August 10, 2012

WASHINGTON (JTA) — A New York philanthropist’s pledge to match up to $500,000 in donations to the New Israel Fund’s efforts to combat discrimination against women in Israel has so far brought in $452,700 from 500 donors.

The NIF told JTA on Friday that it hopes to “get over the finish line” and meet Murray Koppelman’s maximum matching pledge by the end of the summer.

Naomi Paiss, the NIF spokeswoman, said most of the donors responding to the ad were new to NIF.

Koppelman and NIF launched the campaign in March, with an ad in the New York Times depicting a poster in Jerusalem defaced because it bore a photograph of a woman.

“Help keep Israel strong, free, and democratic,” the ad said.

Koppelman, a J.P. Morgan vice president and a longtime giver to an array of Jewish and pro-Israel causes, launched the campaign after witnessing the effects of discriminatory laws against women in Iran.

NIF has in recent years warned of an intesification of discrimination against women in some Israeli sectors.

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