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.

Bimkom – Planners For Planning Rights

Assistance to Bedouin Villages in the Negev

Bimkom – Planners for Planning Rights strengthens democracy and human rights in the field of special planning and housing policies in the Negev. Bimkom employs municipal planners, architects, geographers, engineers, and legal advisors to provide professional assistance to unrecognized Bedouin villages. Our 2022 project will work toward government recognition of communities in the Beer Sheva Valley.

Women Against Violence (WAV)

Reducing Gender-based Violence in Palestinian-Israeli Society

Women Against Violence works to eradicate the phenomenon of violence against female Palestinian citizens of Israel. Our 2022 project will support WAV’s community programs and youth leadership programs to educate youth, women, and the Arab sector about the problem of domestic violence.

New Israel Fund's Shatil

Strengthening Palestinian-Israeli Women’s Leadership in Civil Society

Shatil is the operating arm of the New Israel Fund that strengthens the forces building a just, democratic and shared society in Israel. Our 2022 project will provide training and consulting to Palestinian women’s organizations and women NGO directors.

Director’s Note: This Might Be Our Most Important Funding of The Year

By Ben Murane, Executive Director Murders are skyrocketing within the Arab sector in Israel – already 159 this year – in a relentless crime wave driven by decades of Israeli governmental neglect. The situation has reached terrifying heights under Minister of National...

Protesting The Rise in Violence in Arab Communities

The “March of the Dead” was held earlier this month in protest against the incompetence of the police in handling the significant escalation of crime in Arab neighborhoods. It was joined by NIFC project partners including the Abraham Initiatives, as well as other...

Demonstrating for Arab Lives

Photo courtesy of We Want to Live Gun violence and murders in Israel’s Palestinian towns are on the rise – a spree of horrific murders in several towns over the last few weeks have pushed the death toll for 2023 to over 100, among them a number of children. People are...