Search

Foreign intervention: Who is funding protests against Netanyahu gov’t?

In email to donors, the New Israel Fund takes credit for funding and organizing anti-government protest in Tel Aviv, along with earlier protest in Jerusalem on the day the new government was sworn in.

By Adina Katz, World Israel News

A left-wing, U.S.-based NGO is providing financial support for the protests against the new government, according to a report from Channel 14 News.

According to an email sent by the New Israel Fund to its supporters, which was obtained by Channel 14, the organization is proudly taking credit for its critical role in organizing and financing the protests.

“The New Israel Fund assisted with a special grant to the many civil society organizations that took part in… the huge demonstration on Saturday night in Tel Aviv,” the email reads.

“Shatil [a branch of the New Israel Fund] took part in coordinating and synchronizing the various parties that participated in the show of force.”

The email also indicated that the New Israel Fund was involved in planning an anti-government protest in late December 2022.

“The foundation also helped the Tag Meir organization in supporting and organizing the demonstration in front of the Knesset on the day the new government was sworn in,” the email reads, “and also [assisted with] the LGBT demonstration that took place on that exact day.”

Read  Anti-gov't flare suspect: Reserve officer who encouraged refusals

The New Israel Fund is also providing an “emergency grant” to a group that will produce a “digital campaign” focusing on the “true meaning of various bills” the new government is expected to introduce.

While it’s believed that the New Israel Fund was involved in previous protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the past, the email marks the first time that the organization publicly acknowledges that it is supporting and funding anti-government protesters.

On its website, the NGO purports to be a non-partisan group “working to build a stronger democracy in Israel, rooted in the values of equality, of inclusion, and of social justice.”

According to NGO Monitor, “groups receiving funds from the New Israel Fund have been part of a network of NGOs that promote artificial and manufactured definitions of apartheid to extend the ongoing campaigns that seek to delegitimize and demonize Israel.”