An important point on a subject we’ve been discussing here for a while, courtesy of Grom the Affective.
[Jpost] Israel is being attacked from within by organizations funded from abroad, without real legal restrictions and without meaningful security intervention, Moshe Fuzaylov told Maariv in an interview published Sunday.The result is that foreign states are able to shape both Israeli and international discourse without paying a price, while Israelis argue among themselves about the so-called "freedom of action" of NGOs.
Fuzaylov, a senior researcher at the Misgav Institute for National Security and a former senior Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) official, discussed Israel’s ongoing cognitive and legal battle over the narrative and legitimacy of the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
since October 7.
"On October 7, 2023, Israel found itself the victim of a brutal massacre, the hardest day in its history," Fuzaylov said.
"It was only natural to expect that at that moment, human rights
...which are usually entirely different from personal
liberty...
organizations, in Israel and abroad, would stand by the victim. After all, this was not a border clash, but crimes against humanity: massacre, rape, kidnapping, arson. And yet, most of those organizations’ arrows were directed against us."
He argued that the event exposed a painful truth: "For years, we educated ourselves to believe that international coalitions are built on shared values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. But at the moment of truth, those values collapsed. What holds coalitions together are not shared values but shared interests. That is why in the West, seemingly paradoxical alliances have emerged - progressive LGBT movements marching hand in hand with Hamas
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...supporters. Clearly, there are no shared values here, since Hamas brutally oppresses LGBT people, women, and minorities. But there is a shared interest: to turn Israel into a symbol of ’occupation’ and ’apartheid.’ Israel has become a political bargaining chip, with no cost to harming it."
Israeli law and European funding
According to Fuzaylov, Israeli law has also enabled the problem. "The Associations Law requires transparency regarding foreign funding, but it does not limit the receipt of such funds. Unlike in the United States, where anybody funded by a foreign state is defined as a foreign agent and placed under strict supervision, here the field is wide open. The European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
has learned to exploit this very well. Instead of confronting Israel directly, it channels funding to local NGOs that file petitions, produce ’apartheid’ reports, and lead campaigns in the international arena. In this way, Israel becomes a target of legal and cognitive attrition, funded by European public money but carrying the stamp of an ’Israeli NGO.’"
Fuzaylov also leveled criticism at the Shin Bet: "Since Rabin’s liquidation, the service has invested enormous resources in monitoring the far-right. This is a real threat that requires attention, but the result is a long-standing distortion: within the Shin Bet, there is no dedicated body dealing with the radical Left, anarchist groups, or NGOs funded by foreign governments operating under the banner of ’human rights,’ and which may even be working to undermine an elected government. In practice, the Shin Bet shut the door on the Left more than twenty years ago. This has left an entire front exposed - a front where the battle over world public opinion is being waged almost without any security oversight."
STEPS FOR DECISION MAKERS
Fuzaylov called for fundamental change: "Israel requires a clear law, one that defines any NGO funded by a foreign government as a foreign agent, with binding restrictions and transparency. It also needs a balanced Shin Bet, one that recognizes that threats to democracy can come from both the Right and the Left, especially when it involves foreign funding intended to weaken Israel’s resilience."
He added that "the next Shin Bet chief will face a historic mission: to restore balance. He must rebuild the division that deals with the Right, establish a division to also address threats from the Left and from NGOs operating with foreign funding, recommend protective legislation, and ensure that the service is not captive to past traumas but faithful to one principle - the defense of the State of Israel, its illusory sovereignty, and the legitimacy of its existence."
"Israel’s struggle is not only military against Hamas or Iran. It is also being fought in the legal, cognitive, and political arenas. To win it, we must understand that shared values no longer hold. Only shared interests, protective legislation, and a balanced security service will ensure that we can withstand the international industry working to undermine our legitimacy," he concluded.