New Israeli Law Outs Foreign-Funded Hostile Activist Groups

Ayelet Shaked
GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty

TEL AVIV – The Israeli government on Monday adopted a law that requires NGO’s in Israel to publicize details of their donations if more than half their funding comes from foreign governments or international governing bodies such as the European Union.

Some opponents of the law, dubbed the “transparency bill” by its Likud Party sponsor, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (pictured), claim the legislation unfairly targets so-called left-wing groups.

In actuality, the new law exposes foreign government funding to largely radical anti-Israel activist groups, many of which disguise themselves as Israel-based, grassroots nonprofit organizations.

The Times of Israel identified some of those groups:

Out of a 25 non-governmental organizations currently targeted by the so-called NGO bill making its way through the legislation process, 23 of them are left-wing organizations and two are non-affiliated.

The list includes prominent human rights groups such as B’Tselem, Breaking the Silence, Ir Amim, Yesh Din, and the Public Committee Against Torture. No right-wing groups are included in the list.

Some of those “prominent” human rights groups strongly oppose Israel Defense Force antiterror operations and have accused Israel of alleged war crimes. Most of the groups affected actively lobby against an Israeli presence in the West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem.

The Times of Israel reported on the new requirements for impacted foreign-funded NGOs:

The law requires that NGOs who meet the criterion of receiving more than half their income from foreign governments report this fact each year to the NGO Registrar in the Justice Ministry, which will publish a list of said NGOs.

NGOs that are on the list must note this fact on their websites for the rest of the year. They must also note this fact on any publications related to the NGO’s advocacy that are readily available to the public, as well as in their communications with public servants and elected officials.

They are also required to inform the chair of a Knesset committee that they are on the list whenever they appear before said committee.

Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.

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