{"id":50934,"date":"2013-07-17T08:29:45","date_gmt":"2013-07-17T07:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/breaking-news\/targeting-free-expression-in-israel\/50934\/"},"modified":"2013-07-17T08:29:45","modified_gmt":"2013-07-17T07:29:45","slug":"targeting-free-expression-in-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/breaking-news\/targeting-free-expression-in-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"Targeting Free Expression in Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n<b>Targeting Free Expression in Israel<\/b><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nby Stephen Lendman<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nDuring previous Knesset session proceedings, MKs Ofir Akunis and Faina Kirshenbaum legislation to limit NGO funding was defeated.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nLast week, MKs Ayelet Shaked and Robert Ilatov proposed their version. They call it a &#8220;softer version of the NGO bill.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nIt&#8217;s harsh, not soft. It prohibits NGOs from receiving more than NIS 20,000 from &#8220;foreign entities&#8221; if they, their members, employees, or anyone related to them engages in one or more of the following practices directly or indirectly:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px;margin: 0px\">calling for Israeli soldiers to be tried in international courts;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px;margin: 0px\">urging boycotts of Israel, its companies or citizens;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px;margin: 0px\">denying Israel&#8217;s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state; and\/or<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px;margin: 0px\">inciting racism or advocacy for armed struggle against Israel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nAt issue is targeting free expression. Israel wants critics silenced. Enactment assures compromise the right to speak freely and organize in Israel.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nAttorney General Yehuda Weinstein opposes the legislation. &#8220;Stopping activity permitted by law cannot be a legitimate aim,&#8221; he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nIn late June, he challenged a bill prohibiting slandering IDF soldiers. It&#8217;s called the &#8220;Jenin, Jenin&#8221; law. He called it unconstitutional and disproportionate. It violates free political expression.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nDeputy Attorney General Orit Koren presented Weinstein&#8217;s opinion. He did so during a Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee discussion.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nMembers approved the bill. It permits suits against individuals or groups slandering IDF personnel or actions within the framework of existing libel laws.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nDoing so raises fundamental concerns. According to legislative language:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n&#8220;Those who defame Israel, waging a campaign of de-legitimization against it in the international community, who wish to bring about a boycott of the state and its citizens, have chosen IDF soldiers as a comfortable target in recent years, fully aware that no legal steps can be taken against them.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n&#8220;Though many fabricated claims against IDF soldiers have been exposed over the years, but due to procedural constraints, the soldiers who were trampled and whose reputation was damaged were left without any legal solution.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nWeinstein said &#8220;the bill harms the basic right to freedom of expression.&#8221; Prohibiting legitimate lawsuits would cause &#8220;disproportionate harm to political freedom of expression, which among all freedoms, is the most heavily guarded, legally speaking.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nThe so-called softened NGO bill makes them liable for actions their members and employees take. The bill&#8217;s previous version treated NGOs as corporations.\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nThe new version makes them liable if one member, official or employee violates one or more bill provisions explicitly or implicitly.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nCritics call the legislation outrageous. It mandates surveillance and blacklisting activists and protesters. It targets academic petitions, writers and outspoken critics of Israeli policy.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nIt criminalizes NGOs for doing the right thing. No purpose is served in distinguishing among donations from states, international organizations, and private identified or anonymous individuals or groups.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nWhy ban donations from states suspected of alleged improper intervention, while others from foreign religious groups or business interests are legitimate?\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nAt issue is silencing Israeli criticism. Doing so puts a lie to democratic rights. Israel wasn&#8217;t established as a democracy. It&#8217;s not one now. Claiming otherwise doesn&#8217;t wash.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nOn July 10, the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.acri.org.il\/en\/2013\/07\/10\/new-ngo-bill\/\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc\">Association for Civil Rights in Israel<\/span><\/a> (ACRI) headlined &#8220;New bill to limit NGO funding undermines freedom of expression and democracy.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nAccording to ACRI&#8217;s Director of Policy Advocacy Debbie Gild-Hayo:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n&#8220;Following the flood of anti-democratic legislation that we witnessed in the last Knesset, including a version of this bill, the then government apparently realized that such awful bills were causing severe harm to Israel.&#8221;\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n&#8220;As a result, after fierce criticism and public pressure, the government indeed halted their progress.