RAMALLAH, Feb 22 (JMCC) -
Israel's parliament passed a law Monday requiring non-governmental organizations to submit quarterly reports on funding and disclose foreign donors in publications and online materials.
The bill's passage comes after a fight over more stringent measures that would have opened a
Knessetinvestigative committee into the funding of local groups,
reports the Jerusalem Post.
Knesset Law Committee chairman David Rotem, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, withdrew amendments that would have taken tax benefits away from NGOs supported by foreign governments. His amendments would also have required NGOs to report donations from foreign individuals and to write that they received foreign funding on every e-mail they sent.
Under the version approved on Monday, NGOs could be heavily fined for violating the new guidelines.
Following the bill’s approval in committee earlier this month, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said the legislation was “clearly selective and politically motivated.”
Israel's right wing has moved to curb the activities of left wing organizations that it says contributed to international censure of Israel after its
war in Gaza in 2008-09.