It has been learned that a recent trip to Ireland by senior members of Israel Police was financed by the left-wing Abraham Fund, prompting criticism and even an outcry from within the department. Some higher-ups in the department are questioning how a politically affiliated organization is permitted to fund an Israel Police official function.
The head of the departments Human Resources Branch, Major-General (Nitzav) Amichai Shai was accompanied by a number of other senior officers to Ireland where they attended a conference on dealing with minorities and ethnic-related unrests. An investigation revealed the entire event was arranged and funded by the Abraham Fund.
Opponents explain that Chabad is banned from police facilities, not permitted to put tefillin on members of the force or distribute jelly donuts on Chanukah because they are aligned with the political right-wing, and here, the left-wing organization is funding trips for senior officers.
Police officials released a response, stating the trip was indeed approved by the department, and it was paid for in part by Israel Police and the remainder of the funding came from the Abraham Fund.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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One Response
The Abraham Fund takes great exception to its characterization as a “left wing” organization by Yeshiva World News. The Abraham Fund was established in 1989 as a non-partisan, non-political organization aimed at advancing a safe and secure Israel through promoting coexistence and cooperation among its Jewish and Arab citizens. The Abraham Fund does no work outside of Israel, and takes no political positions whatsoever regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or other cross-border (or demestic) political matters.
Over the years, we have enjoyed productive working relations with Israeli governments across the political spectrum, precisely because of our non-political character. Following the traumatic events of October 2000, for example, we were invited by the Israel Police to provide training and guidance around how the police might improve its relations with Israel’s Arab community, and reduce the chances that such deadly violence might occur in the future. The recent study mission to Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom, sponsored jointly by the Police and The Abraham Fund, was one element of this study process, designed to bring learnings from other international settings as to how police can be a constructive force in managing the sometimes-tense relations between majority and minority communities.
Such efforts are neither left nor right; they are simply attempts by important Israeli institutions to advance their learning and to provide fair and equal services to all Israeli citizens who they are obligated to serve. The Abraham Fund is proud to lend its expertise to these processes.