Friday ~ The Front Page Cover

The Front Page Cover
 2016             The turth is the gold of today 
AGHnzvDgAIc_dkrUO59jF21LrUmiQ79dA3RIshU-YlAdfSFPOhc54BmJs1OTRtvnrEX-cCbeiMVXdurlydL03p7YzXsWg_6cAavWTIOYU1PogQU4ftAjtXM=s0-d-e1-ft#%3Ca%20rel%3Dnofollow%20href=
Featuring:
Israel finally starts pursuing domestic and
foreign-funded 'fifth columnists'
William Booth & Ruth Eglash
.
~~~
.
 Who's Up for Another nObama Lecture on 'Who  We Are'?   In a show staged to curry Muslim favor and propagate the myth that any connection made between the Religion of Peace™ and violence is inherently hateful, bigoted and entirely un-American, Barack nObama Wednesday made his first visit to a U.S. mosque — one with what he called an "all-American story." His visit had less to do with any religious tendencies and more to do with jockeying for position for his post-presidential career. nObama's religion is himself and whatever it takes to advance his political viability.
          Speaking to the Islamic Society of Baltimore, nObama lamented that this is a "time of fear" for Muslim-Americans who are being "targeted or blamed for the violent acts of the very few." He lectured in his all-too-familiar pattern: "That's not who we are. We are one American family, and when any part of our family starts to feel separate or second-class or targeted, it tears at the fabric of our nation."
          In the wake of beheadings, rapes and even reports of hundreds of children being burned alive in the name of Islam, nObama had the gall to opine, "When any religious group is targeted, we all have a responsibility to speak up." What has he ever said about Muslims perpetrating those attacks — the Muslim fanatics currently wiping ancient Christian communities off the map in the Middle East? Not much, though at last year's National Prayer Breakfast he chided Christians for attacking Muslims ... in the Crusades.
          "You've seen too often people conflating the horrific acts of terrorism with the beliefs of an entire faith," he said Wednesday. He claimed groups like the Islamic State "twist" the Koran, and he promised, "I refuse to give them legitimacy. We should never give them that legitimacy. We shouldn't play into terrorist propaganda."
          It's hardly "giving them legitimacy" or "playing into propaganda" to note that radical Islamic ideology motivated attacks on the World Trade Center (1993 and 2001); assaulting the U.S.S. Cole; the attack on the U.S. military recruiting office in Little Rock, Arkansas; the Fort Hood rampage; the Boston Marathon bombing; the Garland, Texas attack; the Chattanooga and San Bernardino murders; the Charlie Hebdo attacks; the Paris massacre — and the list goes on, and on, and on.
          And it's hardly propaganda to note, as we've done, that there is plenty in the Koran and the Hadith (the teachings of Muhammad) advocating death to infidels. Yet the silence from many high-profile Muslims who are not  unequivocally condemning these and countless other acts of terror is deafening. Indeed, the world is still waiting to hear a Muslim outcry — vocal and without exception or caveat — denouncing terrorist acts perpetrated in the name of Islam.
          Undeterred, nObama lectured "my fellow Christians" that "we have to understand an attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths." Christians and Muslims, despite his insistence that we're all "descendants of Abraham," do not serve the same God.
          nObama is afflicted with an extreme case of a blinding Islamophilia — so much so that he is more concerned with protecting Muslims from alleged offense than with facing deadly reality. He bemoaned, "We've seen children bullied, we've seen mosques vandalized," while ignoring the fact that Americans are worried about a jihadi shooting up the local military base, recruiting center, or gathering of coworkers — all of which have happened on nObama's watch.
          Now, back to the supposed "all-American story." So intent is nObama on denying the obvious that he chose to visit a mosque with terrorist ties in order to demonstrate Islam's supposedly peaceful agenda. As Investor's Business Daily (IBD) reports, nObama's mosque of choice "happens to be controlled by a radical Muslim Brotherhood front group his own Justice Department has implicated in the largest terrorist fundraising plot in U.S. history."
