This year, CIESJ has made $23,600 in donations from its Dollars for Israel Fund and ARZA Fund accounts.  These donations have been used to support nine organizations at the front lines of the progressive movement.  The work of these organizations has contributed to supporting the Reform Movement’s efforts to preserve democracy and human rights; providing legal representation to battle reactionary laws and police behavior; combatting misrepresentations of fact in social media; organizing young people to join protest demonstrations; bringing opposition to the occupation into the democratic movement; and assessing public opinion to better message democratic appeals.  The organizations to which we have donated are:

• $3,600 to the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism (IMPJ), including the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), which are out on the frontlines of the Reform Movement, actively protesting and advocating to keep Israel democratic and Jewish – from the streets of Tel Aviv and other cities to the highest courts, and from municipal and regional councils to Knesset committees. They are mobilizing with Reform rabbinic leadership, volunteers and members, the Israel Reform youth movement andmechina leadership, and with partner organizations in Israel.
• $1,000 to the New Israel Fund’s “The Hub,” New Israel Fund (NIF) which is an operations center for protecting pro-democracy organizations and activists pushing back against the government’s extreme agenda.  This includes legal assistance for protection against actions designed to silence activists, journalists and whistleblowers. 
• $1,000 to Standing Together (Omdim Beyachad) English | standing-together organizes Jews and Arabs throughout Israel around campaigns for peace, equality, and social justice.  They have been involved in coordinating over 30 organizations for protests and organizing solidarity visits to the Palestinian village of Huwara, the object of a violent settler attack.
• $3,000 to the Movement for Quality Government. The Movement for Quality Government in Israel (mqgisrael.org). This established good government organization has a long record of fighting for democratic institutions and against corruption. In the current crisis, it is actively opposing the new government’s efforts to undermine the judicial system and the rule of law, politicize the police, and enable corrupt politicians to evade prosecution.   
• $3,000 to the New Israel Fund’s Anti-Occupation Bloc. Organized by NIF and its operating arm, Shatil, this is a collaboration of several organizations to bring into the protests the issue of the occupation, which is often ignored when advocating for Israeli democracy.  The objective is to persuade people that Israel’s democracy cannot exist while it occupies another country.  
• $3,000 to Mehazkim (“Strengthening”). About Us – מחזקים (mehazkim.org.il).  Mehazkim is a key organization in the fight for democracy through disseminating pro-democracy content to millions of Israelis through various social media platforms.  Mehazkim supplies logistical and graphic support for, and coordination of, the activities of many of the protests throughout Israel.  The organization supports the anti-corruption movement and has established an initiative to combat malicious online activity.  Mehazkim has led dozens of campaigns against incitement and racism, and for social justice and human rights. 
• $3,000 to aChord Center of Hebrew University — Vision | aChord Center (huji.ac.il). This is a leading academic center that is using social science research to promote shared society in education, employment, leadership, and media.  Its work is currently being used in the effort to develop issues and refine messaging that could persuade a broader segment of Israelis expand their pro-democracy commitment and to join the fight for democracy.
• $3,000 to Forum for Regional Thinking — The Regional Thinking Forum (regthink.org). This organization seeks to enrich Israeli discourse, by offering fresh perspectives on the Middle East that diverge from the usual security “us vs. them” discourse that dominates current discussions, in order to include a more complex view of Arab societies and Israel’s potential relationships with them.
• $3,000 to Terrestrial Jerusalem —About Terrestrial Jerusalem – Terrestrial Jerusalem (t-j.org.il)   This organization is dedicated to preserving a shared Jewish and Palestinian presence in Jerusalem, to respecting the status and communal stability of Jerusalem, and to preventing violence and humanitarian crises in the city.  Its work has been critical to highlighting the encroachment of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the strangulation of Palestinian neighborhoods.

These donations are made possible by contributions from temple members. You can help support additional donations by contributing here.