Israel's Left Lashes Out at New NGO Law Mandating Transparent Donations

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Israeli nonprofit organizations voiced protest against a new law on non-governmental organizations (NGO) and heavily criticized it for lacking democracy and fairness, local media reported Tuesday.

On Monday, the Israeli parliament voted 57-48 for the NGO law, which seeks to tighten up on transparency rules for foreign state-funded organizations. Under the new law these groups are to publicly reveal the fact of receiving their funding from foreign states.

"This legislation targets organizations working for human rights and democracy, while allowing ultranationalist organizations to keep their sources of funding hidden despite their claim that the law increases ‘transparency,'" the New York-based New Israel Fund (NIF) said in a statement, as quoted by The Times of Israel.

According to the media outlet, NIF chief executive Daniel Sokatch described the law as a greatly anti-democratic move, which undermined the freedom of expression in public.

However, supporters of the law argued that it was intended to raise public awareness about foreign states' interference in the country's domestic affairs.