          Indeed, the Islamic Society of Baltimore is part of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). In 2007, federal prosecutors named ISNA as an unindicted terrorist co-conspirator in a plot to send more than $12 million to Hamas suicide bombers. It's been under FBI surveillance as well. What's more, IBD reports that Imam Mohamad Adam el-Sheikh from the mosque told The Washington Post in 2004 that suicide bombings are "acceptable (as a method for Muslims) to defend themselves."
          While Islamic radicals wage war for a caliphate not only in the Middle East but worldwide, nObama keynotes at a terror-linked mosque to give Islam some free PR. As outrageous as this is, it's hardly surprising, as it's been nObama's strategy both at home and abroad since Day One: Apologize your way to world peace.
          Unfortunately, nObama's denial of reality has not made America — or the world — a safer place. And a premier mosque performance will not do so either.  -The Patriot Post
Islam Is Not an Abrahamic Religion
.
gaRe5EU437MPWYnMnCW4pRSQflmAsXx0CfUrKSX9SdVaEE9djVheNAK9gV2O-WknEDPFb4hVNIUrFJ6Hct73o9bFJP70lDgjoxACxQ=s0-d-e1-ft#%3Ca%20rel%3Dnofollow%20href=
Do Muslims, Jews And Christians Worship The Same God?
.
{joemiller.us} ~ This basic question must be addressed and answered in the negative if Western Civilization is to begin to forge an effective defense against Islamic jihad... Dr. Mark Durie, an Australian Anglican theologian, has written the definitive analytical book, “Which God?: Jesus, Holy Spirit, God in Christianity & Islam,” that debunks the accepted conventional wisdom that Islam, Judaism, and Christianity share Abrahamic roots. Dr. Durie’s book incontestably demonstrates that YHWH and Allah are not the same god. Consequently, Christians and Jews are being misled about the shared identity of the three religions’ divinity. This deception is a key component in the overt and covert war being conducted by the political forces of Islam in order to subjugate the Judeo-Christian religions and their societies. One of the most dangerous avenues of covert attack is contained in this Muslim assertion that Islam shares Abrahamic roots with Christianity and Judaism. Dr. Durie explains the Islamic covert attack plan in the following paragraph.
Vt0mXLZcODsqKTSJsR3i5dk8msF6RpZ20KdP0jTqAiJFIEMLHW6a3YA3VJ2KOqUeipZIiOLT2-2k1f8NHu_LR0-3-QFobB9a4A=s0-d-e1-ft#%3Ca%20rel%3Dnofollow%20href=
.
Horowitz: Senator Perdue Blocks 
Open Borders Judge 
nixljFH3h2C4DFd3-wjOSOSi60CwtzqeuHvGMypoQWUCwIcQ5nY2-8w7V2pSfG_I4j0wlTg6zBMPJ0YfEKad69a-Y-HGc6YdbWN3d5GpEQixQKAfYAfLWOtBKHAyLM0jacwQxrCd1sVw5HVNEXhdlSPmeYzqOVWCtBMrZOkDiC8Dt7ShQFv9oEgFEUBbhH2KDbR5hZidkN9DsF6xDOPSm9Ps7HRUmqjwUHB3_dB6bdiHg3BI4D9Zag=s0-d-e1-ft#%3Ca%20rel%3Dnofollow%20href=htt> Daniel Horowitz
.
4t5iPospbLa8J9kFPDipQbFs4UR1dKEXQHOUF5TfrqDLTbaM7F_6NpUHFEvrPyEqWAgFfs0d_9S3rdq0oc3lpXLyzXL2C7Ga7JJz4m9kU0sycd3E3QOe07U19jLGQez6X0JlGqU7f62syDZP_ZejZNt5MC725cfMK2nMzhuWSt6BlyzxBjLa6stAD16K2oI=s0-d-e1-ft#%3Ca%20rel%3Dnofollow%20href=
Sen. David Perdue (R-GA)
.
