by Akiva Bigman
Beyond the customary slogans about equality, the goal is clear: rallying an electorate that favors "ending the occupation."
The
left-wing Zazim nongovernmental organization in recent days has sent
its activists an email shedding light on its political objectives.
"In the coming months, we will encourage
citizens to go out and vote, we will fight corruption and put our
community's values – from ending the occupation to equality – on the
public agenda ahead of elections," the group said in the email.
This paragraph reveals a lot. Beyond the
customary slogans about equality, the goal is clear: rallying an
electorate that favors "ending the occupation."
Zazim was founded in June 2015 as a
"campaigning community for social and political change." As such, it
runs various campaigns on an ongoing basis and has a database of
activists who "join our movement" online. According to the group's
aforementioned internal communication, no less than 135,000 people,
ready and willing to partake in public activism, have already
registered. Among its causes, Zazim has fought the nation-state law and
the culture loyalty law; it has opposed deporting illegal migrants to a
third-party country; and, in regard to the investigations against Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has protested against Attorney General
Avichai Mendelblit. In 2017, Zazim's budget was NIS 1.45 million
($387,000). Of that sum, NIS 1.36 million ($363,000) was provided by the
New Israel Fund.
This modus operandi characterizes more than
a few organizations. Their common denominator: grassroots activism,
declared political objectives and considerable funding from abroad. This
network of NGOs could become a central player in the upcoming election.
ANU, an organization in a similar vein, was
founded in 2013. ANU is also a platform for progressive social activism
in Israel. Its activists also demonstrate against the attorney general.
It has some 160,000 members. In 2017 ANU's budget was NIS 2.9 million
($770,000). Its list of donors is confidential, but the NIF's website
indicates that between 2015 and 2017, it gave ANU no less than $770,000.
Another such NGO, Omdim Beyachad (Standing
Together), operates under the same formula. It enlists activists online
and works against the nation-state law, expelling illegal migrants, the
attorney general, etc. In 2017 its budget was NIS 560,000 ($150,000).
The far-left Germany-based Rosa Luxemburg Foundation provided around NIS
100,000 ($27,000) of that sum, and the NIF provided around NIS 90,000
($24,000).
And the list goes on. Mehazkim, a
progressive activist group, was established last year. It "runs the most
successful media project in Israel's progressive camp, reaching
millions of people every month." Its budget for 2017 was relatively low,
but its launch event last summer was attended by prominent leftist
leaders such as former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, former Meretz
Chairwoman Zahava Galon and others. We can reasonably assume that
Mehazkim will play a significant role in the next election.
The Israeli Alliance appeared on the public
stage in recent weeks with the French-inspired yellow vest protests.
The organization was established in 2017 by a Labor party activist. Its
budget this past year was NIS 2.6 million ($690,000). The lion's share
of its budget was provided by the United States-based Tides Foundation,
which connects donors with NGOs. Consequently, the identities of the
actual donors aren't available to the public either.
Some better-known NGOs, which played an
active role in the 2015 election, are also on the list. Darkenu is the
legal heir to the V15 organization. Its most recent report to the Israel
Corporations Authority is from 2016, when its budget stood at around
NIS 6 million ($1.6 million). In 2015, an election year, its budget was
NIS 16 million ($4.3 million).
Commanders for Israel's Security recently
ran a successful campaign called "It's time to divorce the
Palestinians." The organization was created in late 2014, ahead of the
2015 election, with the goal of advancing peace by "influencing the
political system and public in Israel." In 2017, the group's budget was
NIS 4.4 million ($1.2 million). The sources for much of this sum are
unknown.
Thus, while the public discourse has
recently revolved around party divisions, potential alliances and
political novelties, it's also important to note the left-wing NGOs
active on the ground and revving their engines, and the immense scope of
the foreign funding that could play a role in the fast-approaching
general election.
Akiva Bigman
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/the-left-revs-its-engines/
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