MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) said it was high time that the government took action "to cut off the oxygen supply" to ultra-leftist groups that act as "Trojan horses" within Israel. He specifically mentioned the New Israel Fund and its operative arm Shatil, as well as the Association for Civil Rights on Israel, which is funded by the NIF.
I think there is no question of muzzling free speech here. We support a public discourse that is as wide as possible. But the public discourse needs to be authentic. We will not let foreign money buy the public discourse. It's unthinkable that money from foreign governments is used to demonize IDF soldiers in the public discourse. That must not stand.
Minister Yossi Peled (Likud), who voted in favor of the bills, explained: "We try to look at ourselves as if we were like all other states, but we cannot do this because we live in a special situation that is not typical of any other country. If the organization 'Breaking the Silence' is funded from outside and persecutes IDF soldiers, we cannot accept that."