Israel's Knesset passes controversial NGO funding bill

By Kaamil Ahmed

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli parliament, the Knesset, on Monday night adopted a controversial bill by a vote of 57-48 that some critics say unfairly targets left-leaning NGOs.

According to a Knesset statement, the new "transparency law" will require NGOs that are mostly funded by foreign governments to publicly declare themselves as such.

Such organizations will also have to state the fact on their websites, in all their public publications, in all their communications with officials, and whenever they appear before Knesset committees.

The purpose of the new legislation, according to the Knesset statement, is to identify organizations that serve "outside interests of foreign states while pretending to be a domestic organization concerned with the interests of the Israeli public".

While the bill was hailed by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked as a victory for Israeli sovereignty over foreign influence, opposition figures said it would adversely impact the work of organizations that support the most vulnerable segments of society, including Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories.

"Let us not be confused: the purpose of this law is the targeted killing of a precise list of organizations that are identified with the left in Israel," Michal Rozin, a Knesset member for the left-wing Meretz party, asserted.

Before the vote, the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, an NGO, described the bill as discriminatory, pointing out that it did not apply to funding from private individuals abroad.

The group went on to describe funding by foreign individual donors as the "life source" of Israeli right-wing organizations.