Hotovely: Bill will stop foreign cash to political NGOs

PM supports bill to prevent governments from donating to organizations that seek to influence policy, Channel 2 reports.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Tzipi Hotovely 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Tzipi Hotovely 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
MK Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) commended Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday for supporting a bill she proposed with MK Ofir Akunis (Likud) and Israel Beiteinu faction chairman MK Robert Ilatov that would prevent Israeli NGOs from receiving funding from foreign governments and international organizations, such as the UN.
“The absurd situation in which foreign governments, mostly Europeans, try to influence policy in the State of Israel by funding organizations that act against the IDF and the state must end,” Hotovely said, following a Channel 2 report saying that Netanyahu will back the legislation.
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“It would be better if each country dealt with its own internal matters, and not try to meddle in our issues without understanding the damage they cause,” she added.
“This bill could solve part of the problems with cash flow into the region.”
According to the bill’s text, its purpose is to stop foreign governments from influencing “the political discourse, character and policies of the State of Israel.”
“This bill is not meant to harm social organizations,” the bill reads. “It is meant to stop the involvement of foreign countries in Israeli politics through support for political NGOs.”