Silencing Civil Society during Elections: The V15 Law in Action

This chapter explores the so-called “V15 Law,” which regulates non-party actors that play an active role in Knesset elections. We survey the application and effects of this law until the 2022 elections from two perspectives: the practical effects of this law on individuals and organizations that were involved in public discourse during elections, and second, the wider significance of this law. This law could be understood as an expression of two phenomena: first, as a response to the influence of non-party actors on politics by widening the financial regulation of such actors’ political activities. Examined through this lens, the law was a complete failure; indeed, not a single non-party entity was registered as such within its framework. Second, we can understand the law as part of the democratic backsliding that has been threatening Israel in the past few years. Indeed, at least in terms of its outcomes, this appears to be the correct understanding of this law, particularly in light of the chilling effect it had on civil society organizations’ freedom of speech during elections and even in other contexts.