Likud MK Yoav Kisch's new bill, which proposes characterizing certain NGOs that receive funding from foreign entities as foreign "plants" or agents working against the state from within, is gaining momentum. Seventeen lawmakers, including some from the opposition, have signed the bill, and 25,000 Israelis have expressed support for it on social media sites. Four opposition MKs have also signed the bill: Mickey Levy from Yesh Atid, and Robert Ilatov, Hamad Amar and Oded Porer of Yisrael Beytenu. The proposal comes at the same time as a report issued Sunday by the right-wing Zionist group Im Tirtzu, titled "Shtulim [Plants] 2015." The group argues that "there are Israeli organizations perceived by society as 'leftist' or 'human rights' groups but in fact they are not as such. They are foreign agents, extensively funded by foreign governments, and operating from within against Israeli society, against IDF soldiers, undermining Israel's ability to defend itself in the war on terror." The bill, first reported by Israel Hayom, proposes compelling NGOs listed as "plants" to divulge all funding sources and banning them from collaborating with government bodies or the IDF, with exceptions to be approved by the justice minister. The bill says it aims to provide the authorities and the public with the tools to "confront the erosion of democracy and the internal delegitimization of Israel, funded by foreign institutions and states." Under the proposal, an NGO classified as a "plant" that fails to comply would be fined 100,000 shekels ($25,700). It proposes allowing the Registrar of Nonprofit Associations to petition the courts to dismantle any organization involved in activity deemed hostile toward the state. Meanwhile, activist group Gush Shalom has planned a protest rally against the controversial "Shtulim" campaign on Saturday in Tel Aviv. The notice for the event reads: "The inciters who led to [late Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin's murder are once again inciting against the Arab population, against human rights organizations, against the peace movement."
Credit: Reuters
The Likud Knesset members who have signed the bill are David Bitan, Nava Boker, Nurit Koren, Miki Zohar, Anat Berko and Avraham Neguise. Habayit Hayehudi MKs Bezalel Smotrich, Moti Yogev and Shuli Mualem also signed, as did Shas MK Yoav Ben-Tzur, United Torah Judaism MK Menachem Moses, and Kulanu MKs Meirav Ben-Ari and Eli Cohen.
