New bill to limit NGOs rejecting Israel's Jewishness

MKs propose that NGO's who reject state's "Jewish nature," and "act against the state's basic characteristics" will have status revoked.

By LAHAV HARKOV
David Rotem 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski )
David Rotem 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski )
MKs David Rotem (Israel Beiteinu), Uri Ariel (National Union), David Azoulay (Shas) and Ze’ev Elkin (Likud), proposed last week a bill to change the Non-Profit Organizations Law and “add to the reasons to revoke a non-profit organization’s status the rejection of the state’s Jewish nature.”
In addition, the legislation says that “if this is not one of the organization’s declared goals, but there is a suspicion that their activities lead to fulfilling such a goal, they should not be registered” as a non-profit group.
RELATED:Kadima MK asks to stop National Service in rights NGOsKnesset House C'tee approves probes into leftist NGOs
The current law does not allow organizations that reject democracy to register with the state.
The four MKs point out in their introduction to the bill that Israel is defined as a Jewish and democratic state in three Basic Laws, and that the word “Jewish” comes before “democratic.”
“We propose to change the Non-Profit Organizations Law so that a voluntary organization that is legally registered in Israel cannot act against the state’s basic characteristics,” the bill reads.
Rotem said the initiative was not inspired by a specific case or organization; rather it was a preventative measure.
“People who reject Israel’s basic characteristics cannot run for a seat in the Knesset, and an organization should not be protected by the law if it does the same,” he said.
“We want to make sure there isn’t a possibility of that happening.”