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Equitable Rehabilitation of the Negev
NIF and its action arm Shatil are establishing a new program to promote inclusive and equitable recovery efforts for all communities affected by October 7 and strengthen Jewish-Arab partnership. The program will support new progressive voices and initiatives in the Negev, primarily in the Gaza Envelope, through NIF grantmaking and Shatil capacity-building, and involve diverse local leaders in rehabilitation efforts.
Combating Online Misinformation and Disinformation
The work of FakeReporter, which combats malicious activity online and in messaging platforms, has become even more crucial in the past year. In the wake of October 7, FakeReporter teamed up with members of Israel’s tech community to create “Digital Dome,” a central address for reporting content that incites to violence, amplifies racism, or disseminates lies.
Humanitarian Aid for Gaza
NIF grantees including Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, and Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) successfully petitioned the court to increase aid to Gaza. When aid trucks were attacked by extremists, Omdim Beyachad-Naqef Ma’an (Standing Together) helped mobilize activists to defend aid convoys. And NIF’s special campaign raised over $1.3 million to support World Central Kitchen and the International Rescue Committee’s humanitarian work in Gaza.
Providing an Alternative Vision of Peace and Security
NIF has created a new program to promote a peaceful, inclusive vision for Israel’s future. This work entails supporting think tanks that draft policy proposals and diplomatic initiatives advancing peace; blocking the further entrenchment of the occupation; preventing the expulsion of Palestinian communities in the West Bank and thwarting settler violence; and funding research and campaigns to shift public opinion about the need for a negotiated resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Reinforcing Jewish-Arab Relations
NIF has redoubled efforts to strengthen Jewish-Arab partnership and solidarity. Grants to Omdim Beyachad and the Haifa Social Development Committee have supported initiatives to minimize tensions between Jewish and Arab citizens in mixed cities like Haifa, Lod, and Acre. Omdim Beyachad’s “solidarity networks” of Jewish and Arab volunteers who work together in neighborhoods across the country to respond to instances of violence or discrimination have grown to include over 6,300 volunteers in 20 localities.
Advocating for Prisoner Rights
Since the start of the war, security prisoners in Israel have suffered from starvation, abuse, inhumane living conditions, lack of medical treatment, and other rights violations. PHRI, Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and other grantees have exposed these abuses, including the number of detainees and prisoners who have died in Israeli custody. A High Court petition to shut down the notorious Sde Teiman detention center led to the transfer of most of the prisoners to other facilities. ACRI and other groups continue to call for the detention center to be shut down and to create public awareness of the violations.
Blocking Harmful Anti-Democratic Legislation
Israel’s High Court struck down an amendment to the “reasonableness clause” — the cornerstone of the government’s plan to overhaul the judiciary and remove basic checks and balances in Israel’s governing system—in response to a petition by the ACRI representing 38 organizations. Another bill that would have required academic institutions to fire faculty accused of expressing “supporting for terror” was blocked following intensive activity by Sikkuy-Aufoq: For a Shared and Equal Society and other NIF partners.
Protecting Palestinian Communities in the West Bank
The focus on the war in Gaza and government support have emboldened settlers to escalate violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and drive them off their land. Shatil has launched a comprehensive program to equip anti-occupation activists with tools they need to work against this volatile environment. In many cases, the activists’ support of courageous local residents means the difference between a community being driven away or staying on their land.
Strengthening Palestinian-Israeli Civil Society
Nasij (“tapestry” in Arabic), a new pilot program created by NIF and Shatil, aims to cultivate Palestinian civil society organizations and activists who can take effective action to advance rights, social change, and equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel. The program provides comprehensive support in the form of grants and capacity-building to select organizations and leaders working in NIF focus areas, such as combating the crime and violence that has devastated Palestinian-Israeli communities and addressing its root causes.
Defending Progressive Civil Society
NIF’s Civil Society Protection Hub, launched last year, continues helping activists and organizations to operate safely and effectively in a climate shaped by a far right-wing government. The Hub connects individuals and NGOs that have been attacked with an array of NIF-funded services, and has helped more than 100 individuals and organizations to date. Its work has thwarted online attacks against activists; supported activists protecting Palestinians from settler violence; and pushed back against right-wing efforts to hobble progressive NGOs.
Providing Emergency Funding for Diverse Needs
NIF more than tripled its rapid response grants pool to $1.7 million, providing grants to dozens of organizations and activists opposing the government’s extreme agenda. The grants funded different needs, including pro-democracy demonstrations across Israel; initiatives that safeguard liberal democratic values in education; efforts to protect the rights of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank; and campaigns to ensure the rights of women, asylum seekers, and the LGBTQ community.
Protecting All Families
In a victory for the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), the High Court ruled that non-Jewish children adopted by Jewish couples will no longer be required to undergo strictly Orthodox conversions. In practice, this also means that non-Orthodox families will not be automatically disqualified from adopting non-Jewish children. Legal efforts and advocacy also brought about a landmark ruling allowing same-sex couples to adopt children domestically.