17 March 2011

A Message from Daniel Sokatch

We at the New Israel Fund are deeply – sometimes obsessively – involved in and dedicated to our work.  For us, and that includes the thousands of you who support NIF, the task of working for equality and democracy for all Israelis is far more than a job or an activist pursuit:  it is a critically important mission, almost a sacred one.  But every once in a while, something happens that provides a new sense of perspective.  This past Friday was one of those days.

The 9.0 earthquake and the tsunami that followed engulfed Japan, and literally shifted the earth’s axis.  They also knocked the wind out of the entire world.  The catastrophe that left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands stranded and homeless now threatens to metastasize as the potential nightmare of a nuclear disaster continues to grow.  In the face of such destruction, we are all speechless. 

Today, Israelis and Americans follow the news from Tokyo.  We hear accounts of the endless tragedies.  We write checks to the relief agencies.  And as the New Israel Fund family continues its work to build the Israel we believe in, we pause and we pray for Japan.

Daniel Sokatch

CEO