{conservativereview.com} ~ As we often highlight studies in cowardice and betrayal here at Conservative Review, it’s satisfying to finally have the opportunity to spotlight a profile in courage, especially from someone not named Cruz, Lee, Paul, or Sessions... Today I’d like to commend Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) for his work in derailing another nObama judicial nomination. Last month, we noted that the GOP-Senate plans to confirm more nObama judges this year, allowing him to cement his control over the judiciary.  Rather than simply saying “no more judges who don’t believe in the Constitution,” most Republicans are running scared.  After all, Mitch McCon-nell has already announced he wants to avoid all confrontation with the White House this year. In recent months, the home state Republican senators of these nObama nominees have been instrumental in convincing leadership to schedule votes for their confirmation.  Rather than leading the fight against them, these home state senators, ahem…you know who you are, tend to buckle to pressure from liberal judicial groups and local newspaper articles.  Senator Perdue has gone in the opposite direction. 
.
Most Dangerous States in the United States in 2015 according to the FBI
BJ7FD6ft_ogTTCjUbLM72CjSMLGFVFEyg7XRF3jUrfuOA2qSZquemA6X0XN4gRw7i51QQ9T-GYBiT1Wur7QlJuGxTjIKQSxCpRpyIDK46xSN95BrF5W3JVHCBYvTWqeySWlCkwOuTI_XdPMZlvt8td_jvbyqHQDD97wxFLiO32OKI-IETdvAMhxxBWvbwiNWXQQBU3bu4b1CBy5xbtM=s0-d-e1-ft#%3Ca%20rel%3Dnofollow%20href=Scott Paulson
.
{examiner.com} ~ The annual list of the most dangerous states in the United States has been released by Law Street, according to a Reboot Illinois piece on Tuesday... The list is compiled via Law Street’s Crime Team’s methodology which uses the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s four major violent crime categories in creating a standard measure of violent crimes-per-100,000 people among all cities reporting its crime data to the FBI that have at least 100,000 persons in its borders. Those four major violent crime categories are: murder, aggravated assault, robbery, and incidents of forcible rape.
 
The Top 10 Most Dangerous States in the United States in 2015

Alaska   New Mexico   Nevada  
Tennessee Louisiana   South Carolina  Delaware   Maryland   Florida   Arkansas
.
Fox News’ Judge Nap Puts The 
SLAP DOWN ON The Ted Cruz 
Election FRAUD Accusation!!
.
djsl9lBB3fOCjDGrmp78kQC7lSpFNz3alFKWrTm0ZfRLmOB1mmpmghWYDTb1zuvufZUkeUHzRZGF8leysrGZFhKMeWeSINTtUfjM-R68uCCZpx3SlvVgwDsXb18jHRWMps6DPP4JEXHHWXHFV9RVmci4-Q=s0-d-e1-ft#%3Ca%20rel%3Dnofollow%20href=
{thepoliticalinsider.com} ~ In a special segment on Fox News, legal expert Judge Napolitano weighed in on slump-Trump’s accusations that Ted Cruz committed election fraud in the Iowa caucus. But The Donald won’t like what he says!!
.
Massive Cybersecurity Breach,
NSA Software Compromised
Alice Greene
.
ZBB9eWZ736cCMm72J5srnfJ64FtplOC6FtNjb6Og1zW80llI3bfXAIdza7Ri0I97gWln2sGUFfZvCZSWPLMjwEuHaVN5fDLukryX8_dYVcNABTF-8j0rXcSVB_bIIylyWq6Zw2gjo_E0vhc=s0-d-e1-ft#%3Ca%20rel%3Dnofollow%20href=
Are foreign enemies looking through government files right now?
.
{punchingbagpost.com} ~ Looks like Hilly’s server isn’t the only threat to national security these days... A recent discovery suggests the National Security Agency (NSA) may have been using compromised software for as many as three years – potentially exposing sensitive information to foreign spies. NSA software has been blamed for the problem, with experts claiming that a defect originated from an encryption “back door” hidden within the code. This vulnerability was discovered in December when IT company Juniper Networks which makes IT products for the government reported unauthorized code in its ScreenOS program.  “There’s a lot of very sketchy stuff here,” said cryptology expert Matthew Green. Green has been working furiously to reverse-engineer the code.        http://punchingbagpost.com/massive-cybersecurity-breach-nsa-software-compromised
.
