'We were wrong,' rightist NGO Im Tirzu says in Facebook post
"Dear Friends, we were wrong," the opening sentence to the post begins. "We published something erroneous on a important and essential subject."
By JPOST.COM STAFFUpdated: JANUARY 29, 2016 16:08Amos Oz and Gila Almagor(photo credit: REUTERS)
Right-wing NGO Im Tirzu said that their recent actions in equating Left-wing Israeli artists with traitors was wrong and took full responsibility for their actions in a Facebook post published Friday."Dear Friends, we were wrong," the opening sentence to the post begins. "We published something erroneous on a important and essential subject.""We take full responsibility and promise to continue to work in good faith for the sake of Israel and IDF soldiers" in the future, the statement added.The post concluded by stating: "We will continue to deliver sharp criticisms against organizations that present IDF soldiers as war criminals and those calling for a boycott against the state."Politicians from the Right and Left slammed the nongovernmental organization's newest campaign on Thursday, which labels hundreds of Israeli cultural figures as foreign agents for their affiliation with left-wing groups.The campaign poster, headlined, “Foreign agents in culture,” features prominent cultural figures including writers Amos Oz and Yehoshua Sobol, actress Gila Almagor and Hadag Nahash lead vocalist Sha’anan Streett, and names them as members of left-wing organizations the New Israel Fund, B’Tselem – The Israel Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, and Yesh Din – Volunteers for Human Rights.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, when asked on his way back from Cyprus to Israel about the campaign, said that he was opposed to using the term “traitor,” and that Israel is a democracy where there are many opinions.By the same token, he added, he was – like the majority of the country – opposed to the Breaking the Silence group, which he said libels the IDF.Breaking the Silence is a non-profit organization which compiles testimony from IDF soldiers about alleged abuses they witnessed in their service.