2020 Annual Report

Through its Open Clinic, NIF grantee Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) provided medical treatment to some of the most marginalized populations in Israel, such as asylum seekers, incarcerated people and others, and with its Mobile Clinic brought essential medical services to Palestinian villages in the West Bank and Gaza.

PHRI was also a lead voice advocating for health services for African asylum seekers, while efforts by NIF grantees, including the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, and Sikkuy: The Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality, fought to open clinics and testing centers in East Jerusalem and drive-through and mobile testing centers in Bedouin communities. Additionally, NIF’s action arm, Shatil, and the Southern Health Coalition it leads provided the Ministry of Health with on-the-ground updates of the Bedouin population’s COVID-related needs, such as greater COVID-19 testing.

Thanks to the efforts of NIF grantees ACRI, Kav LaOved — Workers’ Hotline and PHRI, Palestinian workers who had been stranded in Israel and unable to return home due to COVID-19 restrictions gained access to health coverage and treatment in Israel.

Grantees HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, ACRI, and PHRI advocated for ambulance service in East Jerusalem neighborhoods situated outside the separation wall, while Adalah petitioned for additional ambulances in Bedouin communities in the Negev. In addition, Shatil helped secure additional protective equipment for EMTs serving Israel’s periphery.

Thanks to advocacy by NIF grantees Adalah and PHRI, the government switched from publishing coronavirus updates and other critical health information exclusively in Hebrew to publishing advisories also in Yiddish, Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya (the language of the Eritrean diaspora) — languages spoken by ultra-Orthodox Israelis, Arab citizens, Ethiopian Israelis, and African asylum seekers — and other languages spoken in Israel.

With much of the vital health information conveyed on digital devices, NIF grantees advocated for those living without smart technology, such as many ultra-Orthodox Israelis and those living without internet service (including residents of remote Bedouin communities), to receive important health information using other means.

In 2020, Ramadan was celebrated in April and May while the pandemic was in full force. Shatil and NIF grantees partnered with Bedouin leaders to create a campaign to offer their communities guidance on how to observe Ramadan safely and prevent COVID outbreaks.

In the photo, the Standing Together sign reads “No to Police Violence” in Hebrew and Arabic.

After ACRI called on Israel’s attorney general to lift a ban on demonstrating during the pandemic — a clear attempt to curb freedom of protest under the guise of health measures as other, more dangerous, gatherings were permitted — the government allowed the onerous regulation to expire. Thanks to ACRI’s advocacy, protests were ultimately exempted from COVID emergency regulations that restricted movement and gathering, as long as health precautions were maintained.

NIF grantee Omdim Beyachad (Standing Together) was then able to stage COVID-safe demonstrations in multiple locations around Israel to demand economic security for all. Additionally, grantees Human Rights Defenders Fund and ACRI secured the cancellation of substantial fines imposed on protesters in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Activists have long held protests there to advocate against evictions of Palestinians, and the takeover of property by pro-settler groups.

The Berl Katznelson Center called attention to the personal risk demonstrators continue to face, issuing a public report on the online hatred directed at anti-corruption demonstrators. Of the 87,000 hate comments reported, 5,500 included incitement to violence.

Friends,

None of us are likely to forget the annus horribilis 2020. It was, for virtually all of us, a personal, political and emotional rollercoaster. But NIF is an organization that — no matter what — stands up for its values and steps up to challenges, no matter how daunting. And I am proud to say that’s just what we did, in Israel and at home, during the toughest year in memory.

On the ground in Israel we responded to the unprecedented crisis of the pandemic with our Crisis Action Plan — a response that put the most marginalized first, kept our organizations going, and shined a light on attempts by some to use the Covid emergency as cover to erode democratic norms and institutions. Ultimately, the Crisis Action Plan sought to ensure that Israel emerged from the pandemic a more just, democratic and equal society. The plan was informed by our 40-plus years of experience funding Israeli civil society, and it enabled us to do what we do best: protect the most vulnerable, defend civil liberties and democracy, and maintain the strong and vibrant civil society that is the backbone of any healthy democracy.

It was your support that enabled that work.

I believe our commitment to justice and equity was reflected in NIF’s response to the crisis internally, as well. We were determined to weather the storm of 2020 with integrity, and the generosity of our donors, the dedication and sacrifice of our staff, and the leadership of our board enabled us to do so. At the end of the day, we were able to keep our organization running and whole, and our Shatil and grants programs intact.

Of course, the year of pandemic was also a year of enormous political change. In the United States the election of Joe Biden promised a return to much more familiar ground when it comes to US-Israeli relations, and an end to four years of reflexive American support for the Israeli hard-right. In Israel, the string of inconclusive elections continued in 2020, leading to a fourth election in early 2021. The result of that latest election was different, heralding (at least for now) the end of the Netanyahu era. The governing coalition that emerged was broad, almost unbelievably so, but this created new opportunities to advance critical NIF issues in the halls of power, and to see at least some of our priorities translated into policy. For the first time in decades, friends and allies sit in the governing coalition. Their ears and eyes are open to many of the things we care about, including equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel, supporting the LGBTQ community, addressing racism and inequity — the list is long. And while we are not starry-eyed — this is, as I wrote above, a broad coalition that includes many who do not share our values and vision — we are determined, hopeful, and ready for whatever lies ahead. There is much work to be done, and we look forward to rolling up our sleeves to do it.