By Rabbi Dow Marmur
JERUSALEM–The West is tilting to the political right. The US Congress, the governing coalition in the UK, the domination of the Conservative prime minister in Canada as well as the political constellations in many European countries all point in the same direction. Israel is no exception. Even the centrist Kadima party couldn’t muster enough partners for a coalition while the right-wing Likud managed to entice the once Socialist Labour to prop it up by joining the Netanyahu government.
As a result, much of the Israeli left now operates outside of parliament. When foreign critics of Netanyahu and his allies want to cite alternative, progressive Israeli views they often turn to such groups. Foreign foundations and government agencies are said to support some of them financially.
An early campaign to delegitimize these important contributors to the public debate in Israel was initiated by the right-wing NGO Monitor when it launched an attack on them. One of its most prominent targets was the New Israel Fund, which in many Diaspora communities is a kind of non-establishment counterpart to the United Jewish Appeal that encourages Jews and, so it seems, sometimes non-Jewish sympathizers to support it in its efforts to help a range of welfare and human rights organizations in Israel, some of them no doubt critical of the present government.
Yisrael Beiteinu, the “Russian” coalition party to the right of Likud whose leader Avigdor Lieberman seems to dominate it more and more, has now been instrumental in turning the accusations into a Knesset approved investigation of the funding of these organizations. The implication is that foreign governments that give money to groups that the current Israeli administration regards as subversive should be prevented from doing so, the recipients exposed and thus, presumably, closed down or at least diminished.
A whole range of Israeli organizations receive funding from abroad. However, we’re told that those on the right, especially on the extreme right, are funded by individuals and, therefore, wouldn’t be subject to the investigation. This gives further rise to the suspicion that the proposed measure is something of a witch hunt ostensibly to improve Israel’s image abroad but really to silence government critics.
Those of us who believe that Israel’s image as a true democracy is enhanced by the free speech that’s not only tolerated but encouraged here have special reason to be alarmed. The investigation that’s now been approved by the Knesset smells of McCarthyism and can be seen as another attempt to compromise Israel’s democracy. Instead of strengthening Israel’s image abroad, as is the official intention, it will do the opposite by making it a little more akin to the other regimes in the region.
That’s the bad news. The potentially good news is that whenever Israel’s politicians get themselves into this kind of situation, it doesn’t take the Israeli public too long to react against it and help to return the country to sanity. That’s the hope this time, too. It’s possible that Lieberman and his lot, trying to get the most of its commanding position in the coalition, will sooner or later go too far so that even Labour will bolt, as most of its Knesset members urge it to do, thus forcing new elections and hopefully a different political order. In the meantime, however, Israelis will probably have to endure more pain because of its electoral system that gives too much power to small parties.
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Rabbi Marmur is spiritual leader emeritus of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. He divides his year between Canada and Israel.