Over the past few years, the Israeli left and its supporters have become targets for right-wing attacks. Its movements, foundations and human rights groups have been harassed by the right and its representatives in the establishment and the Knesset, with the latter initiating anti-democratic legislation intended to hurt them. Of all those groups facing this intimidation, the New Israel Fund (NIF) tops the list. It is one of the strongest, most active charitable organizations in Israel, dedicated to promoting social and civic initiatives, and advancing pluralism and equal rights throughout the country.

The first group to take aim at the NIF was “Im Tirtzu,” a movement that defines its mission as “to bring Zionism back to the center.” It talks about the importance of the flag and the national anthem, about restoring the “Zionist dialogue,” and about the struggle against anything it perceives as being anti-Zionist. It is in the name of these catchphrases, most of which sound like some attempt to increase national pride, that Im Tirtzu launched a crass, often violent struggle against anyone it regarded as its opponent.

In May 2010, the movement published a report dealing with a supposed “anti-Zionist trend” in the country’s universities. The report paid particular attention to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, which was actually the subject of its own, special report in November 2011. As part of its conflict with the university, Im Tirtzu approached donors in Europe and the United States, and demanded that they stop contributing to the institution, claiming that the university employs anti-Zionist lecturers who are harmful to Israel. This campaign caused considerable damage to the university and created an intolerable situation. Ben-Gurion University is, after all, an important institution and the only school in the country’s south that offers students a chance to pursue academic studies. Now, however, it found itself fighting for academic freedom and freedom of expression for its lecturers.

The NIF was Im Tirtzu’s second target. According to the movement, the NIF funded groups that provided information deleterious to Israel to the Goldstone Commission, appointed by the United Nations to investigate Israel’s December 2008 conflict with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. With this, the NIF was deemed responsible for the commission's harsh criticism of Israel and its implications, and professor Naomi Chazan, who headed the NIF, was marked as an enemy of the people. An ad campaign run by Im Tirtzu against the NIF featured a caricature of Chazan with a horn on her head [the Hebrew word keren, literally “horn,” also means “foundation” or “fund”]. The slogans beneath it read, “Naomi’s horn [foundation] is a danger to the state,” and “The New Israel Fund headed by Naomi Chazan funded Goldstone’s libel against the IDF [Israel Defense Forces].”