A group of Israeli artists and musicians have announced that they will hold a rally in Tel Aviv on Friday in support of the New Israel Fund (NIF). The NIF, which presents itself to its donors as Zionist, came under public scrutiny and accusations of anti-Zionism recently after it was discovered that some of the NGO's it funds support the elimination of Israel as a Jewish State and that 16 of them made false accusations against the IDF.
Friday's rally will be titled “The Independence Party of the New Israel Fund,” a reference to Independence Day, which falls next week.
Among those who plan to attend are singer Tal Gordon, musician Ronit Shachar, singer and actress Marina Maximilian Blumin, singer-songwriter David Broza, guitarist and songwriter Rona Kenan, and actress Anat Weitzman. The artists said their planned rally is a continuation of an earlier expression of support; several writers and other artists recently signed a letter supporting NIF head, former radical leftist MK Naomi Chazan. .
Israel's actors, musicians, and other artists are widely considered to lean further to the left than the general public.
The NIF's support for radical anti-Israel groups was revealed by the Zionist student group Im Tirzu in early 2010. The NIF financed almost all of the NGO's that accused Israel of war crimes in Gaza when appearing before the Goldstone Commission, charges that were relayed to United Nations officials and included in the Goldstone report.
For INN writer's report on the New Israel Fund, click here.
In light of the damaging and anti- Zionist accusations, the Knesset appointed a special subcommittee to look into the issue of foreign-funded Israeli NGOs. Ms. Chazan was fired from her JPost position when she sued the paper for writing about her involvement and a trip in which she was to address Zionist groups in Australia was cancelled.