About Us

Sussex Friends of Israel (SFI) is dedicated to developing greater support, awareness and understanding of Israel through education, communication and community partnership.

Our Vision

• We aim to educate our community in the history, culture and identity of Israel and Israeli society.
• We are committed to fair, honest and open communication with the Sussex community to encourage greater awareness, understanding and support of Israel.
• We will foster strong relationships between the peoples of Sussex and Israel to build a better mutual understanding.
• We will partner with Sussex community organisations and develop trusted relationships.
• We will engage meaningfully with those working towards a peaceful, just, democratic and lasting resolution of the conflict between Israel and its neighbours.
• We are committed to ensuring there is balance in any debate about Israel and encourage reconciliation between Jews and Arabs.
• We will seek recognition from the widest Sussex community that a secure and confident Israel is a vital component of achieving peace.

Our Code of Conduct

The Sussex Friends of Israel (SFI) Code of Conduct is the ethical framework which every supporter and stakeholder is expected to observe. It is based on the principles of respect, responsibility and integrity.

Respect, Responsibility and Integrity

SFI supporters and stakeholders are committed to applying these principles in their daily activities and to insure balance and honesty in debate, an adherence to the law, acting honorably and treating each other with respect.

Specifically:

• SFI seeks to honour individual, cultural and role differences, including (but not exclusively) those involving age, disability, education, ethnicity, gender, language, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, marital or family status and socio-economic status.
• SFI respects the opinions, knowledge, insight, experience and expertise of all members of the general public.
• SFI avoids practices that are unfair, illegal or prejudiced. Supporters should be willing and able to explain the basis of personal ethical decision-making.
• SFI seeks to be honest, accurate and lawful in its representations.

SFI stakeholders should aim to refrain from harassment – unwelcome verbal, offensive, abusive or physical behavior – especially when
such conduct interferes with another person or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment.

The underlying philosophical approach in this code is part of the ‘British eclectic tradition’. It seeks to ensure that moral principles and codes function act as guidelines for thinking about all decisions that need to be made.

Respect, responsibility and integrity are the collective responsibility of everyone associating with Sussex Friends of Israel.

Editorial Guidelines

SFI is committed to delivering the highest editorial and ethical standards when disseminating on-line content across all communications platforms including, but not limited to, the SFI website, Facebook and Twitter.

To help maintain SFI’s reputation the following guidelines are designed to constitute a framework for acceptable on-line communication.

• SFI’s editorial values are governed by the organisation’s values. SFI’s purpose is to educate, build engagement and trust, inform and offer balance in debate. Its editorial content must always be consistent with its values.
• SFI strives to be accurate and truthful in clear, precise language. It seeks to be open and honest and to avoid unfounded speculation. The expertise and knowledge of individuals expressing opinions under the SFI banner of its will bring authority to debate.
• SFI strives to be fair and open-minded, explore a range of points of view, objective in its approach and even handed in its judgements.
• SFI respects the fundamental human right to exerise freedom of thought, conscience and religion. SFI’s duty is to avoid unjustified offense or likely harm. It seeks to achieve this by providing an on-line forum for constructive comment – even when opinions become contentious – without denigrating others’ beliefs.
• SFI’s content is based on fairness, openness and straight talking and a commitment to respect privacy.
• SFI seeks to be transparent in the content of its communications and to provide editorial and moderation control.
• SFI is accountable to its audience and will deal fairly and openly with them. The continuing trust in SFI is a crucial facet of its contact with its audience. SFI will be open in admitting mistakes and encourage a culture of willingness to learn from them.

Respect, responsibility and integrity are the collective responsibility of everyone associating with Sussex Friends of Israel.