In Europe, manipulating Israeli democracy is basic policy

Arutz Sheva reports:

The practice among many European Union European states to fund extremist anti-Zionist groups inside Israel is so entrenched that it has become an integral part of those countries' foreign policies, a leading expert has said.

Professor Gerald Steinberg, who heads the NGO Monitor watchdog which tracks extremist anti-Israel NGOs, explained to Arutz Sheva that that troubling fact was the reason behind his group's surprise withdrawal of its previous firm opposition to the so-called Transparency Bill, which was officially approved by the Israeli government yesterday.

The bill, sponsored by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home), is the latest incarnation of a string of similar, failed legislative proposals to expose the degree to which foreign - primarily European - states are attempting to impose their policies on the State of Israel by funneling tens of millions of euros annually to extremist left and Arab NGOs inside Israel. It would mandate NGOs which receive more than 50% of their funding from foreign states to reveal their sources of income, and with approval from the Ministerial Committee on Legislation it now seems highly likely that the bill will become law once it comes up for a vote in the Knesset.

[...] Steinberg explained that the twin obstacles of bureaucracy-induced ignorance and outright anti-Semitism meant EU states were unlikely to come round any time soon - and that in the meantime Israel has every right to protect its sovereignty in the face of a seemingly-endless assault-by-proxy.

"In Europe, while governments provide tens of millions of NIS every year to Israeli, Palestinian and other political NGOs, the top officials, MPs, journalists, and others are largely unaware of the amounts, activities, or agendas of the groups that receive taxpayer funds," Steinberg explained.

"In many cases, the funding process is entirely secret in order to prevent criticism, and even ambassadors to Israel from European countries are not involved in or informed of NGO funding decisions made in their home countries, and, in the case of the EU, in Brussels," he added.

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