New Israel Fund

We're #hiring a Writer & Communications Associate! As part of the Public Engagement team, which is in charge of all NIF’s outward facing work in the US, you will be a #contentcreator and #storyteller for one of the most recognized progressive organizations. You will exercise your creative skills to write, edit, and innovate our communications and marketing materials. Full job description, how to apply, salary, and more can be found on our website. (Must be based in the US and work East Coast hours.) Application deadline: March 17, 2025. https://lnkd.in/gKpphvYV

Join us in continuing the essential fight for democracy and human rights in Israel. We're #hiring a Regional Director based in the Washington DC area to lead our #fundraising and community engagement efforts in that region. Full job posting, salary, and more info here: https://lnkd.in/gWHB7WZ4

From Yesh Din on Twitter/X: *Two consecutive nights* of pogroms and settler violence in villages and towns across the West Bank, with a clear intent to sabotage the hostage deal and the ceasefire agreement. One of the first things Donald Trump did upon taking office was to lift sanctions imposed on violent settlers. Last week, Defense Minister Israel Katz canceled administrative detentions against violent settlers. Last night, backed by the Israeli establishment, dozens of settlers entered the village of Funduq (in the northwest of the West Bank) burned vehicles, and attacked homes and Palestinian residents. In the video: security camera footage from the village of Funduq.

Our hearts are finally beginning to beat once again. Finally, the first three hostages from the ceasefire deal—Romi, Emily, and Doron—have been freed and returned to their families. More aid has been allowed in as families from North Gaza are permitted to finally return home, though the path remains uncertain. The New Israel Fund will not stop our fight for a full deal until every hostage comes home and the guns fall silent in Gaza.

Rachel Goldberg-Polin is the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was murdered in captivity this August 2024. Hersh was slated to be released the previous July and November. Following the announcement of a ceasefire-hostage deal expected to take effect this Sunday, Rachel wrote: “What is essential to us at this moment is that we make sure this phase of the deal is the beginning of the end, and not the end. Getting out 33 cherished human beings is critical. BUT, there are still going to be 65 hostages left in captivity…In addition, the innocent Gazans who have suffered terribly since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023 also severely and critically need relief and recovery immediately. So this deal must happen, to the very end, with everyone in the region finally able to quench our common desperate need for solace.” Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/g-kx27FR

Read our full statement here: https://lnkd.in/gUzCPSui

In a 5-4 ruling, Israel’s Supreme Court struck down key parts of an amendment that National Security Minister Ben-Gvir passed in order to give himself expanded powers over the police. This decision is a victory for ACRI—and a victory for democratic norms. Read more about it here: https://lnkd.in/gp2ybg5X

Every couple of weeks, we at NIF will share a selection of articles that discuss the reality on the ground with a distinctly New Israel Fund lens—things written by and about our people. Swipe through to read about the separate but intertwined struggles over land in the West Bank and the Negev and to see profiles of groups like Standing Together and It’s Time, who continue relentlessly to push back against the Israeli government's agenda.

Before being taken hostage by Hamas 460 days ago, Hamza Alziadana worked in agriculture. He raised his two children, but also raised horses and sheep in an unrecognized Bedouin village near Kibbutz Holit. From the age of 18 he worked with his father, Youssef Alziadana, on the Kibbutz as a farmer. Over the years, two of his younger siblings, Aisha and Bilal came to work there as well. On October 7, all four of them were on Kibbutz Holit when Hamas militants overran the Kibbutz. Security camera footage showed them being kidnapped into Gaza, all four crossing the border on foot. Bilal, then 18, and Aisha, then 17, were released as part of the only hostage deal back in November 2023. But Hamza and Youssef remained hostages in Gaza. Yesterday, the IDF gave their families the terrible news that Youssef's body had been retrieved from Gaza and that Hamza is all but confirmed to have been killed with him. Youssef's brother, Ali Alziadana, a former police officer, says his brother was a pillar of the family and the community. He said his father was “a kind man, beloved by everyone. One of the best in the tribe.” He said that he was a peacemaker: “he resolved conflicts and problems, mediated between families, and took care of everyone like a brother or a friend. He was an exemplary human being. We had hoped to see him in peace, and returned to his family.” The Alziadanas, though they are full citizens of Israel, live in an unrecognized Bedouin village. This means that their homes are illegal simply by virtue of being in a town that Israel does not recognize, and subject to demolition by the state. Shortly before his abduction, Hamza’s home was demolished. With the help of the family and the community, a new home had been recently built, but Hamza will never get the opportunity to live in it. Youssef Alziadana left behind two wives and 19 children. Hamza, his son, had a wife and two children waiting for him at home. Youssef and Hamza Alziadana will never be able to hug their families again, but the 98 hostages that remain in Gaza must return home. This cannot become the new normal; we continue to keep the hostages and their families in the forefront of our minds and demand a hostage deal now!