BICOM

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation yesterday passed two bills, by 11 votes to five, which will limit funding opportunities by foreign governments and international organisations to Israeli NGOs. The bill will now be brought in the coming days to the full Knesset for a preliminary reading. One of the bills, proposed by Likud MK Ofir Akunis, sets a limit of NIS 20,000 that can be transferred to NGOs that seek to influence Israeli policy. The second bill, proposed by Yisrael Beitenu MK Fania Kirshenbaum, imposes a 45 per cent levy tax on donations from foreign governments.

Five ministers, led by Likud Minister without Portfolio Bennie Begin and Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, appealed the decision and called for further discussion. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he supported the two bills with reservations and said that the language should be carefully drafted.

Opposition Leader Tzipi Livni strongly condemned the two proposals. “The current government, in a deliberate process, is trying to silence its citizens out of fear of criticism and a will to survive. We will fight against these proposals,” Livni said. Meanwhile, Minister Yossi Peled (Likud), who voted in favour of the proposals, said “we live in a very (unique reality that does not exist) in any other country. If the Breaking the Silence organisation is funded (by foreign bodies) and then persecutes IDF soldiers – this is something we cannot accept. 

In related news, British Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould expressed concerns to Likud MK Ofir Akunis, one of the initiators of the bills, over the proposed clause that would limit the amount of money that Israeli political NGOs could receive from foreign governments. Gould told Akunis that the UK supports human rights work in a large number of countries and that UK support for NGOs is not aimed against the Israeli government. Gould also cautioned Akunis that, if passed, the bill would reflect badly on Israel in the international community.