Israel Registrar Seeks to Dissolve Group That Received Yair Netanyahu Fundraising Donations

About three and a half years ago, Yair Netanyahu posted a video asking the public to donate money for legal defense of right-wing figures, which he described as protection against what he called the left’s “legal terror.” The campaign raised 141,000 shekels and the funds were transferred to the nonprofit Forum for Advancing Freedom of Expression in Israel.

The appeal came in December 2022, shortly after Netanyahu, then facing several defamation lawsuits, had been ordered by a court to pay 250,000 shekels to former Walla! chief executive Avi Alkalai. In the video, Netanyahu stressed that the donations were not for him personally. He said, “Freedom of expression of us, the right wing, is under attack,” adding that the left was trying to take away “the only thing we have left, social media.”

Netanyahu also claimed, “They are flush with money, all those left-wing NGOs. By contrast, their victims are isolated individuals, who suddenly have to deal with legal expenses of hundreds of thousands of shekels.” The nonprofit that received the money was established about a year earlier by two founders, including Shimson Alboim, one of the leading activists for Jewish sovereignty on the Temple Mount.

According to details obtained by N12, the organization never filed the required financial reports and did not tell the Registrar of Non-Profits how the donation money was used. In response, the registrar has recently asked a court to dissolve the group. That leaves open the question of whether the 141,000 shekels were spent on the stated purpose, and if so, on whom and how much. Yair Netanyahu and Alboim both declined to comment.