New Israel Fund

August Newsletter

Tuesday, 2nd December 2008
Human Rights Awards Dinner

Last year more than 270 people attended the awards dinner and nearly £200,000 was raised to support the human and civil rights work of the New Israel Fund which, for more than 25 years, has been the leader in strengthening Israel's democracy and promoting freedom, justice and equality for all Israel's citizens.

Again, in light of so many inspiring achievements in the field of human and civil rights in Israel, the New Israel Fund will recognise the people behind them.

Save the Date: Tuesday, 2nd December 2008

Tuesday 9th September 2008

Join New Israel Fund together with Finchley Reform Synagogue, Finchley Progressive Synagogue, New North London Synagogue and North Western Synagogue for a discussion with our panel who are involved in writing a ‘Just Constitution’ for Israel.

The Constitution of Israel, a democratic country, must respect the human, social and cultural diversity that exists in the State of Israel and guarantee the right to equality, freedom and social justice in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence.

The Knesset Constitution Committee is preparing a draft constitution, but this does not guarantee it will provide equal fundamental rights for all Israeli citizens. For many Israeli Jews, the freedom to practice Judaism according to their beliefs is limited by the Orthodox monopoly, and for Israeli Arabs many basic rights are limited, which is unacceptable.

As a result, Israeli civil society organisations and individuals have gathered together to write the ‘Just Constitution’ â€“ a constitution that they feel will create the basis for developing a shared and equal civil space that will bring prosperity and peace to Israel.

	Moderator:
	Michael Grabiner. The one-time Chief Executive of telecoms company Energis is a senior member of the tech and telecom team at investment house Apax Partners. Grabiner a Cambridge graduate and former Brent Labour councillor, is also the Chairman of the Reform Movement (2006-2008).
	Panel:
	Prof Frances Raday. Director of the Concord Research Centre for Integration of International Law in Israel, Visiting Professor at University College London, Professor of Law at the Hebrew University, and Chair of HEMDAT: The Council for Freedom of Religion in Israel.
	Jafar Farah. Director of the Mossawa Center: The Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens of Israel. Prior to founding Mossawa, Farah served as an investigative journalist for Ha’aretz, and has written extensively about issues of concern to Israel’s Arab minority.
	Rabbi Gilad Kariv. Associate Director, Israel Religious Action Centre, Jerusalem. IRAC is the public and legal advocacy arm of the Progressive Movement in Israel. Rabbi and Attorney Kariv has worked tirelessly to strengthen the Movement's public advocacy work and to develop the social action activities of the Reform community there.

Date: Tuesday, 9th September 2008
Venue: Finchley Reform Synagogue, 101 Fallowcourt Avenue, N12 0BE
Time: 8:00 to 10:00pm
Cost: 5 GBP

For further details please contact Amit Handelsman on 020 7724 2266 or amit@uknif.org

Wednesday 10th September 2008.

Join New Israel Fund, BISLA and our distinguished panel to explore the current legal debate over the possibility of a future constitution for Israel. Will it keep the status quo or will it guarantee equality?

The Knesset Constitution Committee is preparing a draft constitution, but this does not guarantee it will provide equal fundamental rights for all Israeli citizens. For many Israeli Jews, the freedom to practise Judaism according to their beliefs is limited by the Orthodox monopoly, and for Israeli Arabs many basic rights are limited, which is unacceptable.

	Moderator:
	Neil Kitchener QC. Is a highly respected barrister at One Essex Court. He undertakes a very wide variety of commercial work including litigation, arbitration and general advisory work in the fields of banking and finance, civil fraud, company and insolvency, energy, judicial review and professional negligence.
	Panel:
	Prof Frances Raday. Director of the Concord Research Centre for Integration of International Law in Israel, Visiting Professor at University College London, Professor of Law at the Hebrew University, and Chair of HEMDAT: The Council for Freedom of Religion in Israel.
	Jafar Farah. Director of the Mossawa Center: The Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens of Israel. Prior to founding Mossawa, Farah served as an investigative journalist for Ha’aretz, and has written extensively about issues of concern to Israel’s Arab minority.
	Rabbi Gilad Kariv. Associate Director, Israel Religious Action Centre, Jerusalem. IRAC is the public and legal advocacy arm of the Progressive Movement in Israel. Rabbi and Attorney Kariv has worked tirelessly to strengthen the Movement's public advocacy work and to develop the social action activities of the Reform community there.

Date: 10th September
Venue: Chatham House, 10 St James’s Square, London SW1Y 4LE
Time: 6:00 to 8:00pm
Cost: 10 GBP

For further details please contact Amit Handelsman on 020 7724 2266 or amit@uknif.org
Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first serve bases.

Reducing conflict; healing divisions

A few weeks ago a group of New Israel Fund supporters spent an evening in Nazareth celebrating the 15th Anniversary of Women Against Violence - an Israeli-Arab charity focusing on domestic violence. NIF was singled out with gratitude for providing essential financial and professional support over many years.

