Research by NIF grantee, the Democratic Bloc and an investigative report by Haaretz has uncovered a new organization called the Forum of Organizations for the Family, a coalition of 15 conservative organizations with an agenda to push back against the basic rights and protections for women and LGBTQ+ people both at home and in the public sphere.

The Forum of Organizations for the Family was founded in October 2020. Constituent groups include a nationalist ultra-Orthodox organization which opposes women joining the IDF, an anti-feminist group, and Dror Be’Likud, a hardline group fighting to move the Likud party farther right. The various groups align in their opposition to feminism, their denial of LGBTQ+ rights, and a general goal to promote regressive gender roles in the name of protecting “family values.”

The Forum has already successfully halted the Prevention of Economic Violence bill in Knesset, a bill meant to prevent a situation in which a man can exert economic control over his wife. The Forum also intends to establish a Knesset committee and authority for the status of the family and to scrap government advisors for the status of women.

While most leaders of the Forum are nationalist ultra-Orthodox groups, others are right-wing Likud members including secular leaders. The constituent organizations and forum itself are well funded by right wing philanthropic organizations.

Now that the group has been exposed in the public, NIF grantees will be working to monitor their activity and take action where necessary.