CC-BY: Foreign and Commonwealth-OfficeThe Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) appealed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on October 17th, 2017 to withdraw his support for the establishment of a parliamentary committee of inquiry into civil society organizations. Executive Director Sharon Avraham-Weiss and Adv. Debbie Gild-Hayo called on the Prime Minister to make clear that he and his government will not promote such initiatives and will act to defend Israeli democracy.
Israel has broad-based legislation both for the supervision of civil society organizations and for addressing offenses related to damage to state security or the state’s interests. If any Ministers or Members of Knesset believe that the actions of civil society organizations constitute unlawful activities, it is sufficient to turn to the existing law enforcement authorities to demand investigation and prosecution.
ACRI’s position paper stresses that existing legislation – including several amendments introduced by governments headed by the current leadership – already regulates reporting and transparency regarding donations to associations, and even addresses specifically reporting on donations from foreign political entities.
To read the full position paper, click here
