EuroMed Rights is deeply concerned about the Israeli government’s steps to undermine and delegitimise key Israeli Human Rights NGOs, and calls on the EU to act against attempts to limit civic space in Israel.
EuroMed Rights is deeply concerned over reports that the Israeli government is actively discouraging the EU and its Member States from funding specific human rights organisations based in Israel. The targeted organisations include well-respected and award-winning human rights organisations such as EuroMed Rights members, Adalah and B’tselem. The Israeli government has threatened to introduce legislation imposing harsh restrictions on European governments funding to these organisations if they do not increase their oversight over them. The EU and its Member States must resist such efforts and uphold their commitment to protect and promote “a vigorous and independent civil society”, including through access to EU funding as stipulated in its Guidelines on Freedom of Expression.
Recent months have seen increased scrutiny of human rights NGOs based in Israel, including smear campaigns led by ministers against NGOs that documented violations during the 2014 military operations. These campaigns have been accompanied by the reintroduction in the Knesset of a bill seeking to label Israeli NGOs receiving more than $ 50 000 from public foreign entities as “foreign NGOs” and to tax them up to 37% of the received funding. The proposed law is intrinsically discriminatory and constitutes an infringement on the right to freedoms of association and speech. Meanwhile, the Israeli government continues to support the work of organisations promoting illegal Israeli settlements. The EU should publicly call on Israel to withdraw the NGO bill and to cease to introduce and enact any legislation aiming at shrinking the space for civil society, and ensure that pro-settlement organisations do not benefit in any manner from EU funds.
In its policy towards Palestinian citizens of Israel, the current government also seeks to limit the democratic space of those expressing dissenting opinions. Recently, the Knesset refused a European Parliament delegation entry to the Knesset ahead of a meeting with members representing the Arab minority. This is part of ongoing measures targeting the Palestinian minority. Ahead of the 17 March Israeli elections, several ministers in the current government adopted racist discourse and sought to disqualify representatives of the Palestinian minority.
These steps reveal the Israeli authorities’ intent to limit the autonomy and independence of civil society and the erosion of democratic values in Israel. The EU has conditioned the development of its relations with Israel on respect for shared values and has committed to strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations. In line with this, the EU should remind Israel of its responsibilities in this regard and call on it to end its smear campaigns and financial harassment against civil society.