T’ruah deplores the passage by the Israeli government of the NGO bill, which singles out human rights and civil society groups for public shaming.
The hallmark of a healthy democracy is the existence of a strong civil society. This includes human rights organizations which work to ensure that governments treats every individual under their authority in accordance with local and international law, recognizing that each human being is created in the image of God.
The Jewish tradition, too, recognizes the need for dissenting voices. In I Kings 22, the prophet Michayhu was thrown into jail after offering King Ahab unwanted advice not to go into battle. But the king should have listened to this internal dissent, as Michayhu’s prophecy was true, and King Ahab was killed on the battlefield.
This bill does not create transparency, as its supporters claim. The organizations targeted by the bill already provide full transparency about the sources of their donations. True concern for transparency would have resulted in a bill that requires organizations to disclose private funding, the primary source of financial support for groups that support and enable the settlement enterprise.
The Israeli government’s public witch hunt against homegrown human rights groups violates the principles of democracy, the Jewish respect for internal dissent, and the safety and health of Israeli society.
We are proud to stand with our many partner organizations in the Israeli human rights and civil society community, who remain committed to their crucial work, and who have demonstrated extraordinary bravery in the face of an attack from the highest levels of government.