The Knesset plenum is expected to approve the V-15 bill in its first reading Monday evening. Initiated by Likud MK Yoav Kisch, the bill is designed to address foreign-funded groups that attempt to influence the outcome of Israeli elections by treating them as organizations subject to the restrictions of the Campaign Finance Law. A loophole in the current law gives groups like V-15, which campaigned against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the 2015 election, a free hand. The bill aims to define for the first time what constitutes an "active body during elections," and to limit such groups under the Campaign Finance Law. The bill would mandate that such groups report to the state comptroller, much like political parties. "The bill is intended to be a concrete wall preventing the flow of funding with the goal of buying power," Kisch said. He is planning to have the bill pass by the end of the Knesset winter session next month, and has already called a Knesset House Committee meeting for Tuesday to discuss preparing the bill for its second and third readings.
