Leaked documents suggest that the Israeli government sought legal guidance on how to navigate a US federal law that mandates the disclosure of foreign-funded lobbying efforts, The Guardian reported on Saturday. The concern stemmed from the possibility that increased enforcement of this law could implicate American organizations working in accordance with the Israeli government.
The documents, including emails and legal memos from a hack of Israel’s Justice Ministry, reveal that Israeli officials were worried their advocacy activities in the US might trigger compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). To avoid this, they considered establishing a new American nonprofit that could carry on Israel’s US operations without attracting scrutiny under the law.
A legal strategy memo from July 2018 highlighted that adhering to FARA could tarnish the reputation of American groups financially supported and directed by Israel. Additionally, these groups would be required to meet burdensome transparency standards. Another memo noted that donors would likely be reluctant to fund organizations registered under FARA due to the law’s requirements. Specifically, the law mandates that registrants label any “propaganda” distributed to two or more parties in the US, with a disclaimer indicating that it was disseminated by a foreign agent, and submit a copy to the US Department of Justice within 48 hours.
To sidestep the need for FARA registration and avoid the associated stigma and scrutiny, legal advisers suggested that funds be funneled through an American third-party nonprofit.
Liat Glazer, who was a legal adviser to Israel’s Strategic Affairs Ministry at the time, emphasized that although the new nonprofit would not be directly managed from Israel, they would maintain oversight and management through grant-making processes and “informal coordination mechanisms,” such as “oral meetings and updates.”
'Israel's PR Commando Unit'
The Strategic Affairs Ministry established a “PR commando unit” in 2017 to enhance Israel’s image abroad, which was the primary focus of discussions around evading FARA. The group, originally known as Kela Shlomo (Solomon’s Sling), changed its name to “Concert” in 2018 and then to “Voices of Israel” in 2021. Its initial mission was to counter the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Throughout its existence, this group has supported American nonprofits advocating for anti-BDS legislation and coordinated efforts to counter pro-Palestinian activities on US college campuses.
The leaked documents and emails were made public by Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets), a US-based nonprofit known for disseminating several high-profile hacks. The source of the documents was a group calling itself “Anonymous for Justice,” a hacktivist collective that claimed in April to have infiltrated Israel’s Justice Ministry and obtained hundreds of gigabytes of data.
The Diaspora Affairs Ministry did not respond to The Jerusalem Post’s request for comment.