FAQ

Share this page:

The New Israel Fund stands for a just, safe and equal Israel.

We partner with and fund Israeli organisations that defend democracy and deliver a fairer society for all.

Through our work, we:

  • Empower minorities and marginalised people
  • Defend democracy and human rights for Israelis and Palestinians
  • Advance partnership between Arab and Jewish leaders and communities

 

NIF was founded in 1979, with the aim of defending a Jewish and democratic state that, in the words of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, “ensures complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants, irrespective of religion, race or sex”.

Since its inception, NIF has provided more than £225 million (including £30 million from the UK) to more than 900 grassroots organisations working to defend democracy and human rights.

We are funding, supporting and partnering with those working to ensure that Israel returns to being a vibrant democracy.

But we are more than a funder. Through Shatil, a branch of NIF on the ground in Israel, we provide tailor-made consultancy for the civil society organisations that we fund. Shatil helps these organisations to identify their weaknesses, build on their strengths and work together.

Shatil provides 22,500 hours of training and advice per year to 300 organisations across Israel. This training covers everything from leadership to strategy, policy promotion, marketing and communications. Shatil also forges connections between organisations with similar goals or in the same geographical area, training them to amplify their influence by working together.

Shatil is a branch of NIF, providing tailormade consultancy for the civil-society organisations funded by the charity. It helps these groups to identify their weaknesses, build on their strengths and work together.

Shatil provides 22,500 hours of training and advice per year to 300 organisations across Israel. This training covers everything from leadership to strategy, policy promotion, marketing and communications. Shatil also forges connections between organisations with similar goals or in the same geographical area, training them to amplify their influence by working together.

Read more about Shatil’s work here.

Since 1979, the New Israel Fund has empowered Israelis to defend democracy and stand up for a fair and just society for all.

NIF has provided more than £225 million (including £30 million from the UK) to more than 900 grassroots organisations working to defend democracy and human rights.

NIF advocates for equality for everyone living in Israel. This means defending women’s rights, fighting for LGBTQ equality and standing up for the rights of orthodox and non-orthodox Jews.

We advance partnership between Arab and Jewish leaders and communities, and we work relentlessly to support human rights in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

NIF has been a significant driver of social change in Israel, bringing previously neglected issues to the forefront of national attention. NIF-funded organisations have changed laws, set up support groups, trained leaders and raised awareness on a range of issues. Achievements include:

  • Setting up Israel’s first rape-crisis centres
  • Persuading the Knesset to pass a law banning torture during the interrogation of civilians
  • Advancing access to social services for Haredi citizens
  • Banning “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ people
  • Ensuring that Palestinians are able to access and cultivate privately owned land beyond the separation barrier
  • Educating Israeli soldiers on their responsibilities to address settler violence
  • Improving funding and legal rights for asylum seekers in Israel.

 

Almost every significant progressive NGO working for a specific cause in Israel was funded in its initial stages by NIF.

NIF has nurtured many of Israel’s best-known and most impactful NGOs, including the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, B’Tselem, Israel Women’s Network, Adalah: the Legal Center for the Arab Minority and Bizchut: the Human Rights Center for People with Disabilities.

The New Israel Fund stands for a just, safe and equal Israel. Investing in NIF means investing in this vision.

We offer a unique partnership between Israelis, Europeans and North Americans seeking to defend democracy and ensure justice and equality for everyone living in Israel and the occupied territories.

Rather than providing social services to Israel’s disadvantaged communities, we empower marginalised Israelis to organise and speak for themselves – and to effect long-lasting change.

NIF has been a significant driver of social change in Israel, bringing previously neglected issues to the forefront of national attention. NIF-funded organisations have changed laws, set up support groups, trained leaders and raised awareness on a range of issues.

Almost every significant progressive NGO working for a specific cause in Israel was funded in its initial stages by NIF.

But we are more than a funder. Through Shatil, a branch of NIF on the ground in Israel, we provide tailor-made consultancy for the civil society organisations that we fund. Shatil helps these organisations to identify their weaknesses, build on their strengths and work together.

Shatil also forges connections between organisations with similar goals or in the same geographical area, training them to amplify their influence by working together.

The New Israel Fund partners with and funds Israeli organisations that defend democracy and deliver a fairer society for all.

