Netanyahu’s Proposed 65% NGO Tax Proves Chief Justice Marshall’s Dicta
I have been to rehab before. Not because of a football injury or anything like that, but I needed to be there and I am glad I went. I met a retired Jewish attorney there who had actually been arrested, locked up and deported from the West Bank for doing human rights litigation on behalf of Palestinians. Quite literally a little old lady, she could not have been 100 pounds soaking wet. During one of our group sessions, I mentioned to my fellow life travelers how much I admired her bravery for having done that. She later told me that feeling appreciated again as an attorney went a long way towards her recovery. I guess her whole identity was wrapped up in her professional life and when it was over she had a hard time adjusting. We lost touch but I hope she is doing well.
A bill backed by Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud coalition would have prevented her noble work — a Jewish attorney living amongst and defending Palestinians, some of whom may have wanted to kill her, all the while incurring the wrath, too, of Israeli citizens. Talk about Killing a Mockingbird. Anyway, the bill — proposing to withdraw tax exemption and tax at 65% donations to nonprofits that get involved in Israeli public issues — would tax NGOs in Israel out of existence. That’s the point, no doubt.
Netanyahu’s bill pretty much pissed everybody and their mamas off, and it all came out just this past weekend. “Among the countries reportedly expressing concern about the bill were Germany, France, Great Britain, Sweden, Belgium, Ireland and the U.S,” according to Jewish News Syndicate. There is so much opposition that the sponsors withdrew it from Ministerial Committee before it could even be transcribed to the Knesset website. From Al Jazerra
A draft bill that threatens to impose a 65 percent tax on foreign government donations to Israeli and Palestinian civil society organisations has been criticised in Israel and internationally ahead of being presented to the government’s Ministerial Committee on Legislation. The proposed bill has been a legislative priority for the government since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party formed a coalition with hardline and ultra-Orthodox parties at the end of last year.
However, in addition to fierce criticism from some of Israel’s closest allies, including the United States, France, and Germany, the bill, proposed by Likud member Ariel Kallner, has been slammed locally too. “We see this as a civil society killer,” Joseph Kelly, director at the Jerusalem-based Association of International Development Agencies, an umbrella group for 80 aid organisations working in Palestine, said on Thursday. The bill was scheduled to be presented to the committee on Sunday but local media reports said the government might postpone that due to the objections it has received. Kallner’s spokesperson confirmed to Al Jazeera that “there are difficulties with this proposed bill” but refused to confirm or deny the media reports.
The Times of Israel notes:
The bill states that any nonprofit group that engages in public advocacy two years before or after receiving a donation from a foreign government will lose its status as a public institution and will no longer be eligible for tax exemptions. In addition, those non-profits will be hit with a 65-percent income tax.
I can’t find the bill so I don’t know exactly what’s meant by “public advocacy,” but one report says public advocacy includes petitioning the courts for redress. Yep, this is all kinda stupid. The Germans said so via Twiter:
Asked to comment on the bill during a press briefing, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, “I won’t speculate on things that might come to pass. I will just say that as a general matter, the United States supports the essential role of NGOs that are part of civil society.” “We believe that they are critical to democratic, responsive and transparent government, and we firmly believe that civil society should have the opportunity and space to operate and raise resources around the world,” Miller added.
The French added “It is the responsibility of states to create and maintain a space and environment conducive to their work, for a vibrant civil society can also bring a culture of peace and diversity,” the French embassy added.” And then things really got serious when word came that the White House told Netanyahu that if he wanted a meeting, ever, with U.S. President Joe Biden and American assistance in advancing ties with Saudi Arabia, he must withdraw the proposed legislation.
Israeli progressive groups also weighed in:
This bill is the next step in Israel’s judicial coup. Netanyahu and his government of extremists want to tax civil society out of existence — especially those working to defend the rights of the most marginalized in Israel and under Israel’s control: women, the LGBTQ+ community, Palestinians living under occupation, and Arab citizens of Israel. This is precisely the way that autocrats shrink democratic space. This law could force the closure of hundreds of organizations in Israel — and it specifically targets the ones that speak truth to power. Choking off funding from advocates for change is not what democracies do. Strong democracies can hear criticism, even and especially when it is harsh, and work to make themselves better.
Israeli conservative groups pushed back saying that the outcry was merely “deep state” reaction, and that Netanyahu should push on:
We received with astonishment the report about the removal from the government’s agenda of the debate over instituting a tax on NGOs supported by foreign entities due to pressure,” referring to a list of ambassadors and embassies who expressed their opposition to the bill.
We, the NGOs of the national camp, who fight every day for the Jewish-national identity of the State of Israel, against those funded radical organizations and well-oiled systems, call on you, the government of Israel, to pass immediately the law to contain and oversee those organizations, which cause deep damage to the country with the help of the biggest antisemites and Israel-haters abroad.” The people chose this government in order to lead a deep change including dismantling the mechanisms of power that are assisted by foreign countries and entities, which have acted like octopus tentacles for many years against Judaism and Zionism.
Whatever the merits, the proposal would mean anybody anywhere donating to organizations in Israel doing pretty much anything (I don’t even have to know the definition of “public advocacy” but I bet it means saying anything about anything) would actually be paying a 65% tax to Israel. A lot of conservatives donate to Israeli charities, I’m sure. Surely, the conservatives don’t really want a 65% tax, or that NGO’s would be taxed out of existence. Its just another dumb reactionary proposal.
darryll jones