Time to shine a light on the NGO campaign of distortion

...Certain NGOs have upped the ante since and have sought to ensure their activities will be placed under no further public scrutiny and that even their illegitimate activities will be placed above the law.

MK Robert Ilatov..
Op-Ed Contributor/JPost..
23 July '13..

Israel’s democracy is under threat again! This is the constant refrain heard from certain NGOs every time their taciturn and covert work comes under the spotlight. It has become so frequent and predictable it would be pitiful, if not for the nefarious and outsized effect these NGOs have on the internal and external conversation about our country and its future.

In 2011, the Knesset voted in favor of the public’s right to know the details of foreign government involvement through NGO funding, passing legislation requiring all recipients, regardless of political agenda, to report quarterly in order for this shadowy industry to work in a more transparent manner.

This simple act of legislation was fought using the NGO industry’s almost limitless resources, and political support was mobilized with claims the proposed law signaled the end of democracy. The substance of the bill was massively distorted and the bill itself was seldom referred to or referenced in this all-out attack.

Thankfully, this bill passed into law. However, smarting from the loss, certain NGOs have upped the ante since and have sought to ensure their activities will be placed under no further public scrutiny and that even their illegitimate activities will be placed above the law.

The bill I am co-sponsoring with Ayelet Shaked seeks to remedy a situation which no self-respecting democracy can endure. Any NGO which receives foreign government funding and which advocates for or carries out certain actions will be restricted to receiving no more than NIS 20,000 a year from a given nation.

The criteria which would restrict government funding are: if an NGO or member of an NGO calls for IDF soldiers to be tried in international courts; calls to boycott, divest from or sanction the State of Israel or its citizens; denies Israel’s existence as a Jewish and democratic state; incites to racism or supports armed struggle against the State of Israel by an enemy state or terror organization.

Any and all opponents of the bill should simply state which of these criteria are problematic or offensive to them. These actions are deeply injurious to the State of Israel and its citizens and are already to a great extent illegal if performed by Israeli citizens. The question which should remain is: Why should NGOs be above the law, and why should foreign governments continue to fund these activities? Should a state allow the flow of massive funding to any organization which incites racism, supports terrorism or the dismantlement of our nation in its current form? It is time the NGOs using scare-tactics and threats answered this simple question.

Who is anti-democratic? Europe’s secret NGO wars

Dr. Gerald M. Steinberg..
Op-Ed Contributor/JPost..
14 July '13..

When is a non-governmental organization (NGO) actually an arm of state power and interest, masquerading as a non-political do-good civil society group? For starters, this absurd category, known as a GONGO – a governmental non-governmental organization – applies to the dozens of Israeli and Palestinian advocacy groups that are funded primarily by the European Union, its member states, as well as Norway and Switzerland.

For Europe, NGO funding is a major form of promoting state interests, with goal of changing Israeli policy through the political activities of these organizations.

In politics, as in nature, such hostile actions produce opposite reactions, and the impact of these Europe-funded political campaigns has alerted Israel’s democratically elected representatives in the Knesset.

These objections often take the form of proposed legislation that seeks to prevent such abuse. The latest draft would prohibit all foreign government grants above NIS 20,000 for political entities whose members or employees promote NGO political warfare against Israel. In particular, the proposal refers to NGOs that campaign for discriminatory boycotts, use false war crimes allegations to urge legal action in international courts, deny Israel’s legitimacy as a Jewish and democratic state, incite racism and support armed attacks or terrorism.

While more specific than similar legislation introduced (and withdrawn) last year, the definitions remain problematic, and the new proposal was immediately denounced as “anti-democratic.” Supporters, in turn, refer to the abuses of European soft power as anti-democratic and neo-colonial, in that they seek to use the power of unaccountable NGOs to impose their preferences on Israel.

Not quite free

European democracies are spending tens of millions of euros to manipulate Israeli society and politics


Gerald Steinberg
Op-Ed/JPost
13 April '10

The writer is president of NGO Monitor and professor of political science at Bar-Ilan University.

Sixty-two years after the rebirth of sovereignty following 2,000 years of exile and powerlessness, the Jewish state is still struggling for real independence. Beyond the genocidal threats from the Iranian leadership and its proxies, European democracies are spending tens of millions of euros, pounds and krona to manipulate Israeli society and politics. This largely hidden European money that funds so-called “civil society” organizations, like B’Tselem, Yesh Din, Ir Amim, the Public Committee Against Torture, Peace Now and dozens more, is undermining Jewish sovereignty and the right to determine our own future.

With such large sums at their disposal, self-appointed leaders of these foreign government-funded nongovernmental organizations (appropriately known as GONGOs) often have greater influence than elected officials. They often set the political agenda, promote their goals in the Knesset and UN and dominate media discussions on Israel.

For example, under the civil society façade, and using European taxpayer money, as well as donations from the New Israel Fund, B’Tselem’s offices in London and Washington lobby intensely in support of the blood libels in the Goldstone Report. In parallel, the self-styled Coalition of Women for Peace promotes boycotts, divestment and sanctions and to hurt Israeli firms. And a handful of individuals in Breaking the Silence (BTS), were invited to travel (all expenses paid) throughout Europe to tell the journalists, “intellectuals” and left-wing politicians that Israel, and not Hamas or Hizbullah, is the real “war criminal.” BTS films were also shown as part of Israel Apartheid Week activities across campuses last month.

IN THIS form of European neocolonialism, these groups push the policies selected by their patrons, while central topics for Israelis are given short shrift. As a result, few reports by “human rights” groups deal with Gilad Schalit, women victims of Arab honor killings or other issues missing from Europe’s agenda.

(Read full article)

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