Israeli McCarythism: Smear Campaign Labels Artists “Moles”

Opposition politicians have slammed the new poster of the far-right NGO Im Tirtzu that labels a number of prominent Israeli artists as “moles” for their affiliation with human rights and peace groups. The fascistic NGO’s campaign comes fast apace MK Miri Regev’s (Likud), Minister for Culture and Sport, “Loyalty in Culture” bill.

The new poster by Im Tirztu: The artists depicted are, from left to right, musician Sha'an Stritt, author Amos Oz, playwright Yehoshua Sobol, and actress Gila Almagor, board members of The New Israel Fund (Stritt), B'Tselem (Oz and Almagor), and Yesh Din (Sobol).

The new poster by Im Tirztu: The artists depicted are, from left to right, musician Sha’an Stritt, author Amos Oz, playwright Yehoshua Sobol, and actress Gila Almagor, board members of The New Israel Fund (Stritt), B’Tselem (Oz and Almagor), and Yesh Din (Sobol).

The release of the new poster comes in the wake of the opening and closing of a preliminary inquiry by the Deputy Attorney General for Special Affairs into another campaign that the group launched in December. Then, Im Tirtzu released a controversial video citing the personal names of senior members of “Breaking the Silence” and other human rights organizations, labeling them “foreign agents” and “moles.”

The intentional use of the term “mole,” first in the video and once again in the poster echoes the wording of MK Yoav Kisch’s (Likud) proposal that aims to identify organizations that are funded by a “foreign political entity” and label them as “moles” of the country that funds them. The legislation would prohibit government ministries or the IDF from cooperating with them in any way, unless the justice minister orders an exception.

On Thursday, January 28, MK Dov Khenin (Hadash – Joint List) asked Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to open a criminal investigation into Im Tirtzu for incitement. Khenin said that the campaign created a “real danger of serious violence” and called the new smear campaign “Israeli McCarthyism.”

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