By, Simon Rocker
1 min read
BySimon Rocker, Simon Rocker
The UK branch of the New Israel Fund enjoyed a record year in 2013, raising 29 per cent more than it did in 2012. The charity collected £1,652,000 last year, up from £1,279,000 the previous year.
As well as news of its progress, supporters at its dinner on Sunday celebrated the presentation of its annual human-rights awards to three Israelis who embody its commitment to democracy, equality and social justice.
Yonatan Shaham was just a second-year student at Tel Aviv University when he co-founded Yeladim Israelim five years ago, a campaign to prevent the deportation of more than 1,000 children of migrant workers.
Most of those originally threatened with being uprooted from the country that had become their home have since been allowed to stay. "Although there is much more to achieve, our struggle has been a success," he said.
Dr Yifat Biton is co-founder of Tmura, the Israeli Anti-Discrimination Centre, which has fought for compensation for those who have suffered injustice. Beneficiaries have included victims of child abuse to Palestinians prevented from teaching in Israel.
Delivering aspirations in the face of extreme pressure
Leah Shakdiel sprung to fame in 1988 when she became the first woman to be allowed to sit on a local religious council in Israel after taking her fight to the Supreme Court.
The Orthodox activist helped to establish the development town of Yerucham in the Negev and she is involved with Machsom Watch, an organisation of women who monitor Israel army checkpoints for Palestinians on the West Bank. She is donating her awards prize to the library of the nursery in Rachme, a Bedouin village near Yerucham for whose official recognition she campaigned.
NIF chairman Nicholas Saphir called her "a visionary" who was never afraid to go against the grain.
All three were "delivering our aspirations" day after day, often in the face of extreme pressure, he said.
Noleen Cohen, who made the appeal, said NIF was "not afraid to support difficult initiatives, to be the voice of change and to speak out for those unable to speak for themselves".