Saturday, November 29, 2014

The Extremist, Radical New Israel Fund and Its Funders - Ronn Torossian



by Ronn Torossian


-- organizations like the New Israel Fund (NIF) which empower terrorists must be shunned.

During these sensitive times, as the world is a kinder-box [sic] due to Muslim extremists, Jewish extremists must also be rejected. As Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor recently said in United Nations speech, “Most people believe that at its core, the conflict is a battle between Jews and Arabs or Israelis and Palestinians. They are wrong. The battle that we are witnessing is a battle between those who sanctify life and those who celebrate death.” The Ambassador is right – which means organizations like the New Israel Fund (NIF) which empower terrorists must be shunned. The New Israel Fund supports groups that hurt the Jewish State.
 
An NIF grantee, the Executive Director of the Human Rights Defenders Fund (HRDF), received $332,625 from 2011-2013 in grants from the New Israel Fund and recently called Israel “racist,” and “murderous,” and described the country as a “temporary Jewish apartheid state.” She actively promotes the Palestinian ‘right of return.’ Other NIF grantees demand boycotts of the State of Israel, and contribute to gross Anti-Semitism by funding campaigns for Breaking the Silence who tour college campuses to accuse Israel of war crimes.  These organizations are outside the consensus. As The Algemeiner Journal reported New Israel Fund is “a controversial foundation that supports dozens of Israel related causes, many of which are considered hostile to the Jewish State.”

Thankfully today it was revealed that Birthright and Young Judea will no longer work with New Israel Fund. New Israel Fund is associated with funding boycotts of Israel and programs to support the Israel Defense Forces, hence the Jewish community is rejecting these extremists. As Algemeiner added, “NIF actively supports organizations like Machsom Watch, which harass Israeli soldiers while on duty at checkpoints, Breaking The Silence which dispatches former Israeli soldiers on international tours accusing the IDF of human rights violations and war crimes, and +972 magazine, which offers a ready stream of anti-Israel articles and opinions pieces. During the recent Gaza war, New Israel Fund dispatched emergency grants to fund anti-Israel protests in Israel.”

NIF donors support extremists’ viewpoints with barely any support amongst the democratic electorate of Israel. While one constantly hears about donors on the right, why is the left given a pass when they help fund anti-democratic behavior?

Irwin Jacobs, a co-founder of Qualcomm is a major donor to The New Israel Fund, as is his fellow San Diegoan, The Leichtag Foundation.  While The Fohs Foundation claims that their position is “not to look back, not to criticize Israel or place blame, but rather to promote opportunity going forward,”, yet by supporting the New Israel Fund, they stand with calling Israeli soldiers war crimes.  That is out of bounds – and responsible donors must reject these extremists.

From the Edith and Henry Everett  Foundation who fund The Jewish Book Council, Joint Distribution Committee, American Friends of Israel Sci-Tech Schools and others, one fails to comprehend why they would want to be associated with the New Israel Fund, which Professor Gerald Steinberg recently described as an organization that “..claim to support Israel and human rights principles, they enable the highly destructive activities that do the opposite. By the time these funders acknowledge this failure and end their support, the damage will be done.”

From the Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund to The Irving Harris Foundation, Arnold Hiatt to many others, The New Israel Fund annual report is a study in those who seek to fund campaigns which support boycotts of Israel, supporting Anti-Semitism on campus, and prosecuting Israeli war crimes.  The supporters of these causes are all visible in the New Israel Fund annual report.

The New Israel Fund has decreased in funding from $37 Million in 2010 to $27 Million in 2013. This dangerous extremist organization neglects the reality on the ground and the will of the people. 

America’s closest Middle East ally, Israel, faces a grave enemy of terrorists and despots, and supporting organizations which undermine the Israel Defense Forces and encourage boycotts of Israel are simply dangerous.


Ronn Torossian is one of America’s most prolific and respected public relations experts. Torossian is the Founder, President and CEO of 5W Public Relations, one of the 25 largest independent American PR firms, which was named PR Agency of the Year by the American Business Awards. He is the best-selling author of For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results with Game-Changing Public Relations

Source: http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ronn-torossian/the-extremist-radical-new-israel-fund-and-its-funders/

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

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