Palestinian Citizens
Advancing Equality for Israel’s Largest Minority
NIFC works to promote full equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel, who comprise 20% of Israel’s population, and to enhance their participation in Israel’s democratic processes and institutions.
The Palestinian-Israeli community is the main national non-Jewish minority within Israel and is affected directly by the historical Israeli-Arab conflict. Discrimination against this minority is rife in allocation of public resources, representation in decision-making bodies, and more.
Specifically, our focuses are correcting the deep inequality of land use and building permits denied to Arab communities, supporting initiatives to empower Palestinian-Israeli women, and promoting civic engagement.
Examples of recently-funded projects include Bimkom’s work to secure public services for unrecognized Bedouin villages and NIF-Shatil’s support to the leaders of Arab civil society organizations during COVID-19.
Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel
Litigation and Media Outreach to Protect and Defend the Human Rights of Arab Bedouin Citizens of Israel living in the Naqab (Negev)
Adalah is the leading Palestinian legal center and human rights organization based in Israel and the sole Palestinian-run organization that works before Israeli courts to protect the human rights of Palestinians in Israel. Adalah is the primary legal agency supporting Bedouin communities in the Negev, including as a member of the Naqab Emergency Room coalition. In 2024, this project will focus on legal aid on behalf of Bedouin communities in the Negev, whose abilities to access their economic and social rights have become even more compromised since the start of the war.
Bimkom – Planners For Planning Rights
Strengthening Bedouin Community Resilience
Bimkom–Planners for Planning Rights strengthens democracy and human rights in the field of special planning and housing policies in the Negev for the 100,000 citizens living in unrecognized Bedouin villages. The Gaza war has taken a particular toll on these communities: they suffered deaths and kidnappings by Hamas on October 7 and lacked both bomb shelters and warning sirens. In 2024, this project will provide the research underlying long-term solutions for these unrecognized communities, along with direct assistance.
Speaking to Israel’s President About Palestinian Society in Israel
The following speech was given by NIF International Board Member and expert in Arab-Jewish relations, Dr. Nasreen Haddad Haj-Yahya, to Israel’s President Isaac Herzog on the occasion of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, 2025. Good evening to you, Mr. President, Mrs....
Insisting on Basic Rights For Bedouin Citizens in the Negev
Photo Credit: Yossi Zamir, Shatil Stock At a time when the media is preoccupied by wars, regime changes, regional power plays, and Trump’s inauguration day, very few are focused on what is happening to the Negev Bedouin: mass home demolitions and displacement of...
Envisioning The Negev Anew Through Equality and Partnership
“October 7 physically and metaphorically shattered our homes into pieces that cannot be reassembled.” —Noam Stahl, Kfar Aza resident As NIF prepares to launch the new Equality and Partnership in the Negev project, staff members visited Kibbutz Kfar Aza, the...
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