By Prof Steven Plaut
1. You know things are REALLY going well when Haaretz and the radical Left in Israel are hysterical. And hysterical they are this week. It seems there is a new Knesset initiative to regulate and restrict the funding from foreign sources of the legions of picayune anti-Israel leftist NGOs and “organizations” in Israel. Basically these groups all have the same Israeli members, who migrate from group to Potemkin group to make it look like there are oodles of such organizations. These “organizations” could not exist at all were it not for the funding they get from hostile foreign organizations and governments. It is a bit like pro-Nazi organizations being allowed to operate in the UK and the US in 1942 where they are funded by the Third Reich and by “organizations” operating in Germany.
Organizations representing foreign interests are required to be registered as agents or lobbyists for foreign powers in the US and in some other places. A few years ago Knesset Members from the Non-Left proposed requiring that leftist NGOs in Israel provide disclosure of the sources of their funding. The Left sobbed that this was anti-democratic and Bibi Netanyahu had a sudden attack of cowardice and ordered the Likud not to support the initiative. That bill would not have stopped the trouble-makers’ funding, just expose it.
Now a new bill is being introduced into the Knesset, sponsored by Knesset Member Ayelet Shaked, from the “Jewish Home” party of Brother Naftali. Here is her web pagehttps://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/
Her bill evidently goes further than the earlier Due Disclosure proposal that Bibi shot down and it would restrict governmental funding from abroad for some anti-Israel NGOs operating in Israel. Specifically, it would “limit foreign governmental funding to Israeli NGOs that oppose Israel’s Jewish character or Israeli democracy, advocate boycotting Israel or trying its soldiers in international courts, or incite to racism or terrorism.” (http://www.timesofisrael.com/
As I say, anything that makes the Left hysterical must be something of sublime value, beauty and importance. The best manifestation is the Haaretz editor, and it goes well beyond the usual Stalinist-era screeching inside Haaretz. See it here: http://www.haaretz.com/
“The extreme right (sic) has been obsessively trying to introduce nationalist content into the education system, exclude Israel’s Arab minority and make a mockery of the very idea of democracy by subordinating it to religion in the guise of Zionism. To all this must now be added an idiotic new initiative, which, if successful, would eliminate freedom of expression in Israel and thwart legitimate criticism.”
And what is objectionable about the bill? Haaretz replies: “The bill states that it would be enough for a single employee of such an NGO to do one of five things ? call for a boycott, divestment or sanctions against Israel, urge the indictment of Israel Defense Forces soldiers in an international court, reject Israel’s existence as a Jewish and democratic state, incite to racism, or support armed struggle against Israel by a terrorist organization or enemy state ? to deprive the NGO that employs him of the right to raise more than NIS 20,000 from a foreign political entity.” To which we can only respond, Well Duh!
Then, after comparing Israel to the world’s worst fascist regimes, Haaretz adds: “But Weinstein was wrong: The racist coalition set up by Benjamin Netanyahu is not only jealous of those benighted countries, but it wants to surpass them. Shaked, in her ignorance of democracy, is convinced that by shattering the mirror that reveals the crimes of Israel’s policy of occupation and its discrimination against its own Arab minority, and by halting the activity of NGOs that still care about the rights of Israeli citizens, the world will come to believe what’s said in Israeli propaganda films. Shaked’s proposal undermines the basic civil rights of freedom of speech and freedom to express an opinion.”
We sure hope Shaked also introduces a bill to shut down any newspaper advocating those forms of treason as well! Ignorance of democracy? Coming from the Israeli pre-perestroika Pravda?
Note how often Haaretz tosses about the word “racism” in the editorial and “news coverage” of the proposal. Indeed it is hard to find a Haaretz Op Ed or editorial these days about ANYTHING that is not based upon accusations that Jews and Israelis are “racists.” Haaretz has never spoken out against the “racism” inherent in things like Arabs and Leftists cheering on suicide bombers, calling for Iran to nuke the Jews, or demanding that Jews be denied self-determination and have their country annihilated.
I would like to propose that we all adopt as a general strategy the following: Anyone who uses the word “racism” to refer to Jewish attitudes and treatment of Arabs should be automatically presumed to be an anti-Semite and a traitor. Accordingly nothing else that person says should be considered worth listening to and the proper response to all claims coming from that person should involved references to his or her mother.
2. Meanwhile, as you know every week or two Haaretz runs one single token non-leftist Op-Ed article so that its apologists can pretend Haaretz is pluralistic and so that they can roll their eyes in mock shock whenever anyone says that Haaretz is about as neutral and pluralistic as the national newspapers of Cuba. Ironically, this week’s Op Ed by Zionist Israel Harel may do the best job of debunking the above Haaretz editorial. So naturally Haaretz does not run it in its English newspaper and web page, only in Hebrew, at http://www.haaretz.co.il/
Harel starts by pointing out that Shaked’s bill would not restrict the treasonous activities of the leftist anti-Israel NGOs in Israel, merely restrict the funding from abroad that they may accept. The United States under Roosevelt and Churchill’s Britain may have jailed and banned treasonous organizations supporting the enemy in time of war, but nothing of the sort appears in the Shaked proposal.
