Human rights organizations under attack in Israel

By Mikaela Levin and Mya Guarnieri; Wednesday, 09 November 2011 - Alternative Information Center
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/news...

Two new bills aim to strip Israeli human rights organizations of funds and silence dissent. According to one of the bills, which proposes to put a hefty tax on donations to NGOs, the legislation intends to stop groups from altering "Israel's political discourse from within."

The Israeli government has relaunched its attack on local left-wing and human rights organizations. Next Sunday, the ministerial legislative committee will vote on two bills that, if approved, will severely limit the financial resources of these organizations.

The first bill, which was authored by Knesset Member (MK) Ofer Akunis (Likud), proposes to put an annual cap of NIS 20,000 (less than 4,000 Euros) to any donation from a foreign diplomatic entity, including UN agencies, the European Union, and foreign governments. The second piece of legislation, written by MK Fania Kirshenbaum, a Ukranian immigrant to Israel and a member of Yisrael Beitenu (Israel our home), would impose a 45 percent tax on any donation made by foreign bodies. As many Israeli non-governmental organizations (NGO) rely heavily on both donations and outside funding to stay afloat--and donations to non-profits are currently tax free--these bills could force some NGOs to scale back their programs or close altogether.

The Kirshenbaum bill explicitly targets the human rights organizations that, in response to a United Nations request, aided the Goldstone committee investigation on the Israeli military invasion of the Gaza Strip in December 2008.

“Several organizations that operate in Israel aim to defame the State of Israel in the eyes of the world and encourage the persecution of IDF officers and soldiers while harming their reputation. These organizations, which often refer to themselves as ‘human rights organizations,’ are funded by states and other obscure sources that only intend to harm and alter Israel's political discourse from within,” the bill says.

The Akunis and Kirshenbaum bills were sidelined in July, in the wake of sharp criticism--both internal and international-- that followed the Israeli Knesset’s approval of anti-boycott legislation. The summer session also saw the Knesset vote against a bill that proposed a parliamentary investigation into human rights organizations.

But the debate surrounding the boycott bill was quickly forgotten when Israelis took to the streets in protest of housing conditions this summer. Now, at the start of the Knesset's winter session, Netanyahu promises his support for the Akunis and Kirshenbaum bills. The governmental coalition is also on board and opposition parties form a small minority in the Knesset. The only hope for the Israeli human rights organization lies in the High Court of Justice, where the bills are likely to hit a wall.

While the legislation could be struck down in the Israeli High Court, observers have become increasingly concerned about the strength of the Israeli justice system. Earlier this year, Yehudit Karp, the former deputy attorney general, sent a letter to the current attorney general detailing the numerous High Court rulings that the state has ignored.

On Monday night, left-wing Israeli organizations held an emergency protest in front of the Prime Minister’s home in Jerusalem in response to the two bills. The demonstration went largely unreported by the Israeli media.