UNESCO’s Offensive Resolution

As you may have heard, last week UNESCO passed an offensive resolution which disregards Judaism’s connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.

Rosh Hashanah 5777 begins on Sunday night. This festival provides us with an opportunity for reflection on the year that has been. With the increased prominence of divisive politicians such as Donald Trump and Pauline Hanson, we are witnessing a disturbing rise in racism, bigotry and hate speech.

The following op-ed was published in the Australian Jewish News on Thursday September 22. You can see the original here.

Dr Mike Benn, a Perth-born Israeli who made aliyah in 1981, wrote the following op-ed for this week's edition of Perth's "The Maccabean", after ads for NIF's screenings of "Magash Hakesef" were rejected:

As the Knesset goes into summer recess we are celebrating several key legislative victories. These achievements are the result of the hard work and public pressure led by NIF and our grantees.

The “Maccabean”, the newspaper of the Perth’s Jewish community, is refusing to carry advertisements run by the New Israel Fund Australia.

The Knesset has passed legislation setting forth new requirements for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that receive funding from foreign governments.

Just a few days ago, the second cohort of our Naomi Chazan Fellowship began its journey in Israel.

Our latest group of four young people – Adam, Dana, Deb and Yuli – come from Sydney and Melbourne, all with a history in different Zionist youth movements. They’re committed to Israel, to the Jewish community in Australia, and we’re proud to have them as part of our Fellowship.

Limmud Oz Melbourne is on again this weekend, and we thought we'd share with you just a few of the 150+ sessions that might be of particular interest to NIF supporters and donors.

The full schedule is online – and you can still buy tickets through Limmud's website, with discounts for concessions, school-age children, and multi-day passes.

In a special ceremony during half-time at the State Cup Final in Jerusalem, Kick it Out – in collaboration with the Israel Football Association – awarded $25,000 in grants to grassroots Israeli initiatives using soccer to promote shared society, coexistence, and tolerance.