&#8221;\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n&#8220;I sincerely hope that ministers in the current government are wise enough to block this bill; a bill that severely undermines freedom of expression and democracy in Israel, and whose main aim is to silence those who disagree with MK Shaked.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nIt&#8217;s draft form remains a work in progress. It&#8217;s called: The Amutot (Non-Profit Organizations) Law Amendment: Support of NGOs in Israel by Foreign Political Entities &#8211; 2013.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nAmendment to Section 36A &#8211; The 1980 Amutot (Non-Profit Organizations) Law<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nSubsection 1A was added, stating:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n&#8220;No non-profit organization will receive a donation of more than NIS 20,000 per year from a foreign state entity, if the goals or conduct of the non-profit organization, or conduct of any member, employee or member of the board of the non-profit organization expressly or implicitly supports one of the following positions:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n(a) Calling for the prosecution of IDF soldiers in an international court;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n(b) Calling for boycotts, divestment or sanctions against the State of Israel or its citizens;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n(c) Denying the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n(d) Incitement to racism; (and\/or)<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n(e) Supporting the armed struggle of an enemy state or a terrorist organization against the State of Israel.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nThis bill wants free expression stifled. Targeting NGOs is one example. Israel wants its message alone heard.\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nIt wants critical voices silenced. It&#8217;s doing it legislatively. It&#8217;s doing it repressively. Rogue states operate this way.\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nOn July 11, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/opinion\/.premium-1.535094\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc\">Haaretz editors<\/span><\/a> headlined &#8220;Ignorant of democracy, extreme right is after NGOs once again.&#8221;\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nDominant rightwing extremists run Israel. They&#8217;re &#8220;obsessively trying to introduce nationalist content into the education system, exclude Israel\u2019s Arab minority and make a mockery of the very idea of democracy by subordinating it to religion in the guise of Zionism.&#8221;\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n&#8220;To all this must now be added an idiotic new initiative, which, if successful, would eliminate freedom of expression in Israel and thwart legitimate criticism.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nIt targets activist NGOs. It wants Israeli critics silenced. &#8220;Similar bills submitted to the last Knesset were frozen.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nAttorney General Weinstein opposed them. He said enactment would &#8220;put Israel on a par with the handful of other countries that have taken similar steps, and it&#8217;s doubtful that it would be appropriate for Israel to be envious of their regimes and to act like them.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nHe&#8217;s &#8220;wrong,&#8221; said Haaretz. &#8220;The racist coalition set up by Benjamin Netanyahu is not only jealous of those benighted countries, but it wants to surpass them.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nExtremist MKs think doing so will convince people &#8220;to believe what&#8217;s said in Israeli propaganda films.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nIf NGO criticism is stifled, &#8220;it won&#8217;t be long before any public institution, municipality, school or yeshiva in which a single employee criticizes government policy or calls for boycotting Israel will suffer a harsh blow to its pocket.&#8221;\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n&#8220;That\u2019s the kind of slippery slope this legislation represents if it&#8217;s not stopped immediately.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nA Final Comment<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nCoverup, denial, and rightwing extremism reflect official Israeli policy. Global activists target what&#8217;s too deplorable to tolerate. Israel&#8217;s waging a losing battle.\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nDays earlier, social justice leaders urged more 2011\/2012 rallies. At issue is neoliberal harshness. People take so much before reacting.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nOn July 14, thousands marched from Tel Aviv&#8217;s Habima Square to Kaplan Street. They did so for social justice.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nTel Aviv mayoral aspirant Nitzan Horowitzy said demonstrations are &#8220;more just than ever.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n&#8220;People are crying out for two years, and the problem only gets worse.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nProtest leader Daphni Leef called Saturday&#8217;s action &#8220;an opening for a new season of protest. (The) response to thieves should be revolution &#8211; bread and medicine are not the objective.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n<span style=\"color: #1255cc;text-decoration: underline\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/opinion\/.premium-1.535596\">Haaretz<\/a><\/span> columnist Gideon Levy headlined &#8220;The Israeli patriot&#8217;s final refuge: boycott,&#8221; saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nIt&#8217;s a &#8220;patriotic requirement.&#8221; Everyone concerned about Israel&#8217;s future should participate. Doing so can &#8220;produce historic benefits.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n&#8220;The current status quo cannot continue forever.&#8221; Change more than ever is needed. It &#8220;won&#8217;t come from within.&#8221; It&#8217;s been clear &#8220;for a long time.