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Anti-racism coalition claims Israeli extreme-right groups getting state funds

A report by the Israeli Tag-Meir group argues that extreme-right groups that incite hate and violence are receiving state funds both directly and indirectly.
Benzion Gopshtein (L), leader of the far-right Israeli group Lehava, gathers with fellow activists in Jerusalem December 25, 2014.  A far-right Israeli group that agitates against Arabs in the name of religion and national security is forcing the Jewish state into a legal and political balancing act as it tries to contain sectarian violence. The authorities are under pressure to deal with anyone encouraging Jewish retaliation against Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. Efforts to tackle Lehava, however, may be
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An Israeli nonprofit dedicated to promoting tolerance presented on March 21 a report titled “Funding Racism" in the Knesset Committee on Transparency headed by Knesset member Stav Shaffir. The report by the Tag Meir forum indicates that the State of Israel provides direct or indirect funding to radical right-wing organizations described as “racist” or “of a racist complexion.” Tag Meir, Hebrew for “Light Tag,” is a coalition of Israeli organizations founded in 2011 as a counterweight to the hate crimes perpetrated by rightist Jewish groups against Arabs and other non-Jews — attacks known in Hebrew as “price tag."

The report’s author, Noam Vilder, told Al-Monitor that the findings paint a frightening picture that she assessed is only the tip of the iceberg of a sophisticated scheme for funneling money to radical right-wing organizations, “eroding the fabric of co-existence, damaging the values of tolerance in Israel society, and mongering hatred between Jews and Arabs.”

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