Het besluit van de Knesset is misschien wel begrijpelijk, maar zeker niet handig.
Niet handig omdat het de schijn tegen heeft en lijkt alsof men deze organisaties monddood wil maken en als vijanden van Israel neerzet, wat niet geheel terecht is.
Begrijpelijk omdat veel van deze organisaties wel steeds munitie geven aan antizionisten en vijanden van Israel, en daar ook geen enkel probleem mee lijken te hebben. Zelden of nooit spreekt men zich uit tegen bijvoorbeeld boycotinitiatieven of nazivergelijkingen, zelden of nooit zegt men dat ondanks alle kritiek op Israel niet vergeten moet worden dat Israel ook reële bedreigingen het hoofd moet bieden, en velen in de Arabische wereld haar nog steeds weg willen hebben.
Overigens lijkt het erg disproportioneel hoeveel geld er vanuit het buitenland vloeit naar organisaties die het Israelische overheidsbeleid aanvechten; dat men dit kritisch tegen het licht wil houden hoeft niet te verbazen, zeker niet daar veel van dat geld van buitenlandse regeringen afkomstig is; dat gaat toch in de richting van 'inmenging in binnenlandse aangelegenheden', waar weinig landen van gediend zijn.
Ook in Nederland zijn er weinig beetje neutrale of evenwichtige organisaties die zich met het conflict bezig houden, al is bijvoorbeeld het CIDI behoorlijk gematigd, en Ronny Naftaniel was bijvoorbeeld bijzonder kritisch over dit nieuwe wetsvoorstel. Desondanks wordt het CIDI steeds weggezet als machtige en duistere Israellobby, en dat is wellicht het lot van een ieder die niet continu kritiek uit op Israels beleid.
RP & WB
_____________
The Jerusalem Post
Knesset votes to probe left-wing NGOs
By REBECCA ANNA STOIL
01/05/2011 20:45
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=202367
Commission to check sources of funding of groups; MK Dov Henin calls panel "McCarthy-esque"; NGOs: "We have nothing to hide."
Left-wing NGO's ralied Wednesday evening against the Knesset's vote to establish a parliamentary committee of inquiry to probe foreign funding of Israeli organizations. The plenum voted 41 to 16 to establish the probe, initially proposed by MK Faina Kirschenbaum (Israel Beiteinu), to examine international sources of funding for Israeli organizations who "aid the de-legitimization of Israel through harming IDF soldiers."
Kirschenbaum's proposal, together with a proposal by MK Danny Danon to establish a similar probe to investigate NGOs' land purchases in Israel, will now be discussed in the House Committee. The committee will delineate the parameters of the probe, and will then return the decision to the Knesset floor for a final approval of the parameters.
Israel Beiteinu issued a statement shortly after the vote welcoming the Knesset's decision. "The committee is meant to examine the activities and funding for those groups who habitually support terror organizations, including open support for Hezbullah during the Second Lebanon War and Hamas during Operation Cast Lead."
"It is the right and the obligation of the Israeli public to know that the majority of the false testimonies that were written in the Goldstone Report were handed over by these organizations, the same ones who handed over the names of IDF officers and encouraged legal actions against them, and their representatives have even been wandering for years in Israeli schools and tell the youth to evade military service," continued the statement. "These organizations do not really care about the state of human rights, a fact evidenced by the fact that they have never worked for the rights of women in the Arab society, nor discussed the status of democracy in Saudi Arabia, a state that funds some of these organizations themselves. The entire goal of these organizations is to deter the IDF in its struggle against terror organizations and to weaken the determination of soldiers to defend the citizens of Israel, and the Israeli Knesset has the obligation to fight against this."
Outside of the Knesset, the Im Tirzu Organization, which has worked extensively throughout the past year to publish information regarding funding sources for left-wing groups, expressed satisfaction with the vote. "We congratulate the Knesset on their brave decision to investigate the sources of funding for these organizations," said the student group in a statement hours after the decision.
But the Knesset vote also met with impassioned criticism, both inside and outside of the government.
Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog warned that "the establishment of this committee will cause unnecessary diplomatic damage to Israel and to Israel's image. This is a political proposal that is appropriate for shady regimes, and Israel must not be similar to them. The use of the excuse of defending IDF soldiers, which is a very important value, in order to carry out a political witch hunt of the basest and most dangerous kind hurts the deepest soul of Israeli democracy."
"The State of Israel, as the state of the Jewish people, must be a light to the world in terms of freedom of speech and freedom to express beliefs and to repel proposals that have the scent of McCarthyism," Herzog concluded.
MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) asked the Knesset legal advisor to examine the legal basis for the committee, describing it as a politically-motivated body. "The members of Knesset from the radical right are trying to use parliamentary tools and the Knesset's budget in order to have a political investigation that is suitable for dark states, with the goal of silencing legitimate criticism, and in doing so, harming the basic rights of those with different opinions."
In voting to establish the committee, complained Horowitz, "the Knesset has far exceeded its boundaries as a body that oversees the government's activities. If the House Committee accepts the proposal, then a red line has been crossed."
Israeli NGOs quickly responded to the Knesset decision, with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and more than a dozen left-leaning NGOs jointly signed a message of solidarity of support, in which they challenged MKs: "You wish to investigate? Go ahead and interrogate all of us. We have nothing to hide. You are invited to read our reports and publications, and we will welcome if for a change you will answer our questions instead of slandering us time and again. Similar attempts to silence criticism have failed in the past, this attempt will fail too".