Dems Abandon a Crooked Hilly
NVTg0J5JrpcrCzzniOSPZoIAqlql3dPfM2xyJVqGIeoOtkFyBbQ5ZL43Q2DVry2YRiDfEmR1t_Hqmm4AEutNqn-IFxduF5ju-dVjDz13uyA0cPs=s0-d-e1-ft#%3Ca%20rel%3Dnofollow%20href= Judge Andrew Naploitano
.
{wnd.com} ~ This has not been a good week for Hilly Clinton. She prevailed over Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses by less than four-tenths of 1 percent of all votes cast... after having led him in polls in Iowa at one time by 40 percentage points. In her statement to supporters, standing in front of her gaunt and listless-looking husband, she was not able to mouth the word “victory” or any of its standard variants. She could barely hide her contempt for the Iowa Democrats who deserted her. Sanders isn’t even a Democrat. According to official Senate records, he is an “Independent Socialist” who votes to organize the Senate with the Democrats and sits on the Senate floor with them. Clinton, of course, is the heiress to the mightiest Democratic political apparatus in the land. Hence the question: What do the Iowa Democrats know that caused thousands of them to flee from her? They know she is a crook. On the Friday before Monday’s caucuses, the State Department, which Clinton headed in President nObama’s first term, revealed that it discovered 22 top-secret emails on the private computer server to which Clinton diverted all her governmental email traffic. This acknowledgment marks a radical departure from previous State Department pronouncements and is a direct repudiation of Clinton’s repeated assertions.
http://www.wnd.com/2016/02/dems-abandon-a-crooked-hillary/
.
Who Are The Real 
Knuckle-Dragging Troglodytes?
pjs7qG1me52znO9JEbLTdeeJJgOK5216ReKhRvpGRfX5VAiKsBO7hf06gc20s3fXMsSwFvbl8-z5BSG9dM0ml5VVAjeTU6hhhfYj=s0-d-e1-ft#%3Ca%20rel%3Dnofollow%20href= Erik Rush
.
{wnd.com} ~ Now that the Iowa caucuses are behind us, I suspect that we can count on this election season to become even more hyperbolic all the way around... I am basing this on the trends I’ve seen to date, with the increasingly bizarre deportment of all concerned. Conservative voters and pragmatists are aware that the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been, taking into account the incomprehensible damage that has been done to this nation by the current administration. Meanwhile, the election cycle is showcasing two of the most dangerous leftists the Democratic Party could conjure up as presidential hopefuls: the larcenous, ambulating obscenity Hilly Clinton – who is probably more personally evil than anyone in the nObama cabal – and the geriatric Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whom the conservative press references as a socialist, though his political views are more closely aligned with communism. http://www.wnd.com/2016/02/who-are-the-real-knuckle-dragging-troglodytes/
.
John hanoi-Kerry Will Reform 
Iran With His Words
ja7YNH2N2PggjwYTVNrZdUXmlAs0tiKVd2Y8BpsIx1G28Gc2nBpoykwf2ziV3I3n__5uQIwbDhzNmCHSK57vztBpUFO-JwalR7-SGh27pCGANfhN6at8Wj9Iut1k0vhNuLZYqhMdHS6lfBNtDiSu-C-LlqWXc3F_Q4Hb1hu9QjIJcZxUcaK7GahRopGY-eRoVSSu3Lz_Q4kjSaXrNJQ7wBO4-jHhjUkKc6tt6HFrSuM=s0-d-e1-ft#%3Ca%20rel%3Dnofollow%20href= Blake Seitz
.
