Over 60 prominent philanthropists from the UK and US communities have written to Israel’s foreign minister urging his government to scrap legislation they claim is an “assault on the endeavours of Diaspora Jews.”
British based philanthropists including the chair of the Clore-Duffield Foundation, Dame Vivien Duffield, ex- Tory Party CEO Sir Mick Davis, Tony Blair’s former Middle East peace envoy Lord Levy and former Conservative Friends of Israel chairman Lord Harrington are all signatories of the letter to Gideon Sa’ar.
Other UK signatories Andrew Wolfson, Leo Noé, Sir Trevor Chinn, Alan and Louise Jacobs and Lord Stanley Fink and Gary Lubner.
They claim the NGO bill, introduced to the Knesset earlier this month, would “deliberately, cripple almost 100 organisations and appears motivated solely by narrow political interests ill becoming of any government, irrespective of its political ethos.”
The bill, sponsored by Likud MK Ariel Kallner, would, if passed, put an 80% tax on any funds received by Israeli NGOs from foreign states.
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Describing themselves as “dismayed”, the philanthropists, who have collectively given hundreds of millions of dollars to Israel and Israeli causes, cited several concerns about the impact the proposed legislation would have.
It is, they argued “an assault on the philanthropic endeavours of Diaspora Jews.”
Many of the organisations targeted by the bill were, they pointed out, originally established with money from Diaspora donors.
They also expressed concerns about the impact the bill would have on Israel’s relationship with democratic allies. It “will antagonise allies at a time when they are most needed, for the sole purpose of hobbling organisations that the current government sees as domestic opponents,” they wrote, calling such an action “reckless.”
Other signatories of the letter included well-known names from the North American Jewish philanthropic world such as Taglit-Birthright co-founder Charles Bronfman, President of The Russell Berrie Foundation, Angelica Berrie, Managing Director of the Morningstar Foundation, Michael Gelman and past President of Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Susie Gelman.
Significant donors from Australia, Canada and South Africa have also backed the letter including Bill Russell-Shapiro, Dr Deborah Sandler and Alan Schwartz.
Dame Vivien Duffield
The philanthropists support a wide range of causes in Israel including support for the vulnerable, healthcare, education, infrastructure projects and the rebuilding of communities in both the North and the South of the country.
They have also invested in PTSD treatment for Israelis most directly affected by the war.
The bill is set to be discussed this Wednesday by the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee chaired by Simcha Rotman.
Earlier this month leading Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard told Jewish News: “The goal is to shut down the part of Israeli civil society that is critical of government policy.” Top Israeli human rights lawyer: ‘My Jewish upbringing makes me speak out on Israel’
