Resources: Israeli-Palestinian Human Rights Groups

ICIPP, the Israeli Council for Israeli-Palestinian Peace, was formed in late 1975 by a group of prominent Israeli Zionists as a private Israeli initiative in response to signs of moderation that they perceived in the Palestinian national movement and that the Israeli Government seemed intent on ignoring. Among the founders of the Israeli Council were the late Major General Matti Peled, who had been a member of the general staff of the Israeli Defense Forces in 1967; the well-known journalist Uri Avneri; and the late economist Dr. Ya'akov Arnon, a former head of the Dutch Zionist Federation and director-general of the Israeli Finance Ministry.

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Amir Terkel’s army days are years behind him, but never far from his mind.

“I’ve been haunted by thoughts of the children I’ve seen standing in the rubble of their homes later becoming militants or terrorists,” he said.

So, shortly after completing his service in the Israel Defense Forces, he began to volunteer with an agency that helped rebuild Palestinian homes.

“Many Palestinian children never see Israeli faces except those of soldiers,” said Terkel, 35. “I think as an Israeli, building homes that were illegally destroyed by my government in my name is one of the more constructive things I can do.”

Then he moved to Berkeley. The filmmaker and graphic designer thought his activism was over.

But he soon found a way to continue his cause when he learned of a Palo Alto nonprofit that works with Israelis, Arabs and Palestinians to rebuild homes and schools in the West Bank and Gaza.

“When you don’t meet those who you deem your enemy, you can’t put a face on the conflict, and there’s no chance of healing or progress,” Terkel said. “So I was delighted to hear about the Rebuilding Alliance.”
http://www.jewishsf.com

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B'TSELEM - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories was established in 1989 by a group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists, and Knesset members. It endeavors to document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories, combat the phenomenon of denial prevalent among the Israeli public, and help create a human rights culture in Israel.

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If you are not on the email mailing list and want to be, please email rebecca AT bustan.org

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FridgeMagnet said:

Off-topic posts deleted. No more please.

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aayush was started by people who, though not lacking in political experience, were no longer willing to act within their former frameworks. People new to this type of activity joined them. In November 2000, a busload of activists from Tel Aviv and Kufr Qassem went on a solidarity visit to Umm el-Fahm – the town that had become a symbol in those days - to hear about the goings-on directly from parents of the detainees, to break the isolation and total boycott that the Jewish public placed on its Arab neighbors; to hear about shortages in fuel, baby food and commodities in general. The suggestion was made to enter the Occupied Territories in food convoys. “One hundred” private cars, someone said, and provoked bitter snickers. “Where would we get a hundred cars?” The food convoy was meant to be a kind of motorized demonstration to the public – no fanfares. Food, aid – these would be the signs of solidarity.

From its earliest days, Taayush has produced action only, neither manifestos nor ideological debates. The group that consolidated wanted to reverse the usual scale of priorities: after realizing that declarations do not always stand the test of ‘moments of truth’, action was chosen as the way to demonstrate a refusal to accept the repetition of incursions, and to be present where things took place. Direct, non-violent action was the path chosen, as well as decision-making by consensus. Taayush formulated a position paper by the end of December 2000, but its fine-points took up too much time and energy. It was decided to put off this task, and gain the participation of everyone who identified with the actions that were planned to express clear positions. Protest by actual doing, by outspoken negation of the separation between Arabs and Jews in Israel in every realm of life, and of the Occupation itself, of starvation, closure, movement limitations and military incursions that Israel practices in the Occupied Territories.

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Bitterlemons.org is a website that presents Israeli and Palestinian viewpoints on prominent issues of concern. It focuses on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and peace process. It is produced, edited and partially written by Ghassan Khatib, a Palestinian, and Yossi Alpher, an Israeli. Its goal is to contribute to mutual understanding through the open exchange of ideas. Bitterlemons.org aspires to impact the way Palestinians, Israelis and others worldwide think about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Bitterlemons.org is directed toward the interested public and policymakers in the region and elsewhere. Each weekly edition of bitterlemons.org is posted on our website. Readers can obtain a free subscription by entering their email address in the space provided on the home page or by writing to subscribehtml@bitterlemons.org (for the HTML version) or subscribetext@bitterlemons.org (for the text version).

