New bill proposes NGO representatives wear IDs
Bayit Yehudi MK Smotrich submits amendment seeking to increase government monitoring of NGOs that receive funding from foreign governments.
Bayit Yehudi MK Bezalel Smotrich submitted his own amendment proposal to the NGOs law to the Knesset's secretary general on Tuesday, which seeks to increase government monitoring of NGOs that receive funding from foreign governments.
Smotrich's proposal requires NGOs to specify the name of the country from which they receive funding on any document they submit to the government, and requires representatives of NGOs to wear a badge identifying them as such in meetings with government officials.
The proposal stipulates that if the NGOs Registrar "has a reasonable basis to assume an NGO representative is acting against the law, it is authorized of its own initiative, or at the request of the attorney general, to impose a NIS 29,000 fine."
The legislation, according to Smotrich, aims to clamp down on "NGOs that are represented in Israel in a non-transparent manner, while promoting foreign interests of other countries, and working under the guise of a local organization seeking to take care of the Israeli public's interests."
Similar legislation was submitted in previous terms seeking to amend the existing NGOs law in an attempt to increase supervision on them and mount further difficulties on their activities. Past bills proposed putting a limit on the amount of donations the NGOs could accept, and even limiting some groups from registering as an NGO. Each of these proposals led to spirited debates and harsh public criticism.
Smotrich's proposal does not deal with the NGOs' funding, but seeks to impose new, stricter rules of transparency on organizations operating in Israel and funded by foreign donors.
The bill proposal will be raised for discussion in the coming days at the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, which is chaired by Smotrich's party colleague Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, who proposed an amendment to the NGOs bill in the past as well. It is believed Shaked will promote the proposal, so it would get the support of the coalition.
'Erosion of Israel's Jewish character'
"Some of these rules," the proposal states, "share basic similarities to those imposed on lobbyists who work at the Knesset and whose status is enshrined as part of legislation. Some of them are unique to this unique phenomenon."
Smotrich said that "foreign governments have found a way to erode the Jewish character of the State of Israel and this must stop."
He went on to say that, "Democracy is the rule of the people. One of the ways the government communicates with its citizens is via non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who convey the people's wills and values back to the government. However, a democratic regime manages its relations with foreign countries using complex diplomatic systems."
He claimed the current legislation on NGOs create a serious loophole that allows foreign countries to "masquerade" as groups of citizens by funding the NGOs, and so foreign governments affect internal processes in Israel, not through official channels.
