2015 was a watershed year for the New Israel Fund Australia Foundation. Since our establishment in 2011, we have raised more than $2 million to fund grassroots human rights and social justice organisations in Israel. We have also had a number of very successful public events that have provoked progressive conversations about peace and security in Israel. The NIF has become the leading global organisation advancing democracy and equality in Israel and our work in Australia is making an important contribution to this endeavour.
In 2015 we launched our Naomi Chazan Fellowship, which empowers the next generation of leaders to take active roles in community conversations about Israel, and also hosted our co-patron, Ambassador Martin Indyk, in Sydney where he spoke to more than 300 people at a community event. Despite the difficult political environment in Israel, our grantees are working harder than ever to promote social equality and inclusion, to protect vital democratic infrastructure, and to ensure Jews and Arabs continue to work together.
Annual Fundraising
An increase of 13% on last year, NIF’s total fundraising has grown 3x since 2012. In 2016, we are on track to have raised more than $2 million in just five years.1
Impact in Israel
The core of our work, funding civil society in Israel, has never been stronger. Our contribution to Israel has grown more than 130% in the last four years, ensuring a sizeable impact on Israeli society.2
Effectively Delivering Impact
Our use of donor funds is extremely efficient – and we are grateful to have two generous donors covering our local costs to ensure maximum impact in Israel for our other donors.
More people attended NIF events than any other year – we brought in people to watch films, learn from military experts, and be part of new conversations about Israel.
Our donor reach also continues to grow strongly, with more than 100 individuals making a donation to NIF Australia for the third year in a row.
In 2015, the reach of our Facebook page grew 33%, and we had more than 10,000 views of our videos. We have developed one of the strongest online Zionist communities in Australia.
We supported to work of a range of civil society organisations in Israel, including the Negev Coexistence Fund, which brings Jews and Palestinians together in southern Israel, Women of the Wall, and anti-racism group Tag Meir (‘Light Tag’).
In 2015, NIF Australia launched our inaugural Naomi Chazan Fellowship, a program that equips young leaders with the tools they need to make an impact on the Australian Jewish community’s conversation about Israel.
The ten-month program includes three components: a ten-day study to Israel, learning and development opportunities, and running programming and events in the Jewish community. In our first year, we selected six outstanding young leaders – Elysheva, Jeremy, Avi, Lanna, Eli and Chantal – to lead a fresh discourse around Israel, that brings Israel back into the community’s social justice conversation.
Over ten-days, our Fellows, joining up with a cohort of young leaders on a parallel program from NIF UK, met with some of the most impactful journalists, activists, lawyers and politicians in Israel today. They met with former deputy speaker of the Knesset Naomi Chazan, current New Israel Fund President Talia Sasson, one of the leaders Israel’s African refugee community Mutasim Ali, chair of Women of the Wall Anat Hoffman and many more.
Our Fellows produced a number of exciting initiatives in the Jewish community, including: a series of “Food For Thought” dinners where they led discussions about the wave of violence that was hitting Israel and the West Bank; they had an op-ed in the Australian Jewish News discussing the overlap between their human rights values, and the Zionism; and through their initiative we have launched the new Israel Refocused Podcast.
We’re committed to building a more inclusive, tolerant and respectful conversation about Israel in the Australian Jewish community, and we think our Naomi Chazan Fellowship is one of the best way to do this. We’re grateful to our generous donors who are investing in our community’s young leaders with us, empowering them, and up-skilling them to lead the community forward.
NIF’s work with the Ethiopian, Mizrahi and Palestinian communities in Israel is particularly important with the rise in racism and discrimination. Organisations like Noar Kahalacha ensure there is no ethnic discrimination in Ultra-Orthodox schools, while Tebeka opened a hotline for Ethiopian Israelis to report incidents of police violence and to help protesters secure legal representation.
The Shatil-led Education for Shared Society Forum launched an Internet platform called Learning To Live Together, a resource for schools to help them include materials promoting coexistence, and joint Jewish-Arab activities inside Israel.
