Bills to Limit Foreign Funding for NGOs
Knesset committee to vote on bill limiting foreign funding for NGOs
9 November 2011 (The Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
A Knesset committee will vote on two bills imposing restrictions on foreign funding to nongovernmental organizations in Israel.
“It is saddening to see that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has now joined the various members of Knesset who do not cease to try and harm the activity of Israeli organizations that are not to their liking,” said Hagai El-Ad, executive director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. “These bills are dangerous, biased and hazy, which contradict the most basic principles of democracy: freedom of expression, protest, and assembly. These freedoms must be afforded to the entire spectrum of opinions and positions, not only to those that are approved by the prime minister, by MK Akunis and by MK Kirshenbaum.”
Britain warns Israel against blocking funds for rights groups
12 November 2011 (The Independent)
Like many other European countries, the UK donates to a wide range of organisations which include, but are by not confined to, those likely to be targeted in the measures. These include a donation of £93,000 to Peace Now’s Settlement Watch programme in the current financial year for its work in monitoring the growth of Jewish settlements, regarded by most of the international community as illegal.
In the past Britain has donated to Bimkom, an architects’ group which has focused on measures affecting Palestinians in the West Bank, Ir Amim which campaigns for a shared Jerusalem, tours to Hebron organised by the veterans’ organisation Breaking the Silence, the legal rights group Yesh Din, and the Association of Civil Rights in Israel.
NGOs: Bill is a ‘shameful moment’ for Israel
13 November 2011 (The Jerusalem Post)
Immediately after the Ministerial Committee on Legislation’s vote in favor of two bills limiting foreign governments’ donations to NGOs on Sunday, civil rights groups and left wing NGOs – who stand to see a substantial cut in funding – were unanimous in attacking the decision.
In a scathing statement, Hagai El-Ad, executive director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, accused the government of seeking to undermine Israel’s democracy.
“The current government is leading an assault on the foundations of democracy,” said El-Ad, adding that the Ministerial Committee had been expected to vote on two bills on Sunday, including proposed legislation to change the way Supreme Court justices are elected.
“The Supreme Court’s very independence was endangered today, as are the freedom of operations for human rights organizations.
But even further, the government insists on attacking freedom of expression and the rights of Arab citizens,” El-Ad continued, saying that ACRI vowed “in the face of this attack to continue to fight for human rights.”
“We are steadfast in our opposition to Knesset legislation aimed at derailing Israeli democracy,” he added.
Israeli ministers accused of trying to muzzle critics with funding curbs
13 November 2011 (The Guardian)
An Israeli cabinet committee has voted to pass legislation backed by the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, that would cut tens of millions of pounds in foreign funding to human rights organisations.
Christian Aid donates £200,000 annually to organisations in Israel, including B’Tselem, Physicians for Human Rights and the Association for Civil Rights.
Israeli rights groups rail against planned law
13 November 2011 (Financial Times)
The new rules, which have yet to be approved by parliament, are likely to deliver a harsh financial blow to organisations that oppose the Israeli occupation and settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, defend Palestinian rights and monitor the conduct of Israeli soldiers operating in the occupied territories.
They include B’Tselem, Breaking the Silence, Peace Now, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and organisations that represent Israel’s Arab minority.
Bills limiting NGO funding pass Knesset committee
13 November 2011 (The Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
A Knesset committee approved two bills that would impose restrictions on foreign funding to nongovernmental organizations in Israel.
“These two bills are a severe affront to Israel’s democratic character and part of a larger effort on the part of specific MKs to curtail the work of human rights and social change organizations whose agenda and/or activities differ from their political views,” The Association for Civil Rights in Israel said in a position paper distributed twice to lawmakers before the vote.
Israel cabinet OKs bills to curb donations to rights groups
14 November 2011 (The National)
The Association of Civil Rights in Israel has condemned the bills, arguing that it was “ridiculous” that Israel would limit allied countries such as from Europe from funding local associations.
The group also said that such countries, in any case, exert influence over areas such as health, welfare, education and security in Israel since the country itself is a recipient of money in the framework of trade pacts, investments and loans.
Furthermore, the group said that right-wing politicians were unfairly targeting rights associations by limiting donations only from states and large organisations rather than from private donors.
It said the bill’s intention was to leave the Israeli right-wing establishment untouched, since groups like settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem receive private funds.
Israeli leftists say planned laws target them
14 November 2011 (The Miami Herald)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has thrown its support behind legislation that left-wing political groups say is intended to weaken them by severely limiting their funding.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel also has criticized the bills and called them “part of a larger effort … to curtail the work of human rights and social change organizations whose agenda and/or activities differ” from that of the government.
Legislation panel approves bills to restrict foreign funding of NGOs
14 November 2011 (Haaretz)
On Sunday, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved two private-member bills that seek to restrict the funding nongovernment organizations can receive from foreign governments. The law proposals are widely regarded as attempts to muzzle left-leaning human rights groups.
Haggai Elad, director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, vowed to continue the struggle “against an array of laws that threaten the state’s democratic nature.”
Critics of Knesset NGO bills say Israel’s democracy being undermined
14 November 2011 (The Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Two bills now making their way through Israel’s parliament have unleashed a firestorm of criticism from opponents who say the measures tear at Israel’s democratic fabric and are aimed primarily at squashing the work of human rights groups and other progressive nongovernmental organizations.
“These two bills are a severe affront to Israel’s democratic character and part of a larger effort on the part of specific MKs to curtail the work of human rights and social change organizations whose agenda and/or activities differ from their political views,” the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said in a position paper distributed twice to lawmakers before the vote. ACRI gets 15 percent of its funding from abroad.
Who funds Israel’s right-wing organizations?
