Whether the New Israel Fund is “anti-Israel” or not is a matter of opinion; whether it is “in favor of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel” is a matter of fact.
A June 15 Editor’s Note said, “The New Israel Fund, according to its website, ‘opposes the global (or general) BDS movement, views its use of these tactics as counterproductive, and is concerned that segments of this movement seek to undermine the existence of the state of Israel. NIF will not fund global BDS activities against Israel nor support organizations that have global BDS programs.’”
The editor is correct: NIF’s website does say that. What the editor failed to note, however, is that the NIF website goes on to say, “NIF will not exclude support for organizations that discourage the purchase of goods or use of services from settlements.”
Jewish Week readers ought not be misled, whether intentionally or unintentionally. NIF says it doesn’t support so-called “global (or general) BDS,” but it does support it when more selectively directed at so-called “settlements.” And the truth of the matter, inconvenient though it may be, is that NIF-supported organizations have called for sanctions against the Jewish state and for pension funds to divest from Israel.
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