Since its inception, NIF has provided more than £225 million (including £30 million from the UK) to more than 900 grassroots organisations working to defend democracy and human rights.

Almost every significant progressive NGO working for a specific cause in Israel was funded in its initial stages by NIF.

NIF has nurtured many of Israel’s best-known and most impactful NGOs, including the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, B’Tselem, Israel Women’s Network, Adalah: the Legal Center for the Arab Minority and Bizchut: the Human Rights Center for People with Disabilities.

Recent challenges to Israel’s future as a democracy have increased the number and broadened the profile of those engaging with NIF. In the UK, our CHOOSE DEMOCRACY protest against the current extremist government in Israel is being run in partnership with Yachad and 11 other Jewish communal organisations.

New Israel Fund (UK) is a registered charity (number: 1060081) and a company limited by guarantee (number: 3296825), registered in England and Wales.

We offer a unique partnership between Israelis, Europeans and North Americans seeking to defend democracy and ensure justice and equality for everyone living in Israel and the occupied territories.

NIF partners and works with organisations that share our values. We evaluate grantees rigorously, and select them only if they share our primary aims, to:

  • Empower minorities and marginalised people
  • Defend democracy and human rights for Israelis and Palestinians
  • Advance partnership between Arab and Jewish leaders and communities

Our grantees must accept that the Jewish and Palestinian peoples both have a right to national self-determination, and that non-Jewish citizens are entitled to full equality within a democratic Israel.

Grantees must also meet our funding guidelines. They must be registered not-for-profit organisations in Israel, and therefore vetted by the Israeli government. Every grantee, no matter how big or how small, must itemise in detail how it will use NIF funding, before any grants are awarded.

NIF monitors our grantees on a regular basis, to ensure that funds are being used effectively, efficiently and for the purpose for which the grant was approved.

Organisations will not be eligible for NIF grants or support if they condone violence or use violent tactics, participate in party-political activity, promote antidemocratic values or support the 1967 occupation and subsequent settlement activity.

We also refuse to fund organisations that advocate for the human rights of one group selectively over another, violate the human rights of any group or individual or reject the principle of universal human rights. Racist or discriminatory language is unacceptable in any context.

But we are more than a funder. Through Shatil, a branch of NIF on the ground in Israel, we provide tailormade consultancy for the civil-society organisations that we fund. Shatil helps these organisations to identify their weaknesses, build on their strengths and work together.

Shatil also forges connections between organisations with similar goals or in the same geographical area, training them to amplify their influence by working together.

NIF builds coalitions, advocating for social change. Organisations supported by NIF are not afraid to address some of the most difficult problems in Israeli society, often bringing them into the mainstream for the first time.

NIF was founded in 1979, with the aim of defending a Jewish and democratic state that, in the words of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, “ensures complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants, irrespective of religion, race or sex”.

NIF opposes any attempts to curtail personal or religious freedom. It defends the right of all Jews to be treated equally, regardless of religious denomination.

This means that it opposes the control that the Israeli orthodox rabbinate exerts over issues such as Jewish identity, conversion, marriage, divorce and burial. It believes that all branches of Judaism should receive official recognition and equal allocation of state resources.

NIF was an initial funder of BINA Secular Yeshiva, founded in 2006 in south Tel Aviv – the first secular yeshiva in the world.

NIF also works on behalf of the Haredi community in Israel. For example, in 2022, an organisation supported by NIF helped to ensure that telecom companies could not block calls from Haredi-owned phones to vital services such as rape crisis centres, mental-health hotlines, and LGBTQ+ organisations.

The New Israel Fund’s goals include defending democracy and human rights for Israelis and Palestinians alike, and advancing partnerships between Arab and Jewish leaders and communities.

NIF funds not-for-profit organisations that are registered with – and approved by – the Israeli government. This includes those that work to improve human rights and social justice in the Occupied Territories.

NIF-supported organisations have ensured that Palestinians are able to access and cultivate privately owned land beyond the separation barrier, and that Israeli soldiers are better-educated on their responsibilities to address settler violence.

In 2022, multiple NIF grantees worked together to oppose the construction of illegal outposts in the West Bank. The outposts were subsequently evacuated and dismantled.