Events like this one â€“ with groups from all sectors of Israeli society â€“ reflect what NIF is about, and contrast starkly with the caricature of our organisation painted by Dan Kosky of NGO Monitor (JC 01/08), related to Adalah, an organisation working for the rights of Israel's 1.3 million Arab citizens. What Dan Kosky misses is the reality that in the State of Israel this 20% of the population is an important part of society. Nobody concerned about the security and prosperity of Israel can, or should, ignore these citizens.

Conversely, he acknowledges that "NIF can justly be proud of an impressive record of achievement. Their work to promote civil rights, women's rights and minority rights has secured their reputation as an anchor of Israel's voluntary sector." For 29 years NIF has been engaged in tikkun olam, investing over Â£100m in more than 800 Israeli non-governmental and voluntary organisations, helping them achieve the highest standards of advocacy, transparency, accountability and service provision for all Israel’s inhabitants. Yet, despite all her achievements in the last 60 years, Israel faces an existential threat from internal conflict. Years of unrest and the consequences of waves of immigration have created a splintered society with wide-ranging inequalities - one where the work of NIF's grantees and programmes in both the Jewish and Arab sectors makes a powerful contribution.

It is against this background that Dan Kosky's attack on NIF should be considered. For most of Israel’s Arab citizens - Christians, Muslims, Bedouin and Druze - institutional discrimination is a constant, as the Government's own Or Commission admitted in 2003. Central to our belief is that both Israelis and Diaspora Jews must support the goal of a just and ethical Israel, and hold the democratically elected Israeli government accountable for its policies and practices. Mr Kosky asserts that NIF is wrong to support Adalah, an organisation working successfully through public advocacy and the courts to counter that discrimination and achieve the rights of equality that are a cornerstone of Israel’s Declaration of Independence.

Adalah's preference for a "democratic, bilingual and multicultural" state is one view of several â€“ Israeli high school citizenship classes teach youngsters to consider six alternatives. Its proposed draft constitution is also one of several participating in Israel's long-running public constitutional debate. Just as we Jews in the Diaspora expect â€“ indeed demand â€“ equality before the law, so the Arab minorities in Israel expect what UK Jews already have: equality with the majority in every respect, and recognition of their particular needs as a minority. We should not be surprised if those denied these rights are unhappy and want to see change. But all this is far from advocating the "annihilation of the Jewish State" as Dan Kosky irresponsibly states.

For him, supporting minorities means only the ones you agree with. We at NIF believe in an Israel that is Jewish and democratic, and we support free expression of the various views, concerns and voices of our grantees â€“ whether we agree with all their positions or not - so long as they work within the framework of Israel's laws and democratic processes. NIF will continue to support them in the interests of sustaining that very democracy.

A relevant question for Jewish supporters of Israel in the Diaspora is how much they contribute to promoting cohesion between Jewish and Arab Israelis by helping to narrow the formidable gap between the two communities that still persists. NIF for its part will continue to support those Israelis â€“ Jews and Arabs - who work selflessly to reduce conflict, heal divisions, advance prosperity and build a more secure society for all its inhabitants.

Mark Goldberg
Chairman, NIF UK
5 August 2008

New Israel Fund President Bids Farewell as New President Welcomed

The ceremony was attended by several hundred social change leaders and activists from dozens of NIF-supported organisations, the Board, International Council, staff and supporters. After six years as President of NIF, Prof. Edelman shrugged aside praise for having successfully led the organisation through a highly challenging period for Israeli society. “Israel’s social change leaders are the real heroes,” he insisted. “I did not have to walk across Sudan.”

Prof. Peter Edelman together with his wife Marian Wright Edelman,
one of the world's most eminent children's rights activists, after he received
a standing ovation in Jerusalem.

Prof. Edelman was referring to Yuvi Tashome, Director of NIF grantee Gedera Garin, in which young Israeli professionals, many of them Ethiopian-born like Tashome, act as role models for Ethiopian immigrants. Tashome was one of a dozen Israeli social change leaders reflecting on their own activities and the achievements of NIF.

Prof. Naomi Chazan makes her first speech as NIF President.

In her inaugural speech, Prof. Naomi Chazan commented, "I have had a passion for social justice since as long as I can remember, so I feel very comfortable and at home in the NIF family."

Significant Reduction in Racism at Soccer Matches

There was an overall 59% decrease in racist and violent incidents compared to the previous year. This decrease included a 40% decline in racist incidents such as chanting “Death to Arabs,” while “monkey” chants directed at black players were down by 68%. This was the fifth consecutive season that NIF has monitored the behaviour of Israeli soccer fans.

When the campaign to reduce racism in Israeli society through soccer began, there was a fatalistic approach to the blatant racism heard each week in the country’s stadiums. NIF’s campaign has put the topic of racism in general high up on Israel’s public agenda. The reduction is in part due to new legislation outlawing racism at soccer matches, legislation on which NIF acted as a consultant.

The past season has also seen more and more organisations partnering with NIF in efforts to combat racism in soccer. These include the Ministry of Education, Police, Israel Football Association, Israel Players Association, the clubs, and NGOs such as the State of Football, which promotes multi-ethnic soccer tournaments.

