'Anybody But Bibi' Funded by More Than Just State Department

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76fSRK7G784

Adi Ben Hur reports that there is more than one foreign government funding the “Anybody but Bibi” V15 campaign in Israel:

Recently, the activity of V15 and One Voice, those “spontaneous” groups established to defeat the reigning government in elections, were revealed to the public at large. They have been pounding the pavement, going door-to-door, and conducting a campaign with a very simple message: “Anyone but Bibi” and “Bring Back Hope.”

So, who is their alternative to Benjamin Netanyahu? After all, despite the strident denials, the people behind this campaign are a long list of known Labor activists. They understand that Labor’s uncharismatic leader, Isaac “Bujie” Herzog can’t do the job alone, and so they’ve decided to lend a hand.

…Even if all this activity is technically legal, it’s still very problematic. What makes it worse is the massive funding from foreign governments. Democracy means rule by the people, and the intervention of foreign countries is nothing short of subversion. According to the screenshot below from One Voice’s website (accessed on January 29^th this year), One Voice’s funding sources are “corporations and governmental sources in Israel, the PA and the international community.”

But even this isn’t accurate: last month, Christina Taylor, in charge of grants to One Voice in the US, said told Front Page Magazine that One Voice had received two grants from the American State Department in 2014. Taylor claimed that the money was not meant to assist intervening in Israeli elections. The present heightened activity and presence of V15 in elections makes this disavowal dubious to say the least.

In addition, the list of “partners” to One Voice on the English website includes the European Union, the U.S. State Department, and the British Labour and Conservative Parties. Strangely, none of these last appear on the Hebrew-language website. Instead, we see other partners, including “Shatil” – the practical arm of the New Israel Fund.

…One Voice is billed as an international organization with branches in the US, Israel, and Europe. However, to prevent problems, none of the local branches are connected to the main headquarters, and appear to be listed separately in their host countries. Thus, it can declare in tax reports that it does not “maintain offices, employees or agents outside the United States,” and that it did not “take part in activities…to promote a campaign for or against a candidate for public office” – all this while engaging in just that.

Is anyone bothering to ask why Bibi poses such a threat to these various factions? Or why no single Labor candidate is strong enough to combat him face-to-face in a clean election that doesn’t dance around ideology with “anybody but” and “hope and change” lingo? What is it that the U.S. State Department, European Union, and British Labour and Conservative Parties fear the most about Netanyahu’s potential re-election?