Top Jewish Diaspora Donors Slam Israeli Government Bill Targeting Human Rights Groups

[Nanjeanne]

"This will deliberately cripple almost 100 organizations and appears motivated solely by narrow political interests ill becoming of any government, irrespective of its political ethos," they warned in a letter addressed to Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar.
It is rare, if not unprecedented, for major Jewish Diaspora donors to Israel to sound such an alarm. The letter is signed by philanthropists from the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia and South Africa, and from across the political spectrum.

The amendment to Israel's so-called NGO Law would not only levy an 80 percent tax on donations from foreign governments, but would also prohibit civil society groups that receive most of their funding from foreign entities from petitioning the courts.

The legislation, drafted by a member of the ruling Likud party, would mainly affect human rights groups. It passed a preliminary vote in the Knesset in February.
The amendment is "a dangerous attack on the democratic foundations of the state and more in keeping with the policies of authoritarian regimes seeking to block external support for democracy than those of a democracy," the donors wrote in their letter to Sa'ar.
"It is an affront to the values of freedom, pluralism and tolerance for dissent that are hallmarks of liberal democracies, all of which Israel claims to uphold."

Full article Haaretz free link https://archive.is/GO4pm]

There are no excuses left in my mind to not recognize the path Israel is on.

[AloeVera]

1. The "Israeli Orban" and the "Hungarian Netanyahu" met recently.

And no good came of it.

Netanyahu copied Orban's persecution of human rights NGOs and civil society.

Orban copied Israel's disdain for international law by announcing Hungary's withdrawal from the ICC.

There is also this:

Sceptics also highlight the contrast between Netanyahu’s endorsement of Orban’s claims to have “zero tolerance” of antisemitism and the recent award of state honours to two prominent writers known for their antisemitic views. This builds on Orban’s own use of antisemitic tropes when referencing the Hungarian-born philanthropist George Soros.

“Orban not only tolerates antisemitism when it suits him, but incites it in order to bolster support for himself and his party,” argues Pogany, who has also written extensively on the history of antisemitism in Hungary.

https://balkaninsight.com/2025/04/15/orban-netanyahu-alliance-divides-hungarys-partners-and-its-jewish-community/

Insane.