This weekend’s Maariv exposes the New Israel fund for financing anti-Israel propaganda groups in Israel. The expose is based on a study by Im Tirtzu, a Zionist student group. The study found that the New Israel Fund finances most of the Israeli anti-Zionist organizations. The group also discovered that the UN Goldstone report took 92% of its anti-Israel material from organizations funded by the New Israel Fund.
The New Israel Fund chairlady is Naomi Hazan, former Member of Knesset for the semi-Marxist Meretz Party.
Israel has no law against foreign anti-Israel and antisemitic organizations financing treasonous organizations (Prof. Steven Plaut, 1/29).
Some Israeli officials are proposing such laws. In his State of the Union message, President Obama proposed a law barring foreign corporations from contributing to American political campaigns. (There may already be such a law; he may have misstated what the Supreme Court ruled.)
The significance of Goldstone's taking most of its material from biased organizations is that it did not make an independent study. The Goldstone Report is in a poor position to spurn IDF investigations as not independent.
The news brief is not clear whether the New Israel Fund sends some subsidy to most of the anti-Zionist organizations in Israel or most of the subsidy. After all, European governments spend millions of dollars a year on those organizations.
Comments
First, the President was wrong that the Supreme Court decison overturned 100 years of law. The only thing that the case did was reaffirm the legal notion that coporations are persons for purposes under the law. It acknowledged that corporations are run by persons with interests as any other citizen and that they are allowed to petition the government just as a union, who may also get funding from alertnative (i.e. foreign) sources. Furthermore, there are a myriad of laws already on the books that oversee foreign ownership of media, prevent them from receiving federal security contracts as well as the foreign corrupt practices act. With his attack the President was playing to his extremist base. Cynical and disengenuous.
That being said, that the New Israel fund has been taken over by the same anti-Israel crowd that supports J-Street should come as no surprise. To be a good leftie today is to be anti-Israel and the religion of so many Jews is not Judaism but leftest politics.
The report gives some valuable information about Ben Caspit's article in Ma'ariv, but also some regrettable disinformation.
Organizations funded by NIF have certainly engaged in some deplorable activities. Funders do not always have good enough control over what is done with their money, and do not always exercise good judgment. It is quite a way from there to treason.
The Mapam party was Marxist. The Meretz party is not Marxist or semi-Marxist. Neither are "treasonous organizations."
The extent of NIF support is probably unclear because Israel doesn't have sufficient transparency regarding reporting sources of support. The information is not public. While NIF must report its contributions, European groups often do not. NGO monitor is currently suing the EU over this issue - and there are other sources outside the EU.
does the examiner ever fact check these op eds or do you just repeat lies and assertions from right wing student organizations as if they were truth? the Goldstone report was based mainly on evidence collected from Palestinians and international sources. From the data provided by Israeli sources, 42 percent came from human rights groups.
speaking of foreign funding, why is it legal for american interests groups to be funding illegal settlements in the occupied territory when our governments policy goals are for the freeze of these settlements?
does it occur to mr shulman that reeling in israel when it steps out of the boundaries of international law is not anti israel but in fact pro israel? friends don't let friends drive drunk. it is not the goldstone report that's dangerous to israel, it is israel's own policies and actions. the dahiya doctrine (israels new defense strategy) is completely out of sync w/international law and intervention is seriously required.
Meretz is a capitalist party through and through. That's the least harmful lie in this article. Shame on you, Mr. Shulman, for spewing this article, which is neither constructive nor factual.
shame on you, Mr. Shulman.
Support the New Israel Fund, one of the few voices left for a democratic Israel.
The NIF is being exposed for the anti-Israel, anti-Semitic group that they are. Disgusting.
I used to think that the New Israel Fund means well but are misguided.
Now I know for a fact that they are not interested in Israel's wellfare. They are at best useful idiots, and at worst, enemies ofthe Jewish people.
A reader said I repeat what a right-wing student organization said as if it were the truth. She should re-read the article. My conclusion raises doubts about the students' claims.
She asserts that Goldstone's report did Israel a favor by trying to hold it to standards. If she had read my several exposes of the Report, she would find that Goldstone had a double standard and a standard favoring defamation. His reports came from left-wing organizations, as if they were the truth. I have had many articles exposing the defamatory bias of those organizations, which are more political than human rights, regarding Israel. Let us not naively trust groups that call themselves humanitarian or pro-peace, but support terrorism that is the opposite.
Goldstone did Israel a disservice by making Hamas war crimes seems almost acceptable and Israeli defense against it not acceptable.
Dave wrote that one of my "lies" is that Meretz is semi-Marxist, when Dave considers it thoroughly capitalist. I consulted my source on how best to answer, since he is an economist. Prof. Steven Plaut replied:
"Meretz was formed as the melding of three different factions, all of which are still important in what is left of the party. The three factions were MAPAM, and old Marxist party (had once been Stalinist) based on Hashomer Hatzair. That is the part that defines it as 'semi-Marxist.'"
A second faction was the old SHinui (not the same as the new SHinui), with people like Amnon Rubinstein. It is decidedly pro-market and capitalist."
"The third faction was Shulamit Aloni's RATZ party, mixed with Peace Now people, and they have no economic ideology, but are just pro-Palestinian. So, like the old joke about the Rabbi, both those who say that Meretz is semi-Marxist and those who say it is pro-capitalist, BOTH are correct."
"On specific issues of economic policy that come up, in most cases they do not take poistions at all these days, since they are mainly pro-Palestinian, but if they DO take a stand, it can be either capitalist or marxist, depending on who is spelling things out."
"Confused? Well, yes the whole party is a bit confusing. But there you have it."
"Haim Oron, currently party czar, is from the MAPAM faction, which reinforces what I wrote about them being semi-Marxist."
Did you know, this, Dave? Couldn't you have said we have a difference of opinion or even that I am mistaken, without calling me a liar about it?
Sorry for the late comment yet I wanted to affirm the information about Meretz mr. Shulman've got from his friend. It's interesting to see all the NIF supporters attacking him personally.
NIF spends its money well... And after being put before the mirror they start to shriek someone messed up their ugly face.
Anna from Israel.
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