Article in The Age newspaper, 7 January 2011
This article tells how Israel is resorting to police state and fascist state tactics in order to silence those who are becoming more and more vocal and who are at last beginning to have their voices heard arond the world - at last!!
The Israeli government is desperate to ensure support from its major supporters remains because cracks are at last appearing in the 60-year-long support it has taken for granted and DEMANDED of the USA!
Israel confronts rights groups with inquiry
Jerusalem
January 7, 2011
THE funding of Israeli human and civil rights groups is to be investigated by a parliamentary commission amid claims they are acting against the country's interests.
Opponents have described the move as ''McCarthyite''.
A bill brought by members of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party proposed the inquiry into groups monitoring the activities of the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank.
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Supporters of the bill claimed the groups were ''delegitimising'' Israel and were funded by anti-Israeli international bodies.
The bill was approved by 47 votes to 16 following a heated debate in the Knesset on Wednesday, during which security guards were present.
But the bill was immediately condemned by rights organisations who claim it is part of a campaign to intimidate groups that speak out against the actions of the state.
''Israeli democracy took a severe blow today,'' Hagai el-Ad, the director of the Association of Civil Rights in Israel, said.
''The goal is to eventually weaken human rights groups and make them less effective in exposing, questioning and affecting government policies.
''Time and again, members of the current Knesset have shown that, instead of dealing with the content of the criticism voiced, they prefer to silence and vilify those who voice such opinions.''
Supporters claimed the groups are backed by ''international groups … with the goal of damaging the legitimacy of the activities of Israeli Defence Forces soldiers'', encouraging draft-dodging and branding soldiers as war criminals.
They said the purpose of the commission was to investigate the funding of the groups, rather than their activities.
GUARDIAN
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