Bezalel Smotrich
Photo: Alex Kolomoisky
New bill to remove left-wing NGO’s tax exemptions
MK Dudi Amsalem has submitted a bill—far from this Knesset’s first—that envisages removing municipal property-tax exemptions from left-wing groups who ‘intentionally act against the State of Israel.’
Last week, just before the Passover recess, a Likud MK submitted yet another bill to the Knesset seeking to curb the efficacy of left-wing organizations.
MK Dudi Amsalem’s bill would remove the exemption from municipal property taxes normally enjoyed by non-governmental organizations from such groups. Amsalem has said that he hopes to fast-track his bill.
He commented, “It is unthinkable that organizations intentionally acting against the State of Israel should receive gifts from the state just so they can hurt us return.”
Dudi Amsalem (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
A year and a half ago, MK Bezalel Smotrich (Bayit Yehudi) submitted an amendment to the NGOs Bill that would have required representatives of NGOs to wear a badge identifying them as such in meetings with government officials.
Whilst that amendment was not approved in the end, the controversial bill to which Smotrich had tried to attach it did indeed become law in July 2016. It requires NGOs to give details of overseas donations if more than half their funding comes from foreign governments or bodies such as the European Union.
In practice, the law affects left-wing groups almost exclusively because hawkish groups in Israel largely rely on donations from wealthy individuals and are thus exempt.
Shortly thereafter, MK Amir Ohana (Likud) submitted a bill that also targeted left-wing organizations due to their mostly foreign funding. His bill sought to prevent Israelis who perform national service rather than serve in the army from being assigned to left-wing NGOs. That bill was finally approved last week.
MK Shuli Mualem (Bayit Yehudi) also recently submitted a bill targeting left-wing NGOs; hers would remove certain tax and fee exemptions normally granted to non-governmental charitable associates. Her bill has not yet completed the legislative process.
(Translated and edited by J. Herzog)
