Stories

13 November 2013

Knesset Raises Minimum Age of Marriage

In a victory for the rights of Arab and ultra-Orthodox women, the Knesset has raised the minimum age of marriage from 17 to 18. The amendment to the 1950 Age of Marriage Law passed its final vote with 55 in favor and 11 against. The vote follows a ten-year campaign by NIF grantee the Working Group for Equality in Personal Status Issues. Previously, religious parties had managed to prevent this legislation from being implemented.

30 October 2013

Ofakim Celebrates New Overnight Medical Center

Thanks to the efforts of NIF grantee Ahuzat Negev, supported by flagship NIF grantee the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, the residents of Ofakim are celebrating the announcement that a urgent care center will be opened in their town. This follows a two year campaign, in which Ahuzat Negev convened two conferences advocating for the opening of the medical center, as well as collaborating with Sapir College to produce a position paper to the Health Ministry on the issue.

30 October 2013

Success for Arab Women in the Municipal Elections

The number of women representatives of Arab municipalities nearly doubled in last week’s municipal elections. This follows a major NIF grant to five organizations (led by grantees Mossawa and Women against Violence) for the purpose of increasing female representation from all parties on local councils.

17 October 2013

“It’s accessibility to life”

Bosmat Nakash and her family immigrated to Israel from Iraq just before the Six Day War. Among the changes she experienced in her new country was a more tolerant attitude toward her disability.

17 October 2013

Profile: Rotem Ilan of Israeli Children

Rotem Ilan waits outside the Bialik-Rogozin School in South Tel Aviv, where most of the pupils are the children of foreign workers. She greets many of them personally when they finish school, and they respond to her like she’s their sister. After all, she’s one of the reasons they’re there. NIF grantee Israeli Children, which she established in 2009 and which was merged with flagship NIF grantee the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) last summer, played a crucial role in ensuring they could stay in the country.

03 October 2013

Jewish and Arab Fans Join Together to Kick Racism Out of Soccer

Dozens of Arab and Jewish fans met before the opening match of Israel’s new soccer season to prepare anti-racism banners. The fans of Hapoel Tel Aviv and from the Arab city of Sakhnin also discussed the need for shared society and tolerance. The fans’ banners were prevalent in the stands as the players came onto the field wearing “Football for All” shirts in Arabic, Hebrew, and English. The players then kicked “Respect” balls, donated by the Union of European Football Associations, into the crowd.

03 October 2013

Breakthrough for Movement for Freedom of Information

In a victory for transparent government, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni has announced that government dealings with private groups will now be made public.

17 September 2013

Landmark Ruling on Refugees in Israel

Asaf Weitzen, 34, is a lawyer with Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, one of the petitioners in the historic Supreme Court case challenging the Anti-Infiltration Law, which incarcerated more than 2000 African refugees without due process or recourse to the possibility of asylum. Following the verdict, NIF spoke to him to get his reaction to the landmark victory.

16 September 2013

Activist Celebrates Legal Victory Against Extremist Group

Following Im Tirtzu’s outrageous and personal smear campaign against the New Israel Fund and progressive organizations in Israel in 2010, a group of eight activists began a facebook page called ‘Im Tirtzu is a Fascist movement.’ Alleging that the term “fascist” constituted libel, and in an undisguised attempt to shut down criticism of their goals and activities, Im Tirtzu took the activists to court. And lost. Following the Jerusalem District Court’s ruling last week, which rejected almost all charges against the activists and which characterized Im Tirtzu as having “fascist attributes” NIF spoke to defendant Edan Ring about his reactions to the victory.

08 August 2013

A More Progressive Budget

On a mission to ensure a progressive state budget and social safety net, the Social Budget Forum has been hard at work in and out of the halls of Knesset.

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