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Promoting Arabic in the Public Sphere
A campaign by Sikkuy: The Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality to demand Arabic translation on public transportation is now showing results on buses and bus stops. Following Sikkuy’s calls for the Ministry of Transportation to ensure that signs at bus stops, on the front of buses, and inside buses are bilingual –- in Hebrew and in Arabic — the ministry has begun to implement this policy throughout the public transportation system.
Economic Planning for Bedouin Towns
Lakia will be the first Bedouin municipality in Israel to have its own economic planning department. Thanks to Shatil, in collaboration with the European Union and Bimkom: Planners for Planning Rights, Lakia will have the capacity to implement an economic development plan and include local residents in the decision-making process.
Standing Against Homophobia in Jerusalem
Just a few days before Jerusalem Pride, a far-right group put up homophobic ads against LGBTQ rights and same-sex marriage around the city. After the ensuing public outcry and pressure from the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), the Jerusalem municipality ordered the removal of the posters.
Combating Voter Suppression
During the April elections, the Likud party hired a private company to put cameras in the polling stations in Arab Israeli polling stations, which it boasted reduced Arab turnout. The plan to once again install cameras for the second round of 2019 elections was challenged by NIF grantees Zazim — Community Action and Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, who successfully petitioned Central Elections Committee Chairman Judge Hanan Melcer to prohibit cameras.
Public Housing Victory for Single Mothers
Thanks to the efforts of the Shatil-led Public Housing Forum, single mothers who receive child support will now be eligible for public housing. Until a recent ruling by the Tel Aviv District Court and effective advocacy by the Public Housing Forum, single mothers receiving child support were considered ineligible for public housing.
Ensuring Accessibility for Arab Israeli Students
After a petition submitted by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), the Supreme Court has ordered the Ministry of Education to translate a state geography exam for Arabic-speaking students. In response to the court’s ruling, the ministry said the geography maps would be fully translated in time for all future exams.
Mainstreaming Accountability & Fact-Checking
Less than two years after its founding, The Whistle, the only organization fact-checking statements by Israeli politicians, was recently acquired by the Israeli financial news site, Globes. The Whistle was incubated by NIF as part of our New Initiatives for Democracy (NIFD), and this news is a hopeful sign of support from the Israeli business community for government accountability and transparency.
Combating Racism in the Knesset
Zazim – Community Action raised a powerful voice against extremism by collecting 14,000 signatures of Israelis calling to ban the openly racist Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party from running in the 2019 elections, while 8,500 more signed on globally in support of Zazim. Thanks to a petition filed by the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), Israel’s Supreme Court disqualified the candidacy of Michael Ben-Ari, leader of Otzma Yehudit. The far-right party also failed to cross the electoral threshold during the September elections.
Fighting Racial Segregation
Officially the city of Afula claimed that its central municipal park was for residents only, but in practice, security guards placed at the park’s gates only refused entry to Arab citizens from surrounding towns and villages. Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel petitioned the Nazareth Administrative Court on the matter and the court agreed and ordered Afula to overturn the racist policy, ensuring the park is open to all.
Getting Out the Bedouin Vote
NIF grantee Zazim – Community Action‘s plan to transport Bedouin voters from unrecognized villages (which do not have adequate roads or public transportation) to polling stations was canceled by the Central Elections Commission. But the plan acted as an inspiration for many private citizens, who traveled to unrecognized villages themselves on election day and taking Bedouin citizens to the polling stations to make sure they had access to vote.
Kicking Racism Off the Soccer Field
Since the inception of NIF’s Kick It Out (KIO) campaign to eliminate racism and violence in soccer in 2003, KIO has campaigned relentlessly to highlight the problem, which has gradually been reduced over the years. There were only two cases of racist chanting by Beitar Jerusalem fans during the 2018/19, compared with 17 during the 2017/18 season, and 35 in 2016/17, according to a KIO report.
Mobilizing for the Lives of Women
Groups like Israel Women’s Network (IWN), Zazim — Community Action, and Omdim Beyachad (Standing Together), Women Against Violence mobilized to bring 30,000 demonstrators to Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square to protest the Israeli authorities’ failure to take action on violence against women. NIF gave emergency grants to organize this demonstration, which was the largest women’s protest ever held in Israel.