The left-wing Peace Now organization has begun a campaign aimed at stripping a legal rights group that defends right-wing Jews in court of its funding.
Peace Now is targeting Honenu, which has represented young men accused of “Price tag” vandalism in court, and has fought for the legal rights of Jews from Judea and Samaria, including the right to see a lawyer and the right not to face punishment without trial under “administrative orders.”
In a post to his Facebook page, Peace Now head Yariv Oppenheimer wrote, “The extreme right – not at my expense! Until today, you didn’t know that you, too, are funding the extreme-right group ‘Honenu,’ which defends murderers and price tag criminals.”
Oppenheimer said that Honenu, along with many other NGOs, receives financial benefits as an organization that works on behalf of the community. He called on Peace Now supporters to demand that Finance Minister Yair Lapid remove “extreme right organizations” from the list of NGOs eligible for such benefits.
An attached advertisement accused Honenu of assisting “terrorists.” The list of “terrorists” Honenu was alleged to have helped included Yossi Ben-Baruch. According to the ad, Ben-Baruch was part of the Bat Ayin Underground group; in fact, he was found innocent of any involvement with the group over a decade ago.
Spokespeople from Honenu said they are not upset by the Peace Now campaign. “It’s flattering that our activity bothers a radical, extremist left-wing group like Peace Now,” they said.
“Apparently Oppenheimer and his friends who exalt ‘human rights’ are willing to fight for the rights of enemies, including murderers who slaughter Jews. But not for the rights of settlers, soldiers or police, who are our brothers and our flesh and blood,” the group continued.
“It’s no wonder that those groups are funded by anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish governments and organizations, while Honenu barely gets by with donations from Israelis,” they accused, referring to Peace Now's donations from Europe. Honenu concluded, “We will continue to stand beside any Jew who faces legal persecution for acting on behalf of the nation of Israel.”