The bill is called V15 after the NGO that waged an extensive electoral campaign against the prime minister, and will greatly restrict the ability of such groups to raise money.
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set on significantly advancing a bill calling for restrictions on non-profit groups that conduct political campaigns. The bill will be presented by MK Yoav Kish (Likud) next Sunday before the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, after which it will go for a preliminary vote at the Knesset plenary, where it is expected to pass. The next stages will continue when the Knesset reconvenes.
The bill is called V15 after the NGO that waged an extensive electoral campaign against Netanyahu last year. The bill proposes that such groups will be subject to the law regulating the financing of political parties, which will greatly restrict their ability to raise money.
Kish turned to all cabinet members on the committee in an attempt to convince them to support the bill. “The law was bypassed during the last elections, with donors transferring millions to non-party political groups,” he wrote. “This is a stain on our democracy. This law will ensure transparency and fairness and will benefit all parties.” The prime minister has embraced this bill, presenting it to the heads of all parties. The bill includes a raft of restrictions, including a 1,000-shekel ($250) limit on any individual donation in non-election years, and a 2,300-shekel limit in election years.
Donations will be published on organization websites 30 days ahead of a campaign and will be subject to the state comptroller’s oversight. The law defines for the first time “groups that operate during elections,” including ones that conduct surveys or offer transportation to polling stations, or those that publish ads in the media. In recent years different parties have privatized their campaigns in order to bypass spending limits.
In explanatory notes accompanying the bill, its proponents write that they wish to avoid situations such as arise in the United States, where there are no limits on sums given by tycoons to candidates they support. They cite V15 and its recent campaign as the main motivation for proposing the new bill. “The group published negative messages about some candidates, mainly Netanyahu, without publicly supporting any other candidate,” they write. “According to the current law, engaging in campaigning without any official party affiliation can still assist a particular party while avoiding financial restrictions. This activity thwarts the intent of the law and enables financial influence by foreign agents or by corporations, which is forbidden,” write the new bill’s proponents.
All of which presupposes that Israeli leadership wants the nation to be autonomous. As long as Israel remains a vassal state, Israeli leaders can persuade the electorate that international forces beyond their control circumscribe all potential measures which can be taken for national defense. Once Israel proves itself to be independent, the burden falls upon domestic leadership, which will no longer be able to cite pressure from America/UN/EU/”the international community” as a pretext for inaction in the face of aggression.
Netanyahu will do nothing to alter the illusion that Israel is helpless, because once he does there can be no more excuses for remaining submissive. He is well aware of all the options you present, and he has rejected them because while they serve the national interest, they conflict with his political interests.
And so, Israel will remain frozen as the Muslims aggress against it. Perpetuation of the status quo depends upon it, and Netanyahu is a captive of the status quo.
@ bernard ross:
Palestinians can’t accept any compromise on Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Why would they give up their control over those places? If we Jews want a peace treaty with a defeated terrorist no-nation, then paying for it with our holiest place is the only option. The move is not unthinkable. Far from it, it is silently accepted by every Israeli politician of note. The demagogs procrastinate because they do not want to go down in history as having abandoned Jerusalem to Palestinian Arabs. Is giving away places so important to Jews impossible? Not at all. Israel gave away Hebron with its Cave of the Patriarchs—a site holier than the Western Wall, a mere support structure. Schem with its Joseph Tomb, and Bethlehem, with the Tomb of Rachel—they are in Palestinian hands. Sinai, with its Mount Horev, where Jews received the law, was returned to Egypt. In practical terms, Sinai’s oil wells and Gaza’s gas field are no less important than any district of Jerusalem—yet they were given away. And what is so important for Jews about Jerusalem’s Arab districts? There is no question that short of expelling the Arabs, we’re better off divesting from their villages and refugee camps, which are foolishly attached to Jerusalem municipality. It is better to have them behind the wall than in our capital; cheaper, too.
Qualms about partitioning the Old City smell of missed history classes in secondary school. The Old City is not old—it is an Ottoman structure. Its walls are laid out arbitrarily, with no connection to the city’s ancient borders. If antiquity is of any importance, then yes, Israel must uproot the entire Arab quarters—Jewish, too—and dig for the First Temple’s layer. Unfortunately, only the layer is to be found there, not the Temple.
Israel must act according to her enemies’ mentality: a strong power dispersing favors and blows. Set the terms for the Palestinians. If they do not comply, bomb them. Protracted negotiations and intermittent ceasefires allow the Palestinians to re-arm and dig in. Arms are trafficked into Palestine? Bomb the security offices. Rockets fired on Sderot? Clear the no-pass zone along the border with Israel and shoot anything that moves. An Israeli soldier is kidnapped? Shell Palestinian towns randomly until he is returned. So long as Israel owns a gun, she does not need to negotiate with a pen.
NGOs that are found to condone, support or fund incitement or any form of terror must be shut down. Families of terrorists must be expelled.
Procrastination leads to tolerance of intolerance.
Why is the Levy report obsolete, perhaps too limited!
so many opportunities for BB to say the few little words:
“JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN YS IS LEGAL AND LEGITIMATE”
so why does he never say them, the euros allow him free speech if not free action? The refusal to say those words are the cause of global anti semitism AND stabbed and dead Jews resulting from the libels that the Jews stole the land. These few words might make someone wonder if perhaps the Jews did not steal the land.
BB should appoint no one else, keep the dignity… Brazil under Rousseff is under fire and roussef gov is going down the tubes… better to let it be one more problem for roussef. It does not interfere with trade which can carry on with underlings.