Grantee Spotlight: Zazim
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Zazim is the largest campaigning community in Israel. They are a movement of citizens, Arabs and Jews, working together for democracy, equality, and joint, active civic engagement. They are political – their campaigns target decision-makers and raise the hot topics on the public agenda; but they are not partisan- Zazim is an independent movement, brought together by shared values of human rights, combatting the occupation and racism, and social and environmental justice. Their primary vehicle is online tools that enable them to quickly reach a wide audience, and through which they initiate campaigns and actions both online and offline.
They believe that each and every persons’ voice is worth more than one ballot every few years, and that active and critical civic engagement is essential to any democracy. Their campaigns enable their movement activists to make their voices heard, engage and have an impact all year round during formative, decision-making moments. They are not connected to the government’s systems and don’t employ lobbyists in the halls of power, but rather are convinced that people power – when channelled in a focused and efficient manner – can change the reality on the ground.
Zazim is based on the OPEN work model, which has proven itself over and over to be effective in gaining influential victories of people power all over the world. Zazim is proud to be part of the global OPEN network, together with organisations like 38 Degrees in the UK, MoveOn in the United States, Jhatkaa in India, DeClic in Romania, Campact in Germany and so many others worldwide. Each OPEN organisation acts independently in their respective countries for a better present and future. They make use of the shared professional knowledge and experience of other network organisations in order to create winning, impactful campaigns and to best serve our community.
Zazim generated support from over 25,000 Israelis as part of successful efforts to change the Israeli government’s policy on admitting many more Ukrainian refugees. In Zazim’s broader work they have galvanised 14,000 people to stop the deportation of an Israeli born child and her mother who came to Israel from Thailand; prevented harmful construction and saved a unique eco-system and wildlife in the Ayalon Cave; and moved hundreds of people to show up in solidarity with Palestinians facing Settler violence.