Maybe there's just no room for human rights in Israel

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

http://972mag.com/maybe-theres-no-room-for-human-rights-in-israel/114828/


Those trying to delegitimize rights groups because their funds come from overseas are sending a very clear message: human and civil rights are not values that exist naturally in Israel.
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The attacks are also coming from more and more directions. In particular, Breaking the Silence, an organization of former Israeli soldiers who oppose the occupation, has been targeted in recent weeks by the country’s national police department, the defense minister, the education minister, and even the president himself. Critics of the organization rarely engage with Breaking the Silence’s messaging and activities, however. Instead the attacks tend to be ad hominem, focusing on where they fundraise and to whom they speak.

The persecution in Israel of human and civil rights NGOs — and the values they represent — is most certainly worrying, but it is not surprising. Similar trends have been documented around the world, often with much more ferocity. And it should not surprise anybody that a country that for five decades has justified the systemic violation of civil and human rights of one population would shy away from defending those very values against waves of populism, especially in the face of looming international isolation.

This story is not new, and yet it is only beginning. It used to be that Jewish privilege offered Israeli human rights activists some level of immunity from political persecution, the likes of which Palestinians have suffered for decades. With the current right-wing government’s strong hold on power, no discernible opposition in sight, and nobody even discussing ending the occupation, it is safe to say that the worst is yet to come.

[oberliner]

1. Human rights groups face global crackdown 'not seen in a generation'

Human rights organisations and campaign groups are facing their biggest crackdown in a generation as a wave of countries pass restrictive laws and curtail activity. Almost half the world’s states have implemented controls that affect tens of thousands of organisations across the globe.

Over the past three years, more than 60 countries have passed or drafted laws that curtail the activity of non-governmental and civil society organisations. Ninety-six countries have taken steps to inhibit NGOs from operating at full capacity, in what the Carnegie Endowment calls a “viral-like spread of new laws” under which international aid groups and their local partners are vilified, harassed, closed down and sometimes expelled.

James Savage, of Amnesty International, says: “This global wave of restrictions has a rapidity and breadth to its spread we’ve not seen before, that arguably represents a seismic shift and closing down of human rights space not seen in a generation.

http://www.theguardian.com/law/2015/aug/26/ngos-face-restrictions-laws-human-rights-generation

Important context. Glad it was included. 972mag writers have real journalistic integrity. This is what a legitimate source looks like.

Stick with 972mag and stop posting Mondoweiss and we can move on to getting a real dialogue going here.

With regard to this piece, Israel needs to let these groups operate without government interference.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

2. Your post drips with irony, ober, and you don't even notice.