Harel adds that no one objects to Israeli campaign finance laws that restrict the fund raising activities of legitimate political parties so why should anyone object to Shaked’s proposal regarding funding for tiny renegade anti-Israel NGOs pretending that they care about human rights. He singles out Peace Now, which he says may have once been a more or less bona fide Israeli political organization but is today little more than a lackey for its foreign funding masters, who pull the Peace Now puppet strings today.
3. One of the worst Jewish anti-Semites on earth just kicked the bucket and the world is far better off without him and his ilk.
Ilan Halevi was an anti-Israel radical Maoist who lived in Israel for a while in the 60s and 70s. He joined the small Maoist-Trotskyite splinter “Matzpen,” some of whose members were later involved in an espionage-terrorist ring. Halevi then left for France and became an “executive member” in the PLO. See http://www.haaretz.com/news/
Note how Haaretz is censoring the page so that only pro-Matzpen talkback comments are being allowed to show.
4. I had the strangest experience this past week. I was wandering on the Haifa beach and suddenly saw this ancient oil lamp on the beach. I rubbed it and this Djinn or genie popped out.
Vie geht’s, said the genie to me. Thanks for releasing me, kinderloch. In exchange I have decided to grant you 4 wishes.
Ok, says I. As my first wish, I would like to ask that the Syrian opposition start shooting and blowing up Hezb’Allah terrorists.
Your wish is my command, says the genie, although he pronounced “wish” as a Yiddish-sounding VISH.
Ok, next I want the Egyptian military to cease power and start shooting the Islamofascists from the Muslim Brotherhood and the Hamas terrorists from Gaza.
No sooner said than done, boychick, said the genie, directing me to look at pagehttp://www.ynetnews.com/
Ok, now I would like to see a Matzpen traitor dispatched and sent off to meet his maker, say I, and meeting Stalin as his “maker” in hell is an acceptable arrangement.
So let me get this straight, say I. The Syrian opposition is blowing up Hezb’Allah terrorhoids. The Egyptian army is shooting Islamofascists and terrorists. Arafat’s “Jewish” executive board member from Matzpen is recycled. Right?
Well, in that case, says I, as my 4th wish I think I’d like a diet coke.
in regard to the so-called “peace now movement,” that Steve Plaut mentions, there was in fact a movement of the same name operating in the USA during WW2 from 1941 into 1944, if not afterwards. It seems that it stopped operating in 1944 when it was being investigated by a congressional committee and apparent German Nazi connections turned up. I found an article on the web that goes into this matter. See link:
http://digilander.libero.it/asdfghj2/dossier/042204o.htm
Russia earlier this year passed a law mandating the disclosure of foreign funding for anti-Russian Russian NGOs on the territory of Russia and has required them to register as “foreign agents” – which they are. The Russian law does not in any way hinder the legitimate activities of Russian NGOs which are primarily supported by Russians’ own money.
What is Haaretz screeching about? The proposed Israeli law does not go nearly far enough to ban NGOs who are in the service of foreign anti-Israel governments from whom they receive the bulk of their funding and instruction. And Israel’s circumstances are far more perilous than Russia’s. That’s why every one should ignore Haaretz and do the exact opposite of what it insists.
As for the late Matzpen comrade Ilan Halevi, well the good news is he’s going to hell. G-d smiles upon the world when there is one fewer Jewish anti-Semite around in it to undermine the Jewish State! I would like nothing better than to see Haaretz’s obituary follow comrade Halevi’s someday!
Any rule of law must establish a legislation to protect the Nation against foreign interference in the affairs of the country, especially when said interferences are intended to undermine the foundations and existence of the Nation.
As a matter of fact, the largest democracy in the world – the United States – established a strict legislation requiring organizations receiving funds from foreign countries to be strictly controlled, and to provide detailed information regarding their activities, which information must be open to public examination and inspection.
The issue is of such importance, that the legislation is found under “Treason, Sedition, and Subversive Activities“. Here are some excerpts:
18 USC § 2385 – Advocating overthrow of Government
[…]
Whoever, with intent to cause the overthrow or destruction of any such government, prints, publishes, edits, issues, circulates, sells, distributes, or publicly displays any written or printed matter advocating, advising, or teaching the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying any government in the United States by force or violence, or attempts to do so,[…]
18 USC § 2386 – Registration of certain organizations
An organization is “subject to foreign control” if:
(a) it solicits or accepts financial contributions, loans, or support of any kind, directly or indirectly, from, or is affiliated directly or indirectly with, a foreign government or a political subdivision thereof, or an agent, agency, or instrumentality of a foreign government or political subdivision thereof, or a political party in a foreign country, or an international political organization; or
(b) its policies, or any of them, are determined by or at the suggestion of, or in collaboration with, a foreign government or political subdivision thereof, or an agent, agency, or instrumentality of a foreign government or a political subdivision thereof, or a political party in a foreign country, or an international political organization.
Therefore, a bill providing harsh provisions should be adopted against those whose only purpose and goal is obviously the destruction of Israel from inside the country, as would do any self-respecting democracy.
If it is good for the United States, it should be good for Israel.