Chairman Ehud Barak of the Labor party said Monday that he is totally opposed to the activities of the New Israel Fund. The Im Tirtzu pro-Land of Israel organization recently targeted the group because of its financial and other support for anti-Israel activities, including the Goldstone report which accused Israel of war crimes in last winter's Cast Lead counter-terror campaign in Gaza.

Speaking at a meeting of the party's Knesset faction, the defense minister said, "I certainly am not enthusiastic about and don't like the bodies that benefit from the donations of this fund." He added, "As a movement or a party, we will fight against any revelation of an attempt to stop this freedom, certainly revelations that look like a local version of McCarthyism. ...I must note that the New Israel Fund has done many essential and good things for the state of Israel."