New NIF Guideline Recognizes Right To A Jewish State

Note: see the followup press release--Confusion Over "New" NIF Grant Guidelines

For Immediate Release
September 19, 2010

Contact: Jason Edelstein, 052-861-2129

New NIF Guidelines a Positive Change

NIF Adopts Guidelines Recommended by NGO Monitor

Jerusalem - As part of revisions to their guidelines, New Israel Fund (NIF) grantees will no longer be able to “deny the right of the Jewish people to sovereign self-determination within Israel,” notes NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem-based research institution.

“NIF leadership is taking an important step by agreeing to adopt the substance of NGO Monitor’s ethical guidelines for funding political NGOs,” says Professor Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor. “These new guidelines have the potential to end funding for groups that call into question the idea of Israel as a Jewish state. With these new guidelines, NIF will need to reevaluate funding for Adalah, Mada al-Carmel, Mossawa, the Coalition of Women for Peace, PHR-I, and other groups with similar goals.”

NGO Monitor has published detailed reports on NIF grantees (NIF Has Crossed the Line, NGO Monitor Reports, May 14, 2010) that are active in de-legitimization campaigns against Israel, including using “apartheid” and “war crimes” rhetoric, participating in “lawfare” cases against Israeli officials, and other tactics. This was followed by the publication in June of proposed ethical guidelines for the NIF.

“NIF plays a major role in the intense public discussions on Israel, both here and in the international community, and can serve as a model for government funders of political NGOs as well,” adds Steinberg. “This is why these new guidelines are so important. NIF must now develop the mechanisms for implementation, and the time frame. NGO Monitor will continue to report and analyze the actual funding policies of NIF in light of the new guidelines.”

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