To the NIF community:

Having undertaken a thorough recruitment campaign I’m thrilled to share with you the news that Michael Chaitow has been appointed as NIF Australia’s new executive director. 

Michael is an experienced organiser and campaigner who joins NIF Australia with deep experience in politics and Jewish community life.

Most recently he’s been based in the US where he was director of digital strategy in NIF’s New York office and prior to that led J Street’s campus engagement team, J Street U. 

Before leaving Australia he worked with Hon. Linda Burney MP as her media adviser and as a climate organiser for GetUp.

He holds a Master of Public Policy from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, and a Master of International Law and Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney. He graduated high school from Masada College, Sydney.

Having grown up in Sydney’s Jewish community, worked in Australian and American politics, and with deep experience promoting justice for Israelis and Palestinians, Michael has the skills and knowledge to lead our wonderful team.

As part of the transition process, our two senior staff, Eve Altman and Max Korman, will be given elevated roles which reflect the phenomenal impact they’re having across our events, political advocacy and New Gen engagement.

With protests in Israel continuing to gain steam, our projects on the ground are more important than ever in pushing back against the Netanyahu government’s plans to erode the country’s democratic institutions. 

We’re excited for Michael to take up the challenge of increasing our efforts to support NIF’s grantees and continue to grow the NIF Australia community.

I also want to thank Liam Getreu for his extraordinary commitment and dedication in more than a decade as executive director of NIF Australia. From a small group of committed volunteers not so long ago, Liam’s leadership has nurtured NIF into a community of thousands of Australians and distributed more than $5 million to support projects achieving equality, justice and democracy in Israel-Palestine.

Michael will be transitioning into the role over the next couple of months as he undertakes his return from NIF New York. 

He will be working closely with Liam and the team to ensure we continue to provide you with information about events on the ground in Israel-Palestine and the impact of NIF’s grantees. 

All the best,

Ric Benjamin
Chairperson