Likud MK May Golan has asked State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman to look into the New Israel Fund following an Israel Hayom report earlier this week that found the left-wing non-governmental organization had meddled in Israel's elections.
According to the report, in 2019, the NIF gave 75% more than it did in 2018, donating to four different organizations that were involved in the election campaigns through social media posts, field activities, and even legal assistance to candidates from left-wing lists, including the Joint Arab List.
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In response to a request from Israel Hayom, the state comptroller said that the request had been received and would be examined.
In her request to Englman, Golan wrote that, "according to reports in the media, the New Israel Fund, a non-profit registered in the US, donated some 2.3 million shekels (around $687,000) to organizations that attempted to influence the outcome of the elections in Israel; Zazim, Standing Together, and Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel.
NIF has denied the claims, calling them "entirely unfounded."
"The New Israel Fund does not promote political candidates," the organization said.
According to Golan, "The reality in which foreign bodies and non-profits intervene in elections in Israel through the funding of organizations that have never even registered as an active body in the elections is completely unacceptable. According to the Campaign Financing Law, it is forbidden to carry out election activity without authorization from and registration with the state comptroller. In addition, there are limitations on donations that can be accepted from foreign bodies."
Golan asked Englman to "act as soon as possible, in order to prevent foreign interference in the upcoming election campaign, to conduct an in-depth investigation into whether the sums received as donations by the various organizations met the legal requirements, and to bring them to justice in the event they exceeded legal requirements."
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