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[Excerpts:]

"Like other politicians whose power is threatened, Chazan and the NIF leadership responded furiously, denying the evidence and threatening legal action. However, having themselves used personal and crude graphics against opponents, the threats from Chazan and NIF lacked credibility. While claiming to defend free speech, NIF’s fierce attacks on critics were themselves attempts to silence a much-needed public debate." "As a result, for most Israelis, the NGOs nurtured by NIF, Ford, and Europe constitute a powerful and entirely undemocratic opposition force. As the head of NIF, Naomi Chazan wields more power than she had as a member of the Knesset, before being rejected by the voters. She and other NGO officials, funded from the outside, are very visible in the media, in lobbying the Knesset, and in bombarding the courts in order to impose their ideology. The very controversial decision to re-open route 443 between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to Palestinian vehicles was largely the result of pressure from these NGOs. When the first Israeli is attacked due to this decision, NIF officials and donors will be blamed. For all of these reasons, the NIF is in deep trouble, and officials would be well advised to join, rather than attack different voices, in developing funding guidelines, and by ending patronising attempts to impose their private agendas on the rest of us. Among the over 300 grants given by NIF, many go to schools and other worthy projects, but many Israelis view this as a cover for the more sinister political agenda. As the fierce debate demonstrates, with so much money and influence, outside power-brokers from all parts of the political and ideological spectrum have the obligation to provide far more transparency, accountability and diversity. Israelis have lost patience with the campaigns to manipulate their critical choices, and to promote Goldstone-type demonisation. If NIF officials do not get the message and make these changes voluntarily, Israel’s elected officials will exercise their right and their obligation to impose democratic control."