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The folks over at the Reut Institute are either really proud of themselves
just about now, or are beginning to be just a little bit alarmed by the openly
anti-democratic lengths Israeli legislators are willing to go to shut down
what Reut inelegantly calls the “delegitimizers.” (First it’s human rights
groups, and then?)
In an almost perfect display of Rumsfeldian logic, the influential Israeli
policy institute has been urging and working with the Israeli government &
diplomatic corps to crack down on human and civil rights, student and peace
groups it insists are delegitimizing Israel. Their crime? Pointing out the gover-
nment’s self-delegitimizing behavior, such as violating basic human rights
standards when it comes to occupied Palestinians, providing limited civil rights
to Palestinians inside the green line, or increasingly, throwing the whole concept
of Western-style democracy out the window, even when it comes to Jewish Israelis.
If the latest news marks how Reut, the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and their many
quasi-proxy organizations in the US plan on rescuing Israel from ever increasing
global isolation, may [your higher power of choice here] help us all.
The latest today from Haaretz in Leftist groups:
‘Witch hunt’ against us will destroy democracy in Israel:
Israeli left-wing organizations decried Wednesday a Knesset plenum
decision to support a panel of inquiry to investigate certain groups
suspected of “delegitimizing” the Israel Defense Forces.
The plenum’s approval means that the initiative will now be taken to
the Knesset House Committee for debate. The initiative proposes invest-
igating the sources of funding for these left-wing groups, and to determine
whether money is being funneled from foreign states or organizations linked
to terror activities.
Peace Now Director-General Yariv Oppenheimer deemed the move “another
step on the path toward wiping out democracy in Israel” and as a blatant attempt
to persecute critics of Israeli policy.
The New Israel Fund said the Knesset’s approval “proved how much the status of
democracy has deteriorated in Israel – even in the house of legislators.”
“Democracy cannot function properly without freedom of expression, freedom to
be heard, criticism of the system and active human rights groups,” said the funds.
“The political persecution of human rights group will cause great damage to Israel
and across the world, and will lead to the delegitimization
[of Israel] and the representation of it as a McCarthyite state in which a witch hunt
is taking place,” added the NIF.
Forty-seven legislators voted in favor of the motion on Wednesday while 16 voted
against.
Knesset approval of the initiative, brought forth by Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu faction, comes just months after Attorney General
Yehuda Weinstein ruled in August that no investigation should be launched against
such groups.
The discussion at the Knesset on Wednesday was charged, filled with heckling and
interruptions. A significant number of security guards were on hand to prevent
physical altercations between the opposing members of Knesset.
MK Fania Kirshenbaum (Yisrael Beiteinu ), who submitted the proposal, alleged
during the debate that the groups targeted for investigation were to blame for for-
eign actions aimed at delegitimizing Israel and its officials.
“These groups provide material to the Goldstone commission [which investigated
the Gaza war] and are behind the indictments lodged against Israeli officers and
officials around the world,” Kirshenbaum said, referring to a series of arrest warrants
issued over the last few years.
“They are trying to silence the very people who administrate the State of Israel’s
foreign relations,” she declared. “These organizations are responsible for branding IDF
soldiers as war criminals and encourage defamations.”
In her presentations, Kirshenbaum singled out one group which she claimed went
into local Israeli schools to convince pupils that “joining the IDF is unethical” and
to advise them how to dodge conscription. A panel of inquiry, said Kirshenbaum,
would investigate just who was in charge of the bodies providing these Israeli
groups
with financial assistance.
While Yisrael Beiteinu had garnered a majority in favor of the proposal before it
was brought to vote, the matter raised the ire of human rights groups and left-wing
politicians alike.
Meretz MK Nitzan Horowitz called the initiative “a shame on the Knesset”, declaring
Tuesday that: “The persecution campaign against human rights and citizens rights
groups has reached a new low.”
The purpose of such a committee was essentially to silence criticism, Horowitz said,
a move that should be seen as, “a brutal act of political persecution using a coalition
majority and Knesset funding, under the legal guise of an investigation committee.”
“Human rights and citizens rights group save the honor of Israel in the world and
maintain its character as a democratic state,” Horowitz said. “It is moves like that
being
led by Yisrael Beiteinu that lead to Israel’s delegitimization in the world and present
Israeli democracy as fake. All to whom Israeli democracy is dear must oppose this
committee of persecution.”
Sixteen human rights groups signed an open letter protesting the initiative, inclu-
ding ACRI, B’Tselem, Yesh Din, Machsom Watch, Adalah, Mossawa Center, Ir Amim
and Hotline for Migrant Workers.
“Investigate us all, we have nothing to hide. You are invited to read our reports and
our publications. We will be happy if for a change you relate in a germane way to our
questions instead of trying to besmirch us. It did not work in the past and it will not
work this time,” the letter said.
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