Written by Ruby Ong

Message from Daniel Sokatch Working for social change is not easy.  The stakes are high, the obstacles daunting, and the path uncertain.  At NIF, motivated by our love for Israel, our Prophetic tradition, and our dedication to democracy, we feel an enormous sense of urgency these days.  Over the past year, I have written in this column about the gathering threats to the democratic character of the State of Israel:  the bills wending their way through the Knesset that would curb the very freedoms on which Israel was founded; the committees of inquiry that smack of McCarthyism; the rabbinic rulings that would define Judaism as a harsh and narrow faith unrecognizable to most of us.  And we and our family of organizations are on the front lines, pushing back against the forces of intolerance. Read more   Ministry of Health Makes Services in Four Languages Mandatory "Medical misunderstandings can be a matter of life and death," explained Dr. Hagai Agmon-Snir, Director of NIF grantee The Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center. "Several years ago a pregnant Arab woman who had just passed full term came to Poriah Hospital in Tiberias. After being given an ultrasound to ensure the baby was well, she was sent home but told to return again within a few days. When she came back a week later the baby was stillborn and it transpired she had not understood a word the doctor had told her." Read more   Court Orders Husband to Compensate “Aguna” in Precedent-Setting Ruling In a precedent-setting ruling, the Tel Aviv District Court has awarded nearly $200,000 compensation to an aguna - a woman whose husband is refusing to give her a divorce. The woman is being represented by NIF grantee Center for Women’s Justice. Read more   We Won’t Remain Silent - We Will Dance On Thursday night NIF - through its “Don’t Remain Silent” campaign - launched its Democra-T t-shirts at a special party in Tel Aviv. Hundreds of people attended a trendy club for a free “We Won’t Remain Silent - We Will Dance” party with music presented by some of the country’s top Jewish and Arab DJs. Read more   Na Lehakir: Recognition for Unrecognized Bedouin Villages SHATIL has long been committed to empowering Bedouins living in the South of Israel.   One recent front in the campaign is a newly developed website Na Lehakir (please recognize), an initiative of SHATIL’s Be'er Sheva office. The website promotes governmental recognition of Bedouin villages. According to Moshe Balmas, the editor of the website, this issue has not received sufficient attention in the Israeli press. "Na Lehakir was established to give the unrecognized villages the visibility they require and to support the activists working in the field.” Balmas said. “Our mission is to inform the public about what is happening, when it is happening." Read more   Culture with a social-change agenda in Haifa The upper level of Haifa's Kapiut café was full last Sunday night. Sixty people turned out to hear Anat Gur talk about her latest book, Women Abandoned, based on interviews and conversations with Israeli prostitutes. The evening, moderated by Geora Rosen, the director of the NGO umbrella group Civic Leadership, was part of an initiative to promote SHATIL's social-change agenda. Read more   Share