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nAs long as Israelis &#8220;don&#8217;t pay a price for&#8221; social injustice and occupation harshness, no &#8220;incentive&#8221; exists for change.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n&#8220;As long as the arrogance and self-victimization continue among the Chosen People, the most chosen in the world, always the only victim, the world\u2019s explicit stance won&#8217;t change a thing.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n&#8220;Change will only come from the outside\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00a6A nonviolent Palestinian uprising is one option.&#8221; Don&#8217;t expect one soon.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nWashington won&#8217;t apply pressure. Congress and US presidents support Israeli lawlessness. European leaders talk the talk. They haven&#8217;t walked the walk.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nIs there reason to expect change? In 2005, EU countries and Israel agreed on trade terms. They excluded customs exemptions for settlement-produced products.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nDoing so recognized what hasn&#8217;t been enforced. Settlements aren&#8217;t part of Israel. Future EU\/Israeli agreements won&#8217;t apply to occupied territories.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nAt least that&#8217;s how language reads. Enforcement&#8217;s another matter.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nGuidelines prohibit funding, business and scientific cooperation, scholarships, tourism, sports, youth exchanges, research funds, and other joint initiatives exploiting Occupied Palestine.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nSpecific language says settlements aren&#8217;t part of Israel. They&#8217;re excluded from any agreement. An anonymous Israeli official called the new ruling an &#8220;earthquake.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n&#8220;This is the first time such an official, explicit guideline has been published by the European Union bodies,&#8221; he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n&#8220;Until today, there were understandings and quiet agreements that the Union does not work beyond the Green Line.&#8221;\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n&#8220;Now this has become a formal, binding policy. We will have to decide what to do from this day forward.&#8221; Accepting these terms will &#8220;cause sever damage to Israel.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nMaybe the earth shook. At stake is will it crack enough to matter?<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nAccording to EU officials:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nNew guidelines &#8220;are in conformity with the EU&#8217;s longstanding position that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and with the non-recognition by the EU of Israel&#8217;s sovereignty over the occupied territories, irrespective of their legal status under domestic Israeli law.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nEU nations say updating guidelines aim to prevent greater boycott of Israeli products in Europe. Israel&#8217;s world status shows weakness. Repressive policies risk &#8220;creeping international isolation.&#8221;\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nPerhaps not now. Eventually is likely. Israeli policies are self-defeating. Extremism costs. They pay a price.\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nIsrael won&#8217;t bend. It never did earlier. Perhaps enough enforced pain will deliver a message loud enough to be heard.\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nDon&#8217;t expect it. Don&#8217;t believe it unless it happens. It never did before. Will it henceforth?<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nNote: Tuesday evening, Netanyahu responded to upgraded EU guidelines. He didn&#8217;t surprise. It was typical Netanyahu over-the-top bluster, saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n&#8220;We will not accept any external edicts on our borders. As prime minister of Israel, I will not let anyone harm the hundreds of thousands of Israelis living in Judea and Samaria, in the Golan Heights, or in Jerusalem &#8211; our united capital. (B)orders will be determined only in direct negotiations between the sides.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nLooks like we&#8217;re back to square one. Don&#8217;t expect craven EU officials to challenge him. They never did before with teeth. It&#8217;s highly unlikely now.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nStephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nHis new book is titled &#8220;Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nhttp:\/\/www.claritypress.com\/LendmanII.html<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nVisit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nListen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nIt airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nhttp:\/\/www.progressiveradionetwork.com\/the-progressive-news-hour\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: 19px\">\nhttp:\/\/www.dailycensored.com\/targeting-free-expression-in-israel\/<\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;padding-bottom:0.25em\"><\/div>\n<p>Republished with permission from: <a href=\"http:\/\/sjlendman.blogspot.com\/2013\/07\/targeting-free-expression-in-israel.html\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Targeting Free Expression in Israel\">Stephen Lendman<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Targeting Free Expression in Israel by Stephen Lendman During previous Knesset session proceedings, MKs Ofir Akunis and Faina Kirshenbaum legislation to limit NGO funding was defeated. Last week, MKs Ayelet Shaked and Robert Ilatov proposed their version. They call it a &#8220;softer version of the NGO bill.&#8221; It&#8217;s harsh, not soft. It prohibits NGOs from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[487],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-50934","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-breaking-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50934\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}