New Israel Fund Holds Country to Founders’ Standards

by David N. Myers

As a progressive Jew, I look on with grave concern at the recent attacks on the New Israel Fund (NIF). But this is not a left-right issue. All responsible members of the Jewish community, regardless of their political position, should be alarmed. The assaults on NIF represent a sharp, but consistent, deterioration in Jewish public discourse. (See story on Page 15.) The evidence is clear enough. A new Israeli group called Im Tirtzu has run ads in newspapers and billboards depicting NIF President Naomi Chazan as possessing a horn (what have we sunk to when a Jewish organization applies such old and pernicious anti-Semitic stereotypes to fellow Jews?) and accusing NIF of being responsible for accusations of war crimes against Israel. Meanwhile, a long article in the Israeli newspaper Maariv on Jan. 29 blamed NIF as one of the chief conspirators behind the Goldstone report. On the basis of that article, several members of the Knesset moved to create — fortunately without success — a commission of inquiry into the link between NIF grantees and the Goldstone report.

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Comments:	A friend has recommended you read the following from The Jewish Journal... New Israel Fund Holds Country to Founders’ Standards As a progressive Jew, I look on with grave concern at the recent attacks on the New Israel Fund (NIF). But this is not a left-right issue. All responsible members of the Jewish community, regardless of their political position, should be alarmed. The assaults on NIF represent a sharp, but consistent, deterioration in Jewish public discourse. (See story on Page 15.) The evidence is clear enough. A new Israeli group called Im Tirtzu has run ads in newspapers and billboards depicting NIF President Naomi Chazan as possessing a horn (what have we sunk to when a Jewish organization applies such old and pernicious anti-Semitic stereotypes to fellow Jews?) and accusing NIF of being responsible for accusations of war crimes against Israel. Meanwhile, a long article in the Israeli newspaper Maariv on Jan. 29 blamed NIF as one of the chief conspirators behind the Goldstone report. On the basis of that article, several members of the Knesset moved to create — fortunately without success — a commission of inquiry into the link between NIF grantees and the Goldstone report. http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/new_israel_fund_holds_country_to_founders_standards_20100209/ Sign up for our free email news alerts at http://www.jewishjournal.com/email.
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