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.

Strengthening Young Arab Leadership in Israel

Walking back from the first meeting of the Shatil-coordinated Rawabit leadership training program, Tammer’s phone was lighting up feverishly with messages from the cohort WhatsApp group about how the program is precisely what Arab civil society in Israel needs. The...

Fighting for Equitable Building Rights

The first-ever comprehensive research report on building in Arab areas in Israel found that 30,000 homes in Arab Israeli towns and villages are in danger of being demolished due to a lack of legal building permits enabling new construction. The report by Sikkuy-Aufoq...

Supporting Palestinian Women-Led Initiatives in Mixed Cities

“We had always been taught to keep a low profile to avoid discriminatory backlash from police. But when I was 18, despite my mother’s objections, I went to my first demonstration against Israeli attacks on Gaza. Today my mother is proud of my courage and of my...