The controversial “NGO Transparency” bill was passed into law late Monday night the eve of 6 Tammuz in Knesset in a 57-48 vote. The new law compels NGOs that receive most of their funding from foreign governments to report on the source of funding. The bill was sponsored by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, targeting the many left-wing organizations funded by the EU and others towards advancing foreign agendas. The Justice Ministry report that at present, there are only 27 organizations in Israel that fall into this category, receiving over half their funding from a foreign government. All but two of these organizations list themselves as human rights organizations.

The NGO Monitor has been monitoring the situation, citing the need for dialogue with European governments based on mutually agreed-upon guidelines. The “Law and Disclosure Requirements for [Groups] Supported by a Foreign Governmental Body” (2011), also known as the NGO Funding Transparency Bill.

NGO Monitor explains “Such guidelines will prevent funding to NGOs active in anti-Israel or anti-Semitic campaigns, denying the right of Israel to exist, or supporting terror. This approach has been validated by developments in a number of European parliaments, including in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and United Kingdom, where debates on government funding and based on NGO Monitor research, have already begun”.

Prof. Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor, said, “The law will not bring major changes and will not prevent NGOs, which are already obligated to report on foreign government donations, from receiving money. The debate in Israel about NGO funding will continue, and therefore an inter-parliamentary dialogue on guidelines and evaluation mechanisms remains important. The establishment of working groups with Knesset members and European parliamentarians to oversee these allocations would enable both parties to voice their concerns and to devise new policies.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)