Other questions may be referred to bitterlemons@bitterlemons.org.

Each edition addresses a specific issue of controversy. Articles by Alpher and Khatib are accompanied by additional articles by, or interviews with, a prominent Israeli and a prominent Palestinian--selected by the appropriate editor. No intelligent and articulate views are considered taboo.

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Adalah is an independent human rights organization, registered in Israel. It is a non-profit, non-governmental, and non-partisan legal center. Established in November 1996, it serves Arab citizens of Israel, numbering over one million people or close to 20% of the population. Adalah ("Justice" in Arabic) works to protect human rights in general, and the rights of the Arab minority in particular.
Adalah's main goals are to achieve equal individual and collective rights for the Arab minority in Israel in different fields including land rights; civil and political rights; cultural, social, and economic rights; religious rights; women's rights; and prisoners' rights.

In order to achieve these goals, Adalah:

Brings cases before Israeli courts and various state authorities regarding the rights of the Arab minority.
Advocates for legislation that will ensure equal individual and collective rights for the Arab minority.
Provides legal consultation to individuals, non-governmental organizations, and Arab institutions.
Appeals to international institutions and forums in order to promote the rights of the Arab minority in particular, and human rights in general.
Organizes study days, seminars, and workshops, and publishes reports on legal issues concerning the rights of the Arab minority in particular, and human rights in general.
Trains stagiaires (legal apprentices), law students, and new Arab lawyers in the field of human rights.

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Rabbis for Human Rights is the rabbinic voice of conscience in Israel.
Rabbis for Human Rights was established with the purpose of giving voice to the Zionist ideal and the Jewish religious tradition of human rights.
Rabbis for Human Rights has no affiliation with any political party or ideology.
Rabbis for Human Rights, founded in 1988,, includes over one hundred ordained rabbis and rabbinical students. Its members are Israeli citizens.
Rabbis for Human Rights is the only Israeli rabbinical organization comprised of Reform, Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist and Renewal rabbis and students. Among its members are rabbis in national leadership positions, as well as educators and congregational rabbis capable of influencing change from the grass roots.
Rabbis for Human Rights is an important outlet for information on pressing human rights issues in Israel and the Middle East, and is frequently quoted in the Israeli and world media
Rabbis for Human Rights is widely respected by other human rights organizations and journalists, and it maintains an extensive international mailing list.
Rabbis for Human Rights has championed the cause of the poor, supported the rights of Israel’s minorities and the Palestinians, worked to stop the abuse of foreign workers, endeavored to guarantee the upkeep of Israel’s public health care system, promoted the equal status of women, helped Ethiopian Jews, and battled trafficking in women.
Rabbis for Human Rights has mobilized thousands of volunteers to stand for justice in hundreds of activities on these and other issues.
Rabbis for Human Rights reflects a Zionist commitment to the values of justice and equality, as expressed in Israel’s Declaration of Independence. It also demonstrates its understanding of a Jewish responsibility to defy silent complicity, to bring specific human rights grievances to the attention of the Israeli public, and to pressure the appropriate authorities for their redress.
Rabbis for Human Rights mandate is twofold. Alongside efforts to prevent human rights abuses, Rabbis for Human Rights endeavors to introduce an authentic and humanistic understanding of Jewish tradition and sources into Israel’s public discourse. While the increasingly dominant nationalistic and particularistic understanding of Judaism echoes loudly, Rabbis for Human Rights gives voice to the tradition’s concern for the stranger and others vulnerable within society.
Rabbis for Human Rights has been endorsed by the Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist rabbinical organizations in North America, and by the Reform and Liberal rabbinical organizations in England.
Rabbis for Human Rights received in 1993 “The Speaker of the Knesset’s Award for the Quality of Life in the Field of Enhancing the Rule of Law and Democratic Values, Protecting Human Rights, and Encouraging Tolerance and Mutual Respect.”
Rabbis for Human Rights received in 2006 the prestigious Niwano Peace Prize for its efforts to promote peace in an interