knesset-cc-SA-by-Chris-YunkerDear Friends,
I could not have been more proud when I started working as an intern at ACRI 16 years ago. Not only was I working in the best human rights law firm in the country, but I also had the privilege of being part of a community of people working in civil society organizations, who were trying to make Israel a better place. The many years that I have worked in this area have proven to me how human rights organizations really are the voice of minorities. Thanks to these organizations, Palestinians, women, people living in property, and all people whose rights are violated, are given a voice and a chance to fight for change.
Political incitement against these organizations, which has been going on for years and reached a climax this week with the enactment of the NGO Law, outrages and worries me because it affects not only organizations, but also the chance for every man and woman to live with freedom and security. It seems that instead of dealing with our country’s real problems, the coalition leaders have chosen to attack organizations who do not have sufficient resources to deal with the de-legitimization campaign that has been pitched against them.
At ACRI we have been working intensively against this incitement in several ways, via meetings with decision makers, disseminating position papers, appearing in various Knesset committees, canvassing the support of public officials, facilitating public campaigns and more.
With your help, and thanks to ACRI’s work together with other organizations, the law that was approved this week is seemingly less potent than the version that was originally proposed. The requirements to wear a tag and to declare foreign donors at the beginning of each meeting were removed. However, the law still obligates disclosure of foreign government funding in all publications, in correspondence with decision makers and written disclosure prior to any discussion in the Knesset.
The main problem is discrimination. The law only applies to donations from foreign countries, which are already subject to mandatory transparency requirements. The bill excludes those who receive foreign contributions from private donors and other sources whose interests are hidden from the public eye. The obligations imposed by the law will focus all of the attention on funding, and not to the content of the organizations’ work or mandate. This law will prevent organizations from acting proudly for the sake of Israeli society.
Although the law does not apply to ACRI, because the donations that we receive from ‘friendly’ countries amount to about 20% of our budget, we will continue to fight against the marking out of organizations and other initiatives that harm the fundamental principles of democracy.
ACRI needs your support now more than ever before in order to defend those who have no voice or who are being silenced in the current, anti-democratic atmosphere.
I hope that this law deters neither organizations nor their activists from continuing to fight for Israeli democracy, which is so important to us all.
Yours,
Sharon
Sharon Abraham-Weiss
Executive Director
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel
