in supporting Al Qaeda and the Mujahedin in Iraq and other dissident groups around the globe. They and we are still at this stupid and myopic game. Israel invented the SLA much as America uses in Libya Al Qeada. America will leave Iraq in December but will leave up to 50000 contract civilian mercenaries in their place. Israel mirrors this in smaller ways with the Kurds in Norther Iraq.
Back to Begin father and son; Begin the son and Meridor are opportunistic liberals who believe they are empowered by the deeds and reputations of their fathers who fought in the pre state anti British underground militias. They were once called the Likud prices that included Olmert, Livni and BB. Eldad is one of the few exceptions of second generation ideologues who carried forward their fathers beliefs.
Note.. This goes to show the difference between secular ideology and religious. Secular ideologies don’t as a rule pass down to the next generation.
There is only one hope of a truly right wing party to emerge in Israel and that is if most of the secular right can merge and live with the religious right in a single political party. Till now the secular right don’t like or trust the religious right and the religious right don’t trust anyone without a kippa on their heads.
Long ago, when Begin joined Meridor and Lipkin Shahak I believe, I marked him as a bombastic charlatan. My refraining from overt attackes on him are predicated upon sorrow for him at the loss of his son piloting an F-16.
Meridor and him are also causes for me leaving the LIKUD, Micky is a cute left winger irrelevsnt on his own merits.
I am sure every possible sabotage will be tried by the unJews on those Laws.
Few Israeli, or Americans are aware of the power of Europe’s bureaucratic oligarchy, which distributes those NGO funds as they personally see fit. Unelected, unpopular, unrepresentative, and with almost dictatorial powers, the Brussels bureaucrats determine even the most minute details of Europeans daily lives. The democratically elected national politicians and the EU parliament, have no supervision over them, nor ability to determine policies.
Most of the key bureaucrats, are graduates of very few key, elite universities, and propagate their mentors self-aggrandizing dogmas. They act as a closed guild, making sure that only their “old boys” and ideological clones get positions.
Thus European taxpayers are coerced into funding ideological and legal warfare against Israel, that may be an anathema to their personal beliefs.
To be honest, lots of Europeans rejoice every time that Brussels gets put in its place.
To some degree, this is true of Washington as well. The ideological power of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and the top 3 law schools, is phenomenal.
I apologize for repeating my posting but obviously some in Israel who are not aware of the tremendous damage is being done to Israel by this foreign funding infiltration of Israel’s political structure:
Not as a substitute but as an adjunct I suggest following:
1. Any organization receiving any foreign funding must publicly list its source and amount (in detail). The Israeli public should know exactly from were and from whom all monies are received.
2. Any organization receiving foreign money should be required to register as an agent of the foreign power. This is parallel to the requirement in the United States.
3. Any organization attempting to influence legislation and/or the election of candidates should lose any tax advantages or exemptions it may have.
4. Any organization making claims of atrocities or unlawful actions should be held to a strict legal accountability for libel and defamation. I am particularly dismayed about the many false and exaggerated claims that originated with “breaking the silence” B’tselem; human rights watch; etc.
In Iraq when US government funding was detected backing certain political organizations there was a national scandal. The same should be true of any country attempting to influence Israel’s political discourse.
I was very unhappy when Clinton dispatched his political team to influence the outcome of Israeli politics. This was an outrage and should have been denounced by all elements across the Israeli political spectrum. I am especially bothered with Tzipi Livini’s and Yossi Beilin’s activities in Europe and in the United States. What they say and urge government executives to do behind closed doors is certainly harmful to Israel and border on subversion.
The elements that object to AIPAC are the same individuals and organizations who are attacking this legislation as “anti-democratic”.
Israel is not a Banana Republic. Israelis should be united in telling the European Union that any efforts for them to influence Israeli policy is forbidden as an undue intrusion on Israeli sovereignty. Just imagine the reverse, that Israel was spending covert money to undercut the current government in England, France, the United States, etc. Every anti-Semite in the world and every patriotic citizen of these countries would join in denouncing these Israeli actions.
How low can Benny Begin fall??? These “rightwing” members of Knesset are an embarassment. The Likud has to purge them out!!!