With prohibitive legislation in place, NIF plans for more educational programs promoting mutual respect and co-existence and has launched a series of meetings and matches between Jewish and Arab fans.

Public Campaign Yields Government Supported Health Clinic for Refugees and Migrants

Physicians for Human Rights’ new clinic in Jaffa will again operate after an agreement was reached with the Israeli Physicians Trade Union Movement and the Ministry of Health, which will also open a clinic in the Tel Aviv region to treat the growing number of refugees and migrant workers in Israel.

"We closed our clinic three months ago to protest the fact that the Israeli government was doing nothing to assist the growing number of migrants and refugees who needed medical treatment, often for serious illnesses," explained Ran Cohen of Physicians for Human Rights. “Withdrawing the only medical help that refugees were receiving was the only way that we could bring attention to the desperate situation."

A Physicians for Human Rights volunteer treats an African refugee.

"Our protest and the publicity it received has been successful," added Cohen. "The Physicians Union will open a second clinic in Tel Aviv, which will receive financial support from the Ministry of Health. We have also renewed agreements with Ichilov and Wolfson Hospitals for the voluntary treatment of refugees and migrants that we refer to them."

Over the past ten years, the Physicians for Human Rights clinic, operated by volunteers, has treated nearly 20,000 patients, including foreign workers without medical coverage and refugees. But with the arrival of several thousand African refugees in Israel in recent years, the clinic has been overwhelmed with the sheer numbers of uninsured patients and does not have the equipment or resources to meet the demand of those suffering from more serious illnesses. Following pressure by NIF grantee Coalition for Refugees, a proposed new law will be introduced in the Knesset after the summer recess that would extend government medical insurance to migrant workers and refugees.

Jerusalem’s Gay Pride Parade Encounters Little Resistance

In contrast to Jerusalem pride celebrations in previous years, which were blighted by violence, mass anti-LGBT demonstrations and well orchestrated attempts by Orthodox Israelis to prevent the parade from taking place, the holding of this year's parade went ahead without incident.

Former NIF grantee Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance, which, with support from NIF, launched the city's gay pride parade six years ago, has succeeded in making the event an integral part of Jerusalem's annual cultural calendar.

New Law Promotes Pluralistic Education

Labour 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.”

The government has allocated $10 million to supporting the programme in eight schools in the Meytarim network around the country. Schools in the network provide a democratic Jewish education to over 2,000 students, of whom one third are Orthodox and two-thirds secular/traditional. The new law allows any state school to join the network or adapt the Meytarim programme for Jewish values and democracy.

New Israel Fund (NIF) grantee Re’ut â€“ A Religious Pluralistic Community, which works to promote alternative Jewish identities in Israel’s school system, helped develop the Meytarim curriculum and train teachers for the network of pluralistic schools.

Rabbi Michael Melchior describes the new law
as an educational revolution in Israel.

Meir Yoffe, Executive Director of veteran NIF grantee Panim â€“ For Jewish Renewal in Israel, which campaigns for the teaching of pluralistic Jewish religious values in Israel’s schools, described the new law as “a historical milestone in Israel’s education system.”

“The implementation of this law by the Ministry of Education,” he said, “can be a powerful boost to the many state schools which are looking to realise their educational vision which includes identity and values.”

Through its Jewish Renewal Programme, NIF supports a growing trend in Israel in which non-Orthodox Israelis seeks exposure to Judaism in pluralistic frameworks.

Message From Ellen Goldberg, New Israel Fund Executive Director

As the second half of the summer is upon us, NIF’s work in the UK and in Israel hasn’t slowed down. From our London office we are busily making arrangements for several major events in the autumn, some of which are in partnership with numerous Liberal, Reform and Masorti synagogues. Topics in the coming months include a Constitution for Israel; religious pluralism; equal access to education and employment for minorities and for persons with disabilities; and many more.

We are trying to partner with United Synagogue communities as well â€“ although without success up to now. We’re certain that the observance of Jewish law does not preclude anyone from learning about and supporting equality and social justice â€“ subjects that have a strong basis in Jewish law and tradition. We also recognise that Jewish tradition is based on polemics, so discussion, agreement and/or disagreement in a mutually respectful atmosphere should be comfortable, and therefore promoted, accepted and enjoyed.

We invite all of our supporters to assist us in bringing together the full range of communities to discuss the social challenges facing Israel. Talk to your Rabbis, and let them know how you feel. Diversity of viewpoint, differences of opinion, or just learning the facts will enrich us all. If we can learn how to have these conversations and discussions with one another, recognising certain issues and views will be in disagreement, we’ll already have benefited in getting to know Israel, and one another, a little bit better.

Finally, we extend an invitation to all of you to attend New Israel Fund’s Human Rights Awards Dinner on Tuesday 2 December, to honour three human rights activists who have made extraordinary contributions to the realisation of Israel’s promise to “uphold social and political equality, regardless of religion, race or gender”, as guaranteed in Israel’s Declaration of Independence. Please note that this is a new date, changed to enable our three winners to vote in Israel’s local elections, recently set for 11 November (our original planned date). We hope you’ll join us on 2 December!