Comment: Transparency, not ban, is the way to handle foreign NGO funding

Gerald Steinberg
JPost
02 August 09

(My only question on this approach is if it's effective. If yes, great.)

Herb Keinon's article "Israel targets foreign gov't NGO funds" (July 31) quotes an unnamed Israeli official as advocating a law to ban foreign government funding for numerous radical organizations.

If this, in fact, is the thinking among some Israeli government officials, it should be dropped. Prohibitions in democracies are generally undesirable, and while the claims that such curbs would violate free speech are exaggerated, this approach is unnecessary.

Instead, a policy of complete transparency regarding such funding would be entirely justified and be a major and very belated step towards protecting Israeli democracy from such crude manipulation.

Tens of millions of euros, British pounds, Norwegian krona and Swiss francs are provided by European governments every year to dozens of political NGOs, but most of this is hidden. These governments treat their funding for groups like Yesh Din, ICAHD, PHR-I, Breaking the Silence, Bimkom, Peace Now, etc. as "top secret," reflecting the realization that such activities lack legitimacy.

This obsessive secrecy is reflected in the fact that the Dutch ambassador to Israel and the Spanish deputy chief of mission acknowledged that they were not informed of their own governments' support for Israeli NGOs.

Indeed, much of this funding comes from outside the foreign ministries, and is funneled through separate aid groups, such as the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the British Department for International Development. The officials in these agencies often have close relations with the officials in the NGOs that they fund, and share their ideological biases, or know how to prey on their weaknesses.

Similarly, the European Commission (EC) sends tens of millions of euros every year (the total is classified) under numerous programs, and there is no central listing or accounting for the funds. When NGO Monitor officially requested the details under the EU's own "freedom of information" of regulations, the first response was an attempt to invoke security claims.

Following an appeal, and six months later, the EC sent a CD with some documents, from which almost all of the information was deleted - again demonstrating that this massive manipulation is a highly guarded secret.

A law requiring full disclosure of foreign government transfers of funds to any Israeli non-governmental organization 60 days in advance would lift the cover from this illicit and anti-democratic practice. Israel is the only democratic country in the world where other democracies use massive funding for political groups to influence policies and public opinion.
(For full article)
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