Israeli Knesset Hall. Photo: Wiki Commons.

A bill brought to the floor of Israel’s parliament on Thursday by MK Miri Regev and expected to be voted on next Sunday seeks to prevent groups which deny the Jewish character of the state of Israel from being able to register inside the country as official Non-Governmental Organizations, Israeli daily Ma’ariv reported.

According to Israel’s current NGO Law, enacted in 1980, an organization can be rejected from being allowed to register if it seeks to negate the democratic character of Israel. However, the existing legislation does not mention anything regarding the Jewish character of the state.

MK Regev said on Wednesday that her bill is intended to “…put an end to the phenomenon of radical leftist groups and anarchists seeking to exploit the democratic character of [Israel] and its freedom of association, in order to subvert against the Jewish and Zionistic character of the state.” Regev added that the proposed law, “…expresses the concept of defensive democracy,” Ma’ariv reported.