Despite a litany of warnings from Israel’s Attorney General Yeshuda Weinstein, legal experts and prosecutors, the nation’s ministerial committee pushed through a new bill that would impose a harsh, punitive tax on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have managers who have expressed support for policies that conflict with the current government’s agenda.
The bill would tax donations to NGOs at 45 percent if any one of their managers expressed support for boycott against Israel, called for Israeli soldiers to face international courts for war crimes, or opposes Israel’s status as a “Jewish state.”
The bill was pushed by Jewish Home, which insists that it will protect Israeli soldiers from “immoral legal claims,” and insisted that not cracking down on the NGOs harms the military’s “operational ability.”
The attorney general warned that the bill is unconstitutional, while prosecutors insisted that attempts to enforce the bill will be impossible to defend if challenged in the Israeli High Court.
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni also condemned the resolution as an attempt by Israel’s extreme right wing to punish those who disagree with them. She has promised to appeal.
From apartheid to a total functioning Neo fascism, not much of walk or political maneuvering needed.
The United States government is always the first to protest constraints on "NGOs" in other countries. Will it do so here?
Maybe I'm naïve, but shouldn't NGOs be independent and objective; not guided by some political objective of a third party?
What is wrong with making NGOs accountable for their actions if they run counter to the laws of the land they operate in?
Regardless of who is being persecuted, this is thought control. I recommend you reread Orwell's "1984" – assuming you've read it in the past.
No, it's about being accountable for your agenda. Read the Hebrew papers and see what the law's intentions are. Read my post below to RickR30.
Unfortunately, no entity or person is independent and objective. And yes, NGO should be accountable if they break laws. But in this case it's not about breaking laws. The new bill aims, as usual, to punish dissent and criticism of israel.
"The new bill aims, as usual, to punish dissent and criticism of israel."
Really? Reading the Israeli papers in Hebrew, I got the impression that the idea was to limit the effect that foreign governments can have on Israel's policies by limiting the effect those foreign governments have on Israeli NGOs. If, for instance, an Israeli NGO were to accept money from Iranian sources, under the condition that they do nothing BUT criticize the government, shouldn't the public be aware that the NGO has an alliance with a self-declared enemy of the state?
As an Israeli citizen and resident, I criticize my government's policies as much or more than most uninvolved people. I have yet to be arrested and interrogated for it.
So basically, according to your account, israel doesn't want others to do to it what it does the US?
It would seem that you've gotten confused and can't differentiate between the meaning of "lobbyists" and the meaning of "watchdogs".
Lobbyists are openly paid to attempt to steer government policy towards their interest group (for instance, the Oil Lobby, the aircraft industry, etc.). Watchdogs are supposed to comment on genuine grievances and point out the crimes and misdemeanors of governments. Try to get it right next time.
But to "comment on genuine grievances and point out the crimes and misdemeanors" of the israeli government would be a crime.
Really? Then the Israel Comptroller should be in jail every year when his/her report comes out.
Are you sure you're not confusing the Israeli government with the Palestinian Authority, where they imprison students for criticizing Mahmoud Abbas on their Facebook pages?
I'd love to know where you get these off-the-wall concepts about Israel from…