The New Israel Fund stands for a just, safe and equal Israel. We partner with and fund Israeli organisations that deliver a fairer society for all.

Through our work, we:

  • Empower minorities and marginalised people
  • Defend democracy and human rights for Israelis and Palestinians
  • Advance partnership between Arab and Jewish leaders and communities

Work with Arab organisations is therefore vital to realising NIF’s goals – and to achieving a stronger Israel for all.

Our recent achievements include:

  • Increasing female representation in Arab municipal governments
  • Persuading the University of Haifa to make its campus entirely bilingual (Hebrew and Arabic)
  • Developing Arab-Jewish coalitions in mixed cities
  • Deplatforming racists and supremacist organisations and combatting incitement to violence against Arabs
  • Introducing a five-year, NIS 5.2 billion ($1.6 billion) socioeconomic plan for Negev Bedouin, designed in part by Bedouin local leaders

None of these would have been possible had we not been working in close partnership with Arab organisations.

Together, we are developing the ideas, leaders and strategies necessary to bolster democracy in the long term. We are able to influence national attitudes towards the occupation, and to develop policies to advance equality and justice.

‘Arab-Israeli’ used to be the default term for Israel’s Arab citizens. However, many felt that ‘Arab’ was too generic a label: it ignored their Palestinian identity and historical links to the land.

The term ‘Palestinian citizen of Israel’ locates Palestinian Arabs concretely in the land that was historically theirs. But it also makes clear the difference between those Palestinians who live in the Occupied Territories and those who are full citizens of Israel.

NIF works closely with Arab partners, and a key part of that partnership is deferring to their greater knowledge of their own communities. We therefore prefer to use the term that our partners are most comfortable with.

NIF partners with and funds Israeli organisations that defend democracy and deliver a fairer society for all. This means supporting freedom of speech and non-violent expressions of belief.

We therefore oppose any attempt to criminalise non-violent tactics, including the global boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.

However, we do not support the BDS movement. We believe its tactics are counterproductive, and we are concerned that BDS is used by some to undermine the existence of the state of Israel as a Jewish homeland.

We do not fund global BDS activities against Israel. Nor do we support organisations that have global BDS programmes.

However, NIF opposes the 1967 occupation and subsequent settlement activity. Gross injustices affect the lives and opportunities of Palestinians under varying degrees of Israeli control. These include limited access to land, water and electricity, detention without charge, restrictions on movement and lack of permission to build homes.

NIF funds not-for-profit organisations that are registered with – and approved by – the Israeli government. This includes those that work to improve human rights and social justice in the Occupied Territories.

We will not exclude support for organisations that lawfully discourage the purchase of goods or use of services from settlements in the Occupied Territories.

NIF recognises that extremist politicians are trying to weaken Israeli democracy by undermining the rule of law and limiting the rights of minorities.

However, we firmly oppose attempts to prosecute Israeli officials in foreign courts. Instead, we are dedicated to combatting attacks on Israeli democracy. We want to ensure that Israel retains a strong and independent judiciary, a free press and non-partisan committees of inquiry, so that Israeli leaders can be held fully accountable to the law.

The New Israel Fund does not involve itself in the specifics of the peace process. However, our goals include defending human rights for Israelis and Palestinians alike, and advancing partnerships between Arab and Jewish leaders and communities.

Gross injustices affect the lives and opportunities of Palestinians under varying degrees of Israeli control. These include limited access to land, water and electricity, detention without charge, restrictions on movement and lack of permission to build homes.

NIF is proud to support those in Israel – Jewish and Palestinian – who work relentlessly to support human rights in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

Organisations will not be eligible for NIF grants or support if they condone violence or use violent tactics, participate in party-political activity, promote antidemocratic values or support the 1967 occupation and subsequent settlement activity.

We work to influence government policy at all levels in Israel. We do not lobby in the UK or in any other countries outside Israel.

NIF was set up as a partnership between a group of Israelis and a group of Jews in San Francisco.

NIF’s global CEO, Daniel Sokatch, is based in San Francisco. Its executive director, Mickey Gitzin, is based in Israel. Any key decision-making, whether about strategy or funding, happens together, involving Israel and San Francisco equally.

NIF has now expanded to include branches in several US cities, as well as affiliates in the UK, Canada and Australia. There are now also smaller affiliates in Germany and Switzerland.

