New Israel's Fund's Response to Disengagement

New Israel Fund recently announced its backing for several programmes designed to play a constructive role within Israel as it approaches disengagement and its aftermath.

The looming disengagement from settlements in Gaza and the West Bank threatens the precarious cohesion of Israeli civil society, exacerbating tensions between left and right, secular and religious, the army and settlers, and Jewish and Arab Israeli citizens. Although New Israel Fund traditionally works within Israel on human rights, social justice and economic equity issues, the disengagement process poses such an explicit threat to Israeli democracy that NIF has mobilised its resources to respond.

The programmes that are already in place in Israel, include:

• Coordinating and funding grassroots activities, including organisations representing moderate settlers, peace activists, civic organisations and groups that represent the full spectrum of Israeli political and religious opinion.

• Mounting a public campaign that counteracts the demagoguery and religious rhetoric of the extremist right, reminding Israel of the democratic values of its founders and the tradition of social justice in Judaism.

• Introducing a groundbreaking anti-escalation program developed by Shatil, NIF's capacity-building arm. The anti-escalation program challenges the assumptions and stereotypes of leaders about their adversaries, and provides tools for constructive engagement. Shatil will also conduct workshops for diverse groups of military officers, journalists, politicians, and business and religious leaders to move beyond other persistent conflicts that weaken Israeli citizens' sense of social solidarity.

• Expanding NIF's successful anti-incitement program, New Voices in the Stadium, which has already garnered international attention for its success in identifying and combating racism at sporting events, to other areas of Israeli society.

• Continuing to protect the rights of Arab Israeli citizens, even more threatened at times of high tension within Israel. NIF has funded and supported Israeli NGOs involved with the Arab sector, including groups that won the recent Israeli High Court decision prohibiting discrimination in land allocations to Arabs.