CURTAILING FOREIGN FUNDING: WHAT WOULD LOSE?

What would the new legislation limiting foreign funding to Israeli NGOs mean in reality? Below is a sampling of key programs that might no longer be funded if either the Akunis or Kirshenbaum bills became law.

• TEACHING HUMAN RIGHTS

Thanks to funding from the and the Middle East Partnership Initiative of the US Department of State, flagship NIF grantee the Association of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) began a unique education project designed to combat the declining support for human rights and democratic values in Israeli society, especially among young people. With a dearth of educational materials for teaching about human rights, ACRI’s education department began producing compelling and comprehensive educational kits to assist educators in incorporating lessons in human rights into their work with children and youth. The materials have gained widespread use. Besides creating novel curricula for teaching human rights, ACRI’s staff members also lead and facilitate workshops for pre‐army youth, students and teachers about human rights and international humanitarian law.

• LAW ENFORCEMENT ON SETTLER VIOLENCE

NIF grantee Yesh Din works to provide legal assistance to who have been victims of ideologically motivated offences – and violence in particular ‐ by Israeli settlers. Their research has found consistently low numbers of indictments and convictions in such cases, and significant deficiencies in the investigations of the Samaria and Judea District Police. (Only one indictment has been brought to date as a result of settlers’ “price tag” incidents.) These findings point to problems on the policy level which must be addressed in the context of Israel's duty to protect Palestinian civilians and their property. Yesh Din volunteers take testimony from Palestinian victims, and accompany them to file complaints with the Police. Yesh Din monitors the processing of these investigations, appeals against the closure of cases where no perpetrator is brought to justice due to police failure, and advocates for improvement in law enforcement standards in its correspondence and dialogue with the Israeli authorities.

• STOPPING TORTURE

Despite a ban under international law as well as several domestic court rulings, Israel continues to use interrogation methods which are clearly torture or ill treatment. NIF grantee Public Committee against Torture in Israel (PCATI) is engaged in a number of efforts and activities on this front including visiting detainees, taking affidavits and submitting well‐based and substantive complaints of torture and/or ill treatment to the authorities. Their work would be significantly impacted should the proposed legislation pass.

Further, PCATI’s work in fighting impunity, the structure in which the authorities systematically reject complaints of torture and refuse to open investigations, would subsequently be ended. Likewise, the legislation would have a major impact on their ability to research and report on the subject. Finally, the proposed laws would force PCATI to severely constrict a unique project that focuses on women in detention.

• NEGOTIATING A SHARED FUTURE

Established in 2008 by NIF grantee Mossawa Center, the Shared Future working group engages in efforts to negotiate a democratic and peaceful solution to the social and legal status of the Arab minority and ethnic communities within Israel. The Shared Future initiative’s primary goal is to engage Arab and Jewish civil society, academics and politicians in a capacity‐building process for conflict management.

The Mossawa Center has called upon dozens of experts and activists from various NGOs, together with politicians, journalists, writers, and lawyers, to participate in multi‐layer discussions on fundamental issues concerning the present and future of the state, with Arab‐Jewish relations as a focal point. Among the key issues discussed are: the state borders, minority‐majority relations, the character and symbols of the state, gender equality and the relationship between religion and the state.

• EMPOWERING BEDOUIN WOMEN

The Min Ajlina ("For Our Rights") Bedouin Women's Empowerment Project in Israel's Negev is a joint project of the /SHATIL and the U.S. State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI.) The multi‐track program strengthens Bedouin women as social change leaders, empowering them to effect positive change in public policy and advance the status and lives of Bedouin women in the Negev, who are particularly victimized by illiteracy, poverty and illegal but widely‐ practiced polygamy.

"The Min Ajlina program is one of the best examples of a public‐private partnership that is measurably improving peoples' lives in Israel," said NIF CEO Daniel Sokatch. "This joint effort between NIF and the US Government significantly supports unmet needs in Israel. It is this very funding that is potentially jeopardized by those who object to a robust and independent NGO sector."