International board meetings are held every February and June. These are attended by representatives from all US branches and the international affiliates.

At these meetings, decisions are made about where to award grants and which organisations NIF should continue funding.

Applications for grants are made to the NIF Israel office. These applications are then reviewed by staff and by grants subcommittees, including relevant experts in each area, before being put forward for scrutiny at international board meetings.

Every grantee, no matter how big or how small, must itemise in detail how it will use NIF funding before any grants are awarded. NIF monitors our grantees on a regular basis, to ensure that funds are being used effectively, efficiently and for the purpose for which the grant was approved.

While international affiliates attend these board meetings, they are not involved in any decisions about how funding is allocated.

All NIF’s activities and financial statements are collated in our annual report and on our website. We aim to be fully transparent about our donors and grantees, and publish audited financial statements each year.

It is not always possible for grantees to predict in advance where and how they will need to spend money. When the unexpected happens, they need to be able to draw on additional funds at short notice.

For this reason, NIF has always had an emergency fund of £500,000 a year. Civil-society organisations are able to ask for grants from this fund without waiting for their application to be approved by an international board meeting.

When it became clear that the current government in Israel was working to undermine the rule of law and limit the rights of minorities, NIF responded immediately. It tripled its emergency fund, so that it now stands at £1.5 million.

This increased pool enables us to be swift and nimble in our response to crises during this period.

We have also set up a civil-society protection hub in Israel. This supports and defends frontline activists who are struggling to work in the current political climate – they may have been threatened, arrested, hit with a slap suit or injured by tear gas or water bombs.

Civil-society organisations are able to contact the hub and ask for advice on how to protect themselves or their activists and thus continue their work.

New Israel Fund UK raises money from individuals and from foundations. The vast majority of money raised through donations is transferred to Israel.

In addition, funds are spent on connecting NIF supporters with our work on the ground in Israel. This includes education and youth outreach work, as well as speaker events.

Additional costs that allow us to deliver our charitable activities include IT, payroll, administration, communications, human resources and health and safety.

Donors in the US, Canada and the UK – as well as a growing number of Israeli philanthropists – provide more than $30 million a year to cover the running costs of NIF’s operations.

NIF was set up as a partnership between a group of Israelis and a group of Jews in San Francisco. Any key decision-making, whether about strategy or funding, is still shared equally between Israel and San Francisco.

NIF has now expanded to include branches in several US cities, and these branches are involved in deciding where grants should be allocated.

NIF also has a number of overseas affiliates: in the UK, Canada and Australia, as well as newer affiliates in Germany and Switzerland. While these affiliates fully support the US and Israeli NIF leadership, they function independently.

Representatives from NIF UK attend international NIF board meetings. However, they are not involved in any decisions about how funding is allocated.

NIF partners and works with organisations that share our values. We evaluate grantees rigorously, and select them only if they share our primary aims, to:

  • Empower minorities and marginalised people
  • Defend democracy and human rights for Israelis and Palestinians
  • Advance partnership between Arab and Jewish leaders and communities

Increasingly, extremist politicians in Israel are trying to undermine its democracy, limit religious freedom, sideline women and diminish the rights of Palestinian citizens. We therefore realise that we are fighting a prolonged war against the demise of democracy.

Much of our fundraising in the UK at the moment is focused on fighting this war. As well as tripling our emergency fund, we have created a civil-society hub to support and defend frontline activists. And we are strengthening the infrastructure necessary to defend democracy and advance equality and justice in Israel.

Our grantees must accept that both Jewish and Palestinian peoples have a right to national self-determination, and that non-Jewish citizens are entitled to full equality within a democratic Israel.

Organisations will not be eligible for NIF grants or support if they condone violence or use violent tactics, participate in party-political activity, promote antidemocratic values or support the 1967 occupation and subsequent settlement activity.

We also refuse to fund organisations that advocate for the human rights of one group selectively over another, violate the human rights of any group or individual or reject the principle of universal human rights. Racist or discriminatory language is unacceptable in any context.

New Israel Fund is a Registered Charity, whose number is 1060081.

New Israel Fund is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales, whose number is 3296825.  The registered office is: Star House, 104 Grafton Rd, Kentish Town, London, NW5 4BA