B'Tselem, one of the organizations named in the decision, responded that "we are proud of our work to promote human rights in the Occupied Territories, which is conducted legally and with complete transparency. Persecution and attempts at silencing will not stop us. In a democracy, criticism of the government is not only legitimate – it is essential."
The organization added that it "is absurd to claim that a committee of enquiry with no real powers can uncover information unknown to the Israeli Registrar of Non-Profits. The purpose of the inquiry is not to establish the facts, they are well known. B'Tselem's list of donors is available online. Our financial reports are available at the office of the NGO Registrar, which just recently issued B'Tselem a Certification of Proper Administration. Therefore, it is clear that the motive behind the investigation is an attempt to hinder our work through smears and incitement."
The vote on the proposal came after Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein decided in August that an inquiry will not be conducted into the activities of the left-wing organizations, and the proposal has garnered criticism from human rights and opposition groups.
Knesset votes to probe left-wing NGOs
By REBECCA ANNA STOIL
01/05/2011 20:45
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=202367
Commission to check sources of funding of groups; MK Dov Henin calls panel "McCarthy-esque"; NGOs: "We have nothing to hide."
Left-wing NGO's ralied Wednesday evening against the Knesset's vote to establish a parliamentary committee of inquiry to probe foreign funding of Israeli organizations. The plenum voted 41 to 16 to establish the probe, initially proposed by MK Faina Kirschenbaum (Israel Beiteinu), to examine international sources of funding for Israeli organizations who "aid the de-legitimization of Israel through harming IDF soldiers."
Kirschenbaum's proposal, together with a proposal by MK Danny Danon to establish a similar probe to investigate NGOs' land purchases in Israel, will now be discussed in the House Committee. The committee will delineate the parameters of the probe, and will then return the decision to the Knesset floor for a final approval of the parameters.
Israel Beiteinu issued a statement shortly after the vote welcoming the Knesset's decision. "The committee is meant to examine the activities and funding for those groups who habitually support terror organizations, including open support for Hezbullah during the Second Lebanon War and Hamas during Operation Cast Lead."
"It is the right and the obligation of the Israeli public to know that the majority of the false testimonies that were written in the Goldstone Report were handed over by these organizations, the same ones who handed over the names of IDF officers and encouraged legal actions against them, and their representatives have even been wandering for years in Israeli schools and tell the youth to evade military service," continued the statement. "These organizations do not really care about the state of human rights, a fact evidenced by the fact that they have never worked for the rights of women in the Arab society, nor discussed the status of democracy in Saudi Arabia, a state that funds some of these organizations themselves. The entire goal of these organizations is to deter the IDF in its struggle against terror organizations and to weaken the determination of soldiers to defend the citizens of Israel, and the Israeli Knesset has the obligation to fight against this."
Outside of the Knesset, the Im Tirzu Organization, which has worked extensively throughout the past year to publish information regarding funding sources for left-wing groups, expressed satisfaction with the vote. "We congratulate the Knesset on their brave decision to investigate the sources of funding for these organizations," said the student group in a statement hours after the decision.
But the Knesset vote also met with impassioned criticism, both inside and outside of the government.
Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog warned that "the establishment of this committee will cause unnecessary diplomatic damage to Israel and to Israel's image. This is a political proposal that is appropriate for shady regimes, and Israel must not be similar to them. The use of the excuse of defending IDF soldiers, which is a very important value, in order to carry out a political witch hunt of the basest and most dangerous kind hurts the deepest soul of Israeli democracy."
"The State of Israel, as the state of the Jewish people, must be a light to the world in terms of freedom of speech and freedom to express beliefs and to repel proposals that have the scent of McCarthyism," Herzog concluded.
MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) asked the Knesset legal advisor to examine the legal basis for the committee, describing it as a politically-motivated body. "The members of Knesset from the radical right are trying to use parliamentary tools and the Knesset's budget in order to have a political investigation that is suitable for dark states, with the goal of silencing legitimate criticism, and in doing so, harming the basic rights of those with different opinions."
In voting to establish the committee, complained Horowitz, "the Knesset has far exceeded its boundaries as a body that oversees the government's activities. If the House Committee accepts the proposal, then a red line has been crossed."
Israeli NGOs quickly responded to the Knesset decision, with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and more than a dozen left-leaning NGOs jointly signed a message of solidarity of support, in which they challenged MKs: "You wish to investigate? Go ahead and interrogate all of us. We have nothing to hide. You are invited to read our reports and publications, and we will welcome if for a change you will answer our questions instead of slandering us time and again. Similar attempts to silence criticism have failed in the past, this attempt will fail too".
B'Tselem, one of the organizations named in the decision, responded that "we are proud of our work to promote human rights in the Occupied Territories, which is conducted legally and with complete transparency. Persecution and attempts at silencing will not stop us. In a democracy, criticism of the government is not only legitimate – it is essential."
The organization added that it "is absurd to claim that a committee of enquiry with no real powers can uncover information unknown to the Israeli Registrar of Non-Profits. The purpose of the inquiry is not to establish the facts, they are well known. B'Tselem's list of donors is available online. Our financial reports are available at the office of the NGO Registrar, which just recently issued B'Tselem a Certification of Proper Administration. Therefore, it is clear that the motive behind the investigation is an attempt to hinder our work through smears and incitement."
The vote on the proposal came after Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein decided in August that an inquiry will not be conducted into the activities of the left-wing organizations, and the proposal has garnered criticism from human rights and opposition groups.
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