Livni rails against newly approved NGO bill

A newly approved, contentious bill that would require nongovernmental groups to declare funding from foreign countries is “another brick in the wall of solitude the government is putting up around Israel,” Zionist Union MK Tzipi Livni says in a tweet.

The bill, which was proposed by the cabinet, was passed earlier today by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation

“This is internal politics at the expense of proper foreign policy,” Livni says. “This is not a law that’s designed for transparency; it’s a law that will mark Israelis.”

Representatives of such NGOs will also be required to wear an identification badge whenever they attend sessions in the Knesset to reflect their group’s foreign funding. The bill would have NGO representatives wear a tag similar to those worn by lobbyists — or face a NIS 29,000 ($7,500) fine.