Written by Ruby Ong

A Message from Daniel Sokatch A year and a half ago, Australia (of all places) looked like the first casualty of the hard-right attack on NIF and Israel’s progressive civil society sector.  Just days after the initial smear campaign, our Board President, Naomi Chazan, was disinvited from a speaking engagement in Melbourne.  NIF was just too controversial, some felt, to introduce to the Australian Jewish community at that time. Read more   The Hall Was Transfixed The launch of the New Israel Fund in Australia in May sparked some controversy among the 110,000-strong Jewish community on the outer edge of the Diaspora, the majority of whom have heard only the official party line on Israel for years. Read more   Shavuot Tikkun Encompasses the Entire Spectrum of Israel Society In honor of the Jewish holiday now marked by serious study and learning, thousands of Israelis participated in 35 NIF-funded Shavuot study sessions last week. The sessions, many of them sponsored by groups not previously associated with NIF, reflected the complex composition of Israeli society and the daunting range of moral issues confronting the country. Read more   Haifa as a Model City of Joint Living project gains international recognition: A first-hand report from Fathi Marshood, director of SHATIL in the North Last month, Shahira Shalabi, head of SHATIL's Shared Society projects, and I had the privilege of sharing the lessons and challenges of SHATIL's Haifa as a Model City of Joint Living project with representatives of cities in transition from throughout the world. The project works to transform Haifa into a shared city based on partnership respecting all residents and strengthening a mutual sense of ownership over life in Haifa. Read more   Brandeis Hillel Day School 7th Grade Donates to NIF grantee the African Refugee Development Center On June 1, Becky Buckwald, Co-Director of NIF’s San Francisco Bay Area Region, attended a special presentation at Brandeis Hillel Day School (BHDS) of San Francisco and accepted a check on behalf of NIF grantee the African Refugee Development Center (ARDC). ARDC was chosen as a recipient of Brandeis’ 7th grade students’ Tzedek (Justice) Fund. Read more   Share