15 November 2011 (Haaretz)
The sponsors of two bills approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday accurately identified the soft underbelly of Israel’s left-wing and human-rights organizations: They are the only ones who receive funding from foreign governments and international organization – and this is the exact kind of funding the bills seek to curtail. Right-wing groups get no funding whatsoever from these sources.
But this doesn’t mean right-wing groups are short of funds. On the contrary, a look at their financial statements shows that what they raise from private donors, mainly Jews living overseas, far exceeds what left-groups manage to raise from foreign governments. At the same time, right-wing groups are far less transparent than their left-wing rivals.
In 2008, for instance, Elad, which is apparently the wealthiest of the right-wing groups, received NIS 47 million in donations and had a budget of NIS 57 million. By comparison, the budgets of the seven largest left-wing organizations – Peace Now, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Ir Amim, B’Tselem, Breaking the Silence, Yesh Din and Physicians for Human Rights – came to NIS 37 million combined.
Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of The Jewish People
NGOs duel over proposed Basic Law to define Israel
11 November 2011 (The Jerusalem Post)
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel also plans to release a position paper on Dichter’s bill, from a different point of view. “This bill has a number of serious problems,” ACRI Director of Policy Advocacy Debbie Gild-Hayo explained to the Post on Thursday. “First, it separates ‘Jewish’ and ‘democratic’ in its definition of the State of Israel, putting Jewish first,” Gild-Hayo said. “First it says that Jewish law should inspire legislators, and then it says there should be a democratic government.”
ACRI also protested what Gild-Hayo said the bill implies about Israel Arabs. “Twenty percent of the state’s residents are becoming second class citizens. This bill highlights the low status of Arabs in Israel. Reducing Arabic from an official language to ‘special status’ is, by definition, lowering Israeli Arabs’ status,” she stated. Other problems with Dichter’s bill, according to Gild-Hayo, are that it allows towns to be separated by nationality, which would “annul all of the legislation on acceptance committees for closed communities.”
“This bill symbolizes that Arabs are in Israel because we’re doing them a favor, not because they deserve to be here,” she said. “This is a very problematic piece of legislation.”
Bill to Change Selection Method of Supreme Court Judges
Judicial selection reform postponed
13 November 2011 (The Jerusalem Post)
The Ministerial Committee on Legislation decided on Sunday to postpone its vote on a controversial judicial selection reform bill, proposed by coalition Chairman Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) and MK Yariv Levin (Likud).
Lawyer Dan Yakir, legal adviser to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel slammed the bill as heralding the “end of democracy” and the “tyranny of the majority” in Israel. “The bill will severely harm the principle of separation of powers fundamental to a democratic state, according to which the courts must be independent from the political majority, because of their role in protecting the human rights of individuals, minorities and politically weak groups against decisions made by Knesset and the government,” said Yakir. “If the court turns into a reflection of the Knesset then it has no function, it is the end of democracy, and will result in the tyranny of the majority.”
Mail Services in East Jerusalem
Court orders Comm. Ministry to address E. J’lem mail problem
10 November 2011 (The Jerusalem Post)
The High Court of Justice on Wednesday instructed the Israel Postal Company, the Communications Ministry and the Jerusalem Municipality to form a joint working group to deal with the lack of efficient postal services in east Jerusalem, and to report back on their progress within four months.
In June 2010, ACRI filed a petition with the High Court on behalf of east Jerusalem residents in several neighborhoods asking for an injunction to be served against the Israel Postal Company, the Communications Ministry – which has oversight over the Postal Company, and the municipality, to force them to deal with the problem.
Planned Detention Center for Refugees
Israel Studies Plan to Detain Illegal Migrants
15 November 2011 (The Wall Street Journal)
Israel is considering controversial new legislation to rebuff a surging tide of African asylum-seekers through lengthy detention time, highlighting an emotionally charged debate in a country established to absorb Jewish refugees after World War II.
Migrant-rights advocates say that would be in violation of a 60-year-old United Nations convention on refugee rights, adopted largely as a response to the world’s inaction to the Nazi Holocaust during World War II.
“Israel has an obligation because of its history,” says Oded Feller, a lawyer for the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. “The refugee convention says refugees can’t be penalized because they came illegally.”
Lawyers brace for immigration crackdowns in Israel, US
15 November 2011 (Thomas Reuters Summary News)
After the Israeli parliament this week started debating the so-called Prevention of Infiltration Law, migrant-rights activists said it violates the 60-year-old United Nations refugee-rights conventions that were created in response the world’s failure to stop the Holocaust in World War II. The law, first enacted in 1954, was aimed at hindering Palestinians’ return to their homes in Israel proper and dealing with cross-border attacks. Now, the government wants to change it to allow illegal migrants from Africa to be detained three years without trial.
Outraged opponents were quick to call the changes illegal. “Israel has an obligation because of its history,” Association for Civil Rights in Israel lawyer Oded Feller tells the Journal. “The refugee convention says refugees can’t be penalized because they came illegally.”
Lack of Mizrahi Representation in the Supreme Court
MKs, NGOs slam lack of Sephardi Supreme Court justices
16 November 2011 (The Jerusalem Post)
As controversy over the process of judicial appointments to the Supreme Court heated up this week, so did the debate over the ethnic makeup of the court’s members.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel also called for Sephardi representation on the Supreme Court. Its president, Sami Michael, said on Tuesday that Mizrahi Jews, Arabs and also women were underrepresented on what he dubbed “an important fortress of Israeli democracy.”
“If we want to live in a country that respects the different voices of its citizens, that diversity must be reflected in all walks of life, including in the highest judicial body,” Michael said. “Mizrahi underrepresentation on the Supreme Court could alienate this population, which could play into the hands of those enemies of democracy who want to undermine the court.”