{freebeacon.com} ~ Like a teacher who lavishes praise on an unruly student when he turns in his homework for once, Secretary of State John hanoi-Kerry hopes his words will have a reforming effect on Iran... Since the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal on January 16, hanoi-Kerry has expressed “deep respect” for and given “enormous credit” to “our partners” in Tehran for their “seriousness of purpose,” “professionalism,” and “deep commitment” to peace and the brotherhood of man. The Iranian leadership, hanoi-Kerry said, wants to use the nuclear deal “as a departure point for something new.” hanoi-Kerry has pointed to the Islamic Republic’s decision to unplug its centrifuges and ship most of its enriched uranium to Russia as evidence that we are witnessing the dawn of a new Iran. Iran took these steps in exchange for at least $50 billion plus sanctions relief on its top military commanders, financiers, and nuclear scientists.
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/john-kerry-will-reform-iran-with-his-words/?utm_source=Freedom+Mail&utm_campaign=e7521eb127-WFB_Morning_Beacon_02_04_162_3_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b5e6e0e9ea-e7521eb127-45611665
.
Disclosure: TSA Cannot Verify 
Employees’ Criminal Histories
NFQotwy_zxOvdBxBtcyQBJHr1t_0IqINc1V79bgVhnlRmH4VRJJ5OP9Y2Evi9Zogd3GS6TuEBL8uZP_upqcsLQ1PWMZEGvn7VyM10V7n3aQlDkiZJjGVcGvdslDmiJtVYIQwOPjNEFuEzNvPKn4wswWev_8Z_z7KwZBtLQ_a1fCee5lgK6NfeMFHSs-21LMMrEQOwPq7FnyVU5jQ50vFfX1vI8mrv3oTtpj2Q7IZjaI=s0-d-e1-ft#%3Ca%20rel%3Dnofollow%20href= Adam Kredo
.
KEHoWgO68PW5m-XFFoNblaa3kdEObSTJ6w8MqqunwtMTRzpT5kJYiITJh-3Fw9EqOQgEJqakVXb8Or-MdaMWgnGIaES1Ok7EZbxk=s0-d-e1-ft#%3Ca%20rel%3Dnofollow%20href=
TSA agents work at a security check-point
.
{freebeacon.com} ~ Government oversight officials informed Congress on Wednesday that the Transportation Security Administration continues to operate in disarray... failing to record basic security details for thousands of employees and not tracking official IDs and badges that allow access to the most sensitive areas of an airport. Lawmakers described the security agency as operating “in chaos” and expressed frustration with nObama administration officials as they informed the House Oversight Committee about a range of security shortfalls that continue to endanger the nation’s 450 commercial airports. TSA’s inability to properly screen and track employees has been well documented for years. However, the administration has failed to enact multiple reforms aimed at tightening security and making it more efficient, lawmakers said.        http://freebeacon.com/national-security/disclosure-tsa-cannot-verify-employees-criminal-histories/?utm_source=Freedom+Mail&utm_campaign=e7521eb127-WFB_Morning_Beacon_02_04_162_3_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b5e6e0e9ea-e7521eb127-45611665
.
Clinton Corruption Leads 
to Russian Aggression
Cliff Kincaid
.
7_AoxGaRRfSHxkKoJuDdiF_GAjZnRqoLo5KOGEPp7xnhcX5Jh59nfrahHCvfvAx0fgOjyoBLtkWhJeY5_VIFqcJi_8r0xn6AGh3peOeWT-he22qWFc7wq1SWtAEo8LmpZBRsWUu4rCleQkDFdw8dpDZhsNaaQoHKhlUks9qExUFN5pficAivTJF08Kob2bZxkwfRJemhI8GMge3HZFAdT4VFEOQht5splmHhzbr-IzLI4vUmjRGR0iQ9O5fvFD7xJyDa6vDENhg4FCN-Lxg9-9pDSe6TN-4oIAZYPTI=s0-d-e1-ft#%3Ca%20rel%3Dnofollow%20href=
.
