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Anger at Campaign against Leftist Israeli Artists

A campaign by a rightwing Israeli NGO branding artists linked to leftwing groups hostile "moles" was denounced Thursday by politicians across the political spectrum as "fascist" and "despicable."

Im Tirtzu put images of four prominent Israeli cultural figures on its Facebook page on Wednesday, alleging their support of various "fifth column" leftwing organizations.

The group also accused dozens more artists and intellectuals of disloyalty.

Its campaign, titled "moles in culture," follows a video it released in December lambasting Israeli human rights activists whose groups receive foreign funding and saying they should be called "foreign agents."

"Our cultural world is controlled by many moles planted by the New Israel Fund and its organizations," Im Tirtzu wrote on Wednesday, referring to a U.S.-based foundation that funds Israeli groups active in the fields of civil rights, religious freedom and social justice.

The cultural establishment and artists in Israel "conduct themselves like a political junta that does everything it can to preserve its power and influence," it said.

Israeli Culture Minister Miri Regev, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling Likud party, spoke out against Im Tirtzu's campaign.

"Alongside the public's right to know, we must refrain from statements that could lead to incitement and violence. Hurting any person because of their political opinions is wrong," she wrote on Facebook.

Likud MP Benny Begin, son of late prime minister Menachem Begin, called the Im Tirtzu offensive a "new level of ugly."

"There's an attempt here to plant in the public's mind the term 'moles' as a synonym for 'traitors'," he said on public radio. 

"Seeking out, locating and marking supposed traitors is an old fascist trait, both ugly and dangerous," he added.

Isaac Herzog, head of the opposition Labor party, said that "McCarthyism is making a despicable attempt to take over Israel" but "the Israeli McCarthyism and the lowlifes leading it will disappear, like they did from the United States."

McCarthyism refers to allegations of treason or subversion without proof, and was coined after former U.S. senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist witch-hunts from the late 1940s to the 1950s.

The Im Tirtzu campaign coincides with a row over a bill proposed by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked targeting leftwing NGOs that the United States has warned could have "chilling" repercussions.

The bill demands that NGOs receiving more than half of their funding from foreign governments declare it in all their official reports, while their representatives should wear a special badge during visits to parliament.

Source: Agence France Presse


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