NIF collaborated in the production of the groundbreaking TV documentary “Magash Hakesef” (Silver Platter) about socio-economic issues in Israel. It was among the most popular shows of 2015, sparking conversations about inequality and distributive justice in Israel.
Following a petition from our grantee Ir Amim, the Jerusalem District Court ordered the government to take care of roads and infrastructure for the 60,000 residents of the Kafr Akeb neighbourhood in East Jerusalem, which is located beyond the separation barrier.
Research by the NIF’s Kick It Out program, which is funded by the Israeli and European soccer associations, has revealed a marked drop in racism at Israel Premier League soccer matches. Indeed, at an October match, two top teams, Hapoel Haifa and B’nei Sakhnin marched on to the field together with a banner “We Refuse To Be Enemies!”
In late 2015, our partners in the human rights community came under sustained attack. We were there, standing side-by-side with them, because it is their voices that legitimise Israel as a democracy; they are what make Israel strong.
Thanks to the work of Shatil-led Forum for Public House, the government’s coalition agreement contains a clear commitment to invest in more public housing for the the country’s poorest.
A number of NIF grantees led the opposition to the government’s Anti-Infiltration Law, which allowed for the 20-month mandatory detention of asylum seekers. For the third time, the law was struck down by the High Court as unconstitutional.
In November, one of Israel’s foremost experts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Col. (Ret.) Shaul Arieli, came to Australia for NIF Australia. Shaul is active in the Council for Peace and Security, which represents hundreds of former senior military, security and intelligence officers, and works to promotes a sustainable political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Over the course of a week, Shaul spoke to hundreds of people across Sydney and Melbourne, giving presentations on the current obstacles to peace, the settlement movement, and the best way Israel and the Palestinians can move forward.
Shaul was interviewed on ABC News 24’s The World program, as well as on RN Breakfast by James Carleton.
In Israel, NIF is committed to bringing respected security voices like Shaul’s into the public discourse to promote a permanent status agreement with the Palestinians as a way of strengthening Israel’s security. By bringing this message to Australia, we’re able to lead a new discourse around Israel’s relationship with the Palestinians, and rally the community to find a new way forward.
More than 300 came to hear Amb. Martin Indyk – former US Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations, former US Ambassador to Israel, and NIF Australia's co-patron – speak in Sydney in September, 2015
| Revenue | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|
| Donations | $372,831 | $368,157 |
| Donations – Fellowship | $34,500 | n/a |
| Other revenue | $3,298 | $1,705 |
| Interest | $1,949 | $2,315 |
| Total: | $412,578 | $372,177 |
| Expenses | 2015 | 2014 |
| Grants to Israel | $196,290 | $205,605 |
| Education and engagement | $96,671 | $56,966 |
| Naomi Chazan Fellowship | $34,637 | n/a |
| Fundraising | $30,343 | $22,602 |
| Communications | $18,635 | $17,007 |
| Administration, audit and legal, and other expenses | $14,395 | $15,125 |
| Total: | $390,971 | $317,305 |
| Surplus | $21,607 | $54,872 |
| Assets | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|
| Current Assets | $182,947 | $156,439 |
| Total Assets | $182,947 | $156,439 |
| Liabilities | 2015 | 2014 |
| Current liabilities | $12,921 | $8,020 |
| Total liabilities | $12,921 | $8,020 |
| Net assets | $170,026 | $148,419 |
| Equity | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|
| Retained surplus | $170,026 | $148,419 |
| Total equity | $170,026 | $148,419 |
Notes:
The figures in this financial statement do not include funds remitted directly to the New Israel Fund in Israel, the United States or United Kingdom. The graphs above do include those figures – $197,750 in 2015. These funds are spent on NIF grants in Israel.
The figures in the graphs above include funds remitted directly to NIF in Israel, the US and UK.
We continue to be grateful to two generous donors who cover most of our local costs.
Created with NationBuilder