Israel PM freezes cooperation with Wexner Foundation amid allegations of left-wing bias

rylah

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Wexner Foundation funds an all-expenses-paid prestigious training program for senior members of Israel's public service at Harvard.

The Prime Minister's Office announced on Wednesday that it is freezing cooperation with the controversial Wexner Foundation amid allegations of left-wing bias.

The announcement came during a session of the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, which convened on Wednesday at the behest of Likud MK Dr. Shlomo Karhi and the Zionist watchdog group Im Tirtzu to discuss the government's cooperation with the Wexner Foundation.

The family foundation of American billionaire Leslie Wexner, the Wexner Foundation funds an all-expenses-paid prestigious training program for senior members of Israel's public service at Harvard University.

Graduates of the program include high-ranking members of Israel's judiciary, military and other branches of public service, including Supreme Court Justice Uzi Vogelman, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, Strategic Affairs Minister (Blue and White) Orit Farkash-Hacohen, and senior State Attorney’s Office official Osnat Mandel.

The Foundation has come under fire in recent years over allegations that the program is being used to inculcate its participants with a left-wing ideology.

This theory was reinforced by a discovery that the Foundation paid $2.3 million to former Labor party Prime Minister Ehud Barak from 2004 – 2006 to conduct two unpublished "studies," one of which was not completed.

MK Karhi accused the Wexner Foundation of holding a political bias and of "poisoning the minds" of the participants.

"My goal is that the State of Israel and each of its authorities will not send civil servants into the unknown, to a foreign foundation with undemocratic and even anarchistic influence," said Karhi.

During the hearing, Im Tirtzu announced that it submitted a petition to the High Court of Justice against the Wexner Foundation's program, alleging that the all-expenses-paid program is in violation of Israel's Gift Law.

"The Wexner Israel Fellowship has a sharp left-wing bias and encourages public officials to undermine the orders of the ministers," said Attorney Ziv Maor, a member of Im Tirtzu's Legal Division.

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(Comment)

Great news!
I know this might not sound big,
but people have been concerned with it for years.

Even our current Chief of Staff went through the program,
but he at least did a degree in Philosophy prior to that,
which in itself places him in an interesting category.

Im Tirtzu did a great job.

Took them about 2 weeks from publishing their case directly addressing PM's office,
and the actual steps in the Knesset that leading with an order to end the program.

Some are focused on making noise and aimless demonstrations for optics,
others are more inclined on doing real job that matters.
Well done Im Tirtzu!

But this is one, there're many such big fish who participate in subversion.
There's an entire network reaching into courts, and every govt institute,
and one of the measures is the US policy of foreign NGO registration.
 
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I had the impression there are quite a few US politicians who are Israeli citizens. That doesn't cut both ways in the land of hasbara?
 
IM Tirtzu CEO Debates New Israel Fund CEO in Israel:
"NIF is Foreign Political Organization"



I had the impression there are quite a few US politicians who are Israeli citizens. That doesn't cut both ways in the land of hasbara?


What doesn't work?

This is not about dual citizenship, which is normal practice,
however your resort to default xenophobic tropes is predictable.

Daniel Sukatch doesn't have an Israeli citizenship,
he's a CEO of a foreign organization funded by foreign governments.
The US has a law binding such organizations to be registered as foreign agents.
 
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New Israel Fund's Donation Plummet $6 Million After Foreign Agent Campaign

Same subversion, different front.

 
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