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Written by Ruby Ong
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One year ago in Tel Aviv, the NIF board approved expansion into a new line of work for our organization. At that time, the Board agreed that NIF’s traditional strategies of grant-making, capacity building through SHATIL, and special projects targeted at advancing social justice and civil rights in Israel, while all still vital and necessary, were no longer in and of themselves sufficient to beat back challenges to Israeli democracy. In order to more effectively promote our values and goals, defend our sector against increasingly vituperative attacks from extremists, and to push back on an ongoing process of, as our President Naomi Chazan describes it, “de-democratization” in Israel, we launched our “Public Advocacy” line of work. While NIF had, of course, always advocated for its values and positions, we would now pursue this work with renewed vigor and strategic focus.
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"I'm certainly not surprised by the way the protests have spread. My only surprise is that it has taken so long for people to take action," said Haim Bar-Yaakov, Founder and Director of NIF grantee Life With Dignity, which promotes housing rights for Israelis and fights against unjustified eviction. "I know it's irritating to say I told you so, but the message we have been saying for years has finally hit home."
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The weekend edition of Haaretz included a cover story interviewing NIF President Naomi Chazan entitled "Fighting for Israel's Soul." Haaretz correspondent Esti Ahronovitz writes, "The president of the New Israel Fund, Naomi Chazan, who has been vilified by the right, refuses to surrender, saying the current battle is for the very soul of Israel."
The story is a remarkable illumination of Israel’s most pressing issues, NIF’s role, and Professor Chazan’s personal struggle. Click here to read the article.
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Idit Menashe, a lobbyist at the Center for Policy Change, came to SHATIL eight months ago after five years as a legislative aide. "I wanted to take the knowledge and experience I had gained in the Knesset and give it back to civil society," says Idit. "I had seen how hard it was for all but the most established organizations to make their voices heard and to have any influence in an environment as complex as the Knesset." Idit first heard of SHATIL as a student activist at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, where she worked to lift the ban on political activity on campus.
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Edeet Ravel: The Last Rain Book Launch
Toronto, June 22 2011
Award-winning Israeli-Canadian author Edeet Ravel, a long-time supporter of New Israel Fund of Canada (NIFC), launched her newest book, The Last Rain with NIFC and over 40 guests in Toronto. Ravel was interviewed by Derek Penslar, Samuel Zacks Professor of Jewish History at the University of Toronto. Inspired by Ravel’s youth on a kibbutz, The Last Rain is a coming of age story of a young girl and a country in its early fraught years of existence. Ravel has written her experience as a magical, fictionalized memoir of the early years of Kibbutz Eldar, illustrated by Ravel and Penslar through their discussions and illuminating visuals.
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