Introduction

NGO Monitor has analyzed the 2015 financial reports of the New Israel Fund (NIF), detailing grants to a wide variety of Israeli non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Our analysis focuses on the 18% of NIF funding authorized to 25 advocacy NGOs that are also funded by European governments and active in political campaigns that involve, to different degrees, demonization of Israel, including BDS and lawfare.

NIF’s financial documents also show:

• Expenses in 2015 were $31 million, approximately the same as in 2014. Total revenue was $33 million, an 11% increase from 2014 ($30 million).
•  Total authorized grants were approximately $13.8 million in 2015, a 5.8% decrease from 2014 ($14.7 million). (See Table 1.)

Table 1: Overview of NIF Finances 2013-2015

*Data from NIF 2015 Financial Report
**Donor advised grants are a subset listed in the NIF website under “Grants of 2015,” in which individual donors designate the grantees, with the approval of the NIF.

Key Findings

• The amounts listed in the annual financial statements comprise both “Core Grants” directly from the NIF and “Donor Advised” grants. An online report details the division between these two funding formats.
• A number of NGOs involved in political activities related to the demonization of Israel continue to be funded by NIF, as documented by NGO Monitor.
• In 2015, authorized grants to these 25 political advocacy NGOs amounted to $2.5 million, a 6.6% decrease from 2014. (See Table 2.) It is not clear if this represents a change in policy or reflects a pattern of multiyear grants.
• Many of the advocacy NGOs receive more “donor advised” funds than NIF core grants, suggesting that these donors have a major role in setting the NIF agenda. (See Table 3.) This also suggests the need for a discussion of the relationship of these donors and their preferred grantees within the NIF network.
• As of 2015, it appears from the data that NIF no longer funds Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement (SJSM) and Social TV.
• In addition to NIF funding, the 25 listed NGOs receive substantial direct and indirect funding from European governments. (See Table 4.) Inasmuch as NIF funding “reflect[s] [] progressive values” and is geared toward strengthening the “progressive camp in Israel,” this funding suggests that European governments are attempting to achieve the same political and ideological objectives in the Israeli democratic context.

Table 2: Multiyear Review of Authorized Grants to Political NGOs (2011 – 2015, USD)

Table 3: Division between core and donor advised grants (USD)

Table 4: Foreign government funding as reported quarterly by NIF-supported NGOs (2015, USD)