My family association with NIF goes back to the early 80s when my husband, Stuart, and I attended an introductory meeting at the home of an avid supporter in San Francisco and we too became early supporters of an organization we felt reflected our relationship with Israel, a country we cared deeply about. We had earlier spent time visiting friends on sabbatical there and had decided that we wanted Israel to be a meaningful and ongoing part of our lives.

Then, some years later, our daughter made Aliyah on her own, lived, worked, married an Israeli, and eventually moved back to the United States with two sons deeply connected to their extended family in Rehovot. We spent a lot of time visiting our daughter in Tel Aviv, before experiencing a different kind of learning on an NIF Study Tour with Aviva Meyers and Laura Talmus where we were impressed to observe the work being done by the NGOs that NIF supported and worked with. What I saw on that trip linked my passion for social justice issues together with my professional social work orientation towards civil and human rights for all peoples. This felt like a close match with the direction and focus that NIF so clearly stood for. I deeply believe that working ‘on the ground’ with a focus on the humanity of all people is the best way to find justice and meaning in a complicated and often unfair world.

I find these issues and this work well worth supporting, well worth standing up for—and totally consistent with the democratic and Jewish values that I so clearly believe in and endorse. I am proud to be a Legacy Donor to NIF. It is like my own personal Living Will that reflects my life visions and dreams—caring for and about the rights and lives of all human beings.

It is easy to do this through NIF, where I respect and admire the staff in a way that helps me to trust that this Legacy will promote my hopes and dreams for the peoples of Israel on into the future and will continue to work to right the injustices that are currently so troubling.

It is my small way to feel I can make a difference in the world in which I live.

Thank you, NIF, for giving me this opportunity.

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