In September, a 12-year-old schoolgirl in Be’er Sheva expressed solidarity with Gazan children in her classroom. Her classmates harassed and physically attacked her, with the explicit encouragement of right-wing officials and influencers. Yet it was the schoolgirl who was suspended and threatened with potential expulsion.
But she did not stand alone. NIF’s Civil Society Protection Hub, which provides comprehensive support to organizations and activists threatened by the government’s efforts to delegitimize and clamp down on their activities, supported her. The Hub’s efforts led the school to reverse the suspension and forced them to apologize. The Ministry of Education, which had summoned her to a hearing, had to justify its actions. “Instead of the student facing isolation and punishment, the school and the Ministry found themselves on the defensive,” says Shatil Organizer Anat Ben Tov, a leader in the efforts to defend the girl on behalf of the Hub.
The Hub uses a technique they call the “power-building response” when responding to attacks like these. The aim of this technique, according to Anat, is designed “to empower victims of anti-democratic attacks by analyzing each case to provide a precise, tailored response based on existing resources, such as the victim’s community or networks.” She says that “this type of response transforms defensiveness into an offensive, shifts the narrative, and puts control of the situation with the victim.”
The Hub was established in the wake of Israel’s last election, when extremist, anti-democratic right-wing parties rose to power. It is intended to be a “one-stop shop” to respond to attacks against progressive organizations and activists. Shatil is one of several members of the Hub coalition who work to protect activists’ civil rights through different channels, like legal counselling, media advocacy, and consultation on security measures.
Now, nearly two years after the election and in the shadow of an ongoing war, threats to progressive civil society have skyrocketed, resulting in increased demand for the Hub’s services. The Hub has responded by introducing the power-building response into its toolbox of strategies. Anat has been developing and implementing this new approach since she joined Shatil in September.
After watching a viral video of dozens of students harassing and physically attacking the girl in Be’er Sheva, circulated by right-wing influencers, Anat mobilized the Hub. Its members rallied local activists and politicians to voice support for the student and her family and launched a petition that created a public outcry over what the girl had gone through. In parallel, the Hub’s legal team censured media outlets that published fake information on the case as well as the school and Ministry of Education, noting in official warning letters that their actions were illegal.
The Hub managed to flip the narrative entirely. “The outcome sends a clear message to institutions that actions undermining democratic values have consequences,” Anat says.
The Hub successfully held the school and the government accountable. By building a robust defensive network against “serial offenders” — those who repeatedly target activists or individuals, and empowering the victim of such attacks, the Hub is creating an infrastructure that discourages the attackers from striking.
After working in advertising and marketing for years, Anat became a full-time activist during the protests against the government’s judicial overhaul in 2023. Since then, she has immersed herself in grassroots activism in Jaffa, where she lives, organizing Jewish-Arab protests and launching an initiative to aid evacuees who were displaced to Jaffa after October 7th, among other volunteer activities.