New Israel Fund

Law Promotes Pluralistic Education
The Knesset enacted a new law creating a pluralistic educational program for state
schools, a program that encourages secular and observant Jewish students to learn
together. Labor MK Rabbi Michael Melchior, who initiated the bill supported by MKs
from the right and left, described the law as “an educational revolution and response
to the divide in society.” NIF grantee Re’ut – A Religious Pluralistic Community
helped develop the curriculum and train teachers for the network of pluralistic
schools. Through its Jewish Renewal Program, NIF supports a growing trend in Israel
in which non‐ Orthodox Israelis seek exposure to Judaism in pluralistic framework.

Government Moves Route of Separation Barrier Near Ma’ale Adumim
In the wake of a Supreme Court petition by the Palestinian residents of two
neighborhoods, the Israeli government has decided to re‐ route the planned
Security Barrier near Ma’ale Adumin, southeast of Jerusalem. The residents
of these East Jerusalem neighborhoods were assisted by veteran NIF grantee
Bimkom – Planners for Planning Rights. Some 1,000 acres of Palestinian land
in the West Bank would have been placed on the Israeli side of the Fence,
making it inaccessible to Palestinian villagers, under the original plan.

NIF Rallies in Support of Hundreds of Israelis Who Have Their Orthodox Conversions Annulled
Attorney Susan Weiss, Founder and Executive Director of NIF grantee Center for
Women’s Justice, appealed to Israel’s Supreme Court on behalf of 15 petitioners
against the decision by the Rabbinical Court of Appeals to nullify thousands of
Orthodox conversions performed by the Israeli government’s Conversion
Authority. In the wake of the annulment controversy, NIF has seized the
opportunity to strengthen and expand liberal Orthodox organizations, while
strengthening coalitions working against religious coercion and extremism

Clean Air Law Will Improve Israel’s Environment
Israel’s environmental movement scored a key victory in June when the Knesset passed the Clean Air Law, which sets strict emission standards and procedures for monitoring air quality. The law also stipulates large fines for polluters. NIF/Green Environment Fund grantees The Israel Union of Environmental Defense (IUED) and Green Course joined with other NGOs to lobby and demonstrate for the law’s enactment.

Green Course demonstrators
protest the level of industrial
pollution in Israel's air

NIF Responds to Crisis in Israel’s Mixed Cities
Following the riots that occurred this October in Akko, NIF and SHATIL mobilized immediately. NIF Israel Executive Director Eliezer Yaari and SHATIL Director Rachel Liel wrote a joint letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert explaining the aims of NIF/SHATIL’s Mixed Cities project and calling on Olmert to turn it into a national project. Launched five years ago, the Project has promoted joint living and the rights of the 90,000 Arab Israeli residents in Israel’s five mixed Arab‐ Jewish cities – Jaffa, Lod, Ramle, Haifa and Akko.
The letter received an immediate response saying that it was a worthy suggestion that is being seriously
considered.

Preserving the Kinneret
NIF environmental grantees scored an important victory with the passage of new legislation to protect the Kinneret, or Sea of Galilee. Private businesses had been allowed to run leisure facilities without taking responsibility for the resulting pollution. NIF-supported organizations like The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) succeeded in establishing an improved Coastline Protection Law, ensuring better preservation of Israel’s most precious lake and free beach access for the public.

There is only one Kinneret,"
says a banner unfurled by
protestors from Green Course.

From Slavery to Freedom in 21st Century Israel
The NIF family has been at the forefront of the struggle to ensure that African refugees in Israel (today numbering more than 4,000) are provided with humanitarian assistance, and given due consideration as asylum seekers. For Passover, NIF and a coalition of 15 other organisations arranged a special seder, bringing together more than 500 Israelis and African refugees in a moving ceremony that gave new meaning to this "Festival of Freedom."

The seder brought together Israelis and African refugees.

Reform Movement Dedicates Israel’s
First-Ever Synagogue Built with State Funds
As Israel celebrated its 60th anniversary, the country’s Reform Movement made history, dedicating its first-ever synagogue erected with State funding in the city of Modi’in. Veteran NIF grantee Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC) petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court demanding that a building be allocated to Modi’in’s Reform community as is routinely done for Orthodox congregations. In an out-of court settlement, the government agreed to provide the Reform and Conservative Movements with prefabricated buildings in five locations around Israel, including Modi’in.

Rabbi Kinnere Shiryon, Israel's first female rabbi, addresses the dedication ceremony.

A First in Ramle—Street Names Reflect Residents’ Culture
Street names in Ramle’s Old City, populated largely by Arab-Israelis, will be changed to reflect the heritage of both the Jewish and Arab residents. Jews and Arabs have been living side-by-side in the mixed city of Ramle for decades, though with wide disparities between the housing, infrastructure and services available to them. NIF/SHATIL’s Mixed Cities Project works in five mixed cities, preparing alternative urban plans, and training and mobilizing residents to take action on their own behalf.

New Initiatives Combat Sexual Crimes in Wake of Katsav Affair
Veteran NIF grantee Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI) is assisting one of Israel’s leading trade unions in introducing a new program to combat sexual harassment in the workplace. "Following the publicity surrounding the President Katsav affair, we see increased interest in combating sexual harassment and assault," ARCCI Spokesperson Einat Rubin said. "As the country’s main organization fighting sexual crimes, we are being asked to provide more workshops on the subject by public and private companies, as well as educational institutions, trade unions and the kibbutz movement."

Women demonstrate in Nazareth to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Protecting Israelis from Becoming Homeless
During the coldest January in Israel in 30 years, and with homelessness on the rise, NIF grantees advocated for a new law to prevent the growing numbers of Israelis defaulting on their mortgages from losing their homes. The Knesset Committee accepted the arguments of NIF grantees Yedid: The Association for Community Empowerment and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) that throwing families onto the street was not acceptable in humanitarian terms.

One of the many newly homeless found in the streets of Israeli cities.

Same-Sex Couples Given Green Light for Adoption
In a groundbreaking decision for gay rights, same-sex couples are now eligible to be recognized as parents in child adoption. These and other victories for gay rights in Israel were made possible by NIF grantees Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and New Family.

Irit Rosenbloom, Executive Director of New Family:
"This decision is a dramatic step in the recognition
of the homosexual-lesbian family as a fully fledged
family and part of Israel's social fabric."

2008 Achievements