Inside Israel’s Fight for Democracy: A Conversation with NIF Israel Director Shira Ben-Sasson

Join us for a timely and important conversation with Shira Ben-Sasson, Director of the New Israel Fund in Israel.

Amidst the multiple crises of the past three years, NIF and our partners have continued to fight for the Israel that we believe in -- a more just, equal, and democratic society that guarantees dignity and safety for all Israelis and Palestinians.

The past month has been marked by violence, global uncertainty, and concern both for loved ones in Israel and all people across the Middle East. As the war with Iran continues, NIF is showing up where the need is greatest: in unrecognized Bedouin villages that have no bomb shelters, when the government cracks down on freedom of speech, and in the West Bank, where violent extremists continue to force Palestinians off their land.

Israeli civil society leaders are looking ahead as well. In this conversation Shira will share how NIF is thinking strategically about the upcoming election, building a stronger ecosystem of activists and organizations, and creating the conditions that make peace and democracy possible.

Shira Ben-Sasson is the Director of NIF Israel. She previously served as the Associate Director and Director of the Development and International Relations Department, Chief of Staff, and spent ten years working as a grants and program officer at the NIF and Shatil, focusing on the issues of Jewish pluralism and religious freedom. Shira was the director of the Jewish Pluralism Watch, the Masorti (Conservative) Movement's Knesset watch. She also served as the director of iRep-Israel Religious Expression Platform, at the Jewish Federations of North America, and worked at the Knesset research and information center. Shira holds BA and MA degrees in sociology and anthropology from the Hebrew University, and lives in Jerusalem.