New Israel Fund Fights Back
February 4, 2010 by eJP
Filed under In the Media, Jewish Philanthropy
from The Forward:
Embattled New Israel Fund Fights Back
Under attack as a subversive, anti-Israel group, the New Israel Fund, the largest financial supporter of human rights groups in Israel, has opted to respond by rallying supporters of a progressive agenda in Israel.
Adopting a notably combative tone under new leadership, the American-based charity is depicting an accusatory report by a new Israeli organization – trumpeted in a front-page story in Maariv, a major Israeli daily – as the last straw in a series of attacks against like-minded groups.
But as members of Israel’s Knesset called for hearings to look into the report’s charges, NIF’s effort to rally a broad range of Jewish groups to its side met with only limited initial success.
eJP, thanks so much for posting on this. I hope everyone who cares for democracy in Israel will take a moment to help us rebut this smear campaign. I’m pleased to give you some very positive statements and news, but this campaign has just begun.
The Knesset debate on opening an official parliamentary inquiry into NIF has been postponed until next Wednesday, February 10. We’ve asked all supporters of NIF and democracy to email Prime Minister Netanyahu to stop this bill before then. Please share this link far and wide: http://nif.org/bibi
Meanwhile, ADL head Abe Foxman says in New York Jewish Week that Im Tirtzu campaign is an “outrageous broadside…it is absurd to blame Goldstone on NIF.”
Rabbi David Saperstein of the Reform Action Center says “In their twisted attribution of blame for the Goldstone Report to the NIF, these attackers are trying to delegitimize the New Israel Fund in much the same way that the Goldstone Report is being used to delegitimize Israel in the eyes of the world.”
Even Christians United for Israel (CUFI) spokesperson Ari Morgenstern distanced CUFI from Im Tirtzu’s ad campaign Although we are often demonized by our critics, CUFI never demonizes those with whom we disagree, and we object when anyone does.”
And two Maariv reporters rebutted the claims of their own paper (English translation here: http://coteret.com/2010/02/03/two-senior-maariv-reporters-attack-the-anti-nif-campaign-sponsored-by-their-newspaper/)
This campaign is spurious — there are over 450 Israeli sources in the Goldstone report, including statements by Israeli generals, politicians and even (oh my) Maariv itself!
Thanks for helping.