{aim.org} ~ The New York Times endorsed Hilly Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, calling her “one of the most broadly and deeply qualified presidential candidates in modern history.”... There was one big problem with the editorial. Her policy toward Russia laid the groundwork for the Russian aggression that the Pentagon now has to spend billions of dollars to prepare for. The paper somehow forgot to mention that. The nObama/Clinton Russian “reset” policy in 2009 set the stage for Russian wars of aggression and military intervention in Ukraine and Syria, and Vladimir Putin’s decision to give sanctuary to NSA defector Edward Snowden. Snowden’s stolen documents have assisted the rise of ISIS. The liberal paper is entitled to endorse anybody it pleases. But to endorse Mrs. Clinton and not explain or justify her failed policy with regard to Russia is an oversight that borders on dishonesty.        http://www.aim.org/aim-column/clinton-corruption-leads-to-russian-aggression/?utm_source=AIM+-+Daily+Email&utm_campaign=email020316&utm_medium=email
.
AGHnzvDgAIc_dkrUO59jF21LrUmiQ79dA3RIshU-YlAdfSFPOhc54BmJs1OTRtvnrEX-cCbeiMVXdurlydL03p7YzXsWg_6cAavWTIOYU1PogQU4ftAjtXM=s0-d-e1-ft#%3Ca%20rel%3Dnofollow%20href=
.
Israel finally starts pursuing domestic and
foreign-funded 'fifth columnists'
William Booth & Ruth Eglash
.
FGvtA_FI4soGE27oGrLvoTSTqlMGuoGXg65pIq_vgtV1Kzuftf_5iBZbEFWAnvmvYplbC6BS9hd33W09BFKRS9aavsS6BFYsGQ4wrawXRDeWbFS4fMmThfH_GEFgk8bC7-hFZug2Wg2EZw=s0-d-e1-ft#%3Ca%20rel%3Dnofollow%20href=
.
{jewishworldreview.com} ~ Israeli right-wing politicians and their allies are going after human rights activists, artists and pro-Palestinian voices on the left with tough new laws and scorching ad campaigns that reveal how deep and bitter the divide between the two camps are these days.
.
Officials from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conservative government are attempting to pass legislation seeking something akin to "loyalty oaths" from artists who receive state money. They also want members of nonprofit groups who get money from foreign governments to wear special badges in parliament.
.
Meanwhile, a once obscure but now viral ultranationalist group called Im Tirtzu has launched a social media campaign attacking artists, including two of Israel's best-known and liberal authors, Amos Oz and David Grossman, calling them "foreign agents in the cultural world" and "moles."
.
Im Tirtzu on Wednesday began naming people in film, theater, television and the arts that they charge are provocateurs supported by foreign governments and such groups as the U.S.-based New Israel Fund, working against the interests of the state of Israel.
.
Opponents of Im Tirtzu described their actions as an Israeli version of "McCarthyism." Im Tirtzu said, essentially, that McCarthy was right.
.
Yet even Netanyahu and national religious pro-settler Education Minister Naftali Bennett, a vocal opponent of liberal nongovernmental organizations, said Im Tirtzu had gone too far. "The campaign against the artists is embarrassing, needless and disgraceful," Bennett said on Twitter.
.
All this heated rhetoric comes as the Israeli parliament prepares to debate a contentious bill next week that supporters say will bring needed transparency to Israeli NGOs, especially those critical of the Israeli military and its operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
.
Opponents of the bill warn that it could undermine Israel's democratic principles and stigmatize human rights advocates.
.
The proposed "transparency bill" would require Israeli organizations that get more than half their funding from "foreign government entities," including U.S. aid, to be labeled as such in media and reports. It may also obligate members of those groups to wear special badges when they appear in the Israeli parliament.
.
The sponsor of the bill, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, told The Washington Post that her legislation "has nothing to do with left and right" but is merely an attempt to force such groups to reveal from whom they get their money.
.
Shaked said Israel is fighting a global campaign to undermine its legitimacy and that some NGOs funded by foreign governments are used to hurt Israel in international forums, such as the United Nations. When asked for an example, Shaked pointed to Israeli human rights reports that were used as source material for the U.N. Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict, which found breaches of international law on both sides. The United Nations relied on nongovernment reports in part because the Israeli government refused to allow the commission to enter Gaza and refused to cooperate.
.
European nations support hundreds of large and small pro-Palestinian projects, anti-occupation and human rights groups in Israel; the European Union is pressing Israel these days to go back to negotiations with the Palestinians and has ramped up criticism of the ongoing expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank - settlements that Europe considers illegal, though Israel disputes this.
.
Many Israelis are put out by what they see as Europe's meddling and point to what they see as soaring anti-Semitism on the continent.
.
In a recent editorial, Shaked said: "We have discovered in recent years the danger posed by the existence of forces financed by foreign money. We have discovered that hundreds of millions of dollars are sent to NGOs in Israel from countries that seek to decide the existing dispute between Israel and the Palestinian Authority."
.
Leaders of the Israeli groups targeted by the proposed law, such as Gisha, Peace Now, B'Tselem and Breaking the Silence, say the legislation is designed to punish them for opposing Israel's 49-year military occupation of the West Bank and for highlighting mistreatment of Palestinians.
.
Breaking the Silence is perhaps the most popular target. The group is composed of current and former Israeli soldiers who say their mission is to present testimony, often anonymous, to Israelis about the reality of war and occupation.
.
Shaked said the group exists to smear Israel abroad and expose the country and its soldiers to war-crimes charges.
.
Im Tirtzu, the group that charged that Israeli artists were disloyal to the state, recently accused the leaders of the left-wing groups of being "moles" in the employ of foreign governments.
.
Daniel Sokatch, head of the New Israel Fund, a U.S. organization that donates around $25 million a year to about 100 progressive and civil society organizations in Israel, called the bill "an ugly anti-democratic piece of legislation that does not provide any more transparency than already exists."
.
Sokatch charged that right-wing organizations such as Im Tirtzu are colluding with the Netanyahu government to incite against the liberal groups.
.
The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Daniel Shapiro, took the unusual step of wading into this fray, meeting with Shaked earlier this month to express American "concerns" about her legislation and suggesting the bill could undercut Israel's standing as a thriving democracy.
.
Netanyahu has waved away such concerns and said he supports the legislation but wants to remove the special badges requirement as Jews being forced to wear badges created a stir here and struck some as an eerie if unintended echo of the Holocaust.
.
"I fail to understand how greater transparency is undemocratic," Netanyahu told reporters earlier this month.
.
The legislation appears likely to pass, though it could be amended in committee meetings.
.
Roy Folkman, a parliament member from the center-right Kulanu party, told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that he would vote for the bill - even though he thinks it stokes the "atmosphere of a witch hunt."
.
"We think the law is superfluous, unnecessary and will cause international harm to Israel," Folkman said.
.
Gerald Steinberg, founder of a watchdog group called NGO Monitor, said that "the debate is actually more important than any bill passed."
.
Although he called the bill toothless and symbolic, Steinberg argued that the millions of dollars that pass through a handful of liberal Israeli organizations were worthy of scrutiny.
.
Sharon Abraham-Weiss, the executive director of Association of Civil Rights in Israel, said the bill's sponsors may be surprised that some of the NGOs they are targeting do not receive the majority of their funding from foreign governments.
.
Her organization, for instance, gets 20 percent of its budget from friendly governments.
.
That aside, she said one flaw of the bill is that it focuses exclusively on the alleged undue influence of foreign governments - but not the funding provided to right-wing NGOs from private sources, including wealthy Americans.
.
She suggested that it might be better to look at the influence wielded by billionaire casino magnate and GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson, for example, who funds dozens of projects in Israel, including a free pro-Netanyahu newspaper with the largest circulation in Israel.
.
"Israeli government projects getting foreign funding is fine, Israeli organizations getting private money from abroad is fine, but only Israeli NGOs are being singled out," she said.
.
E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of Command Center to add comments!

Join Command Center