Social and Economic Justice
Empowering Social Change
NIF works to reduce social and economic gaps as a means of safeguarding democracy and building a cohesive society.
The Israeli public is more united behind the desire for social and economic justice than on any other single issue. With 1 in 3 Israeli children living below the poverty line it’s not hard to figure out why.
Our aim is to speed the inclusion of Israel’s diverse national, gender, ethnic and geographic population groups into an increasingly unequal economy, allowing for social mobility and for stronger civic and political engagement. Specifically, our work focuses on some of the most critical root causes of socio-economic gaps: the lack of housing options, growing poverty and “built-in” inequality at the local and community level.
Working across party lines in the Knesset, our intense efforts helped put the issue of public housing on the national agenda more forcefully than ever before. We believe that housing is an issue that crosses ideological and sector lines, and that it’s possible to build a majority of political support.
The poverty issue also crosses sectorial lines and is high on many politicians’ agenda. Despite budget shortfalls, the political will to address the issue is strong among the centrist and religious parties, and shrewd coalition-building could further progress under any governing coalition.
Untangling Israel’s administrative boundaries and tax jurisdictions is hard and abstruse work – but the activists for distributive justice know that it is a key factor in improving opportunity in marginalized communities.
Who Gets the Land?
The Association for Distributive Justice works on issues of housing and equitable distribution of land that are unique to Israel.
Meet Janice Fricker, Shatil Volunteer
“There are so many people who refuse to give up the hope of a beautiful, strong, dynamic, healthy country that everybody can be proud of. I want to be part of that.”
A Woman’s Place Can Be in Combat
“This is a watershed moment in Israeli society and we plan to continue to stand with all women, defend our right to be present in all spheres, and protect Israeli democracy.”
We Want to Hear from Women Agents of Change
This International Women’s Day we sent out a call for proposals for grassroots initiatives that focus on gender equality in Israel. Want to improve women’s issues in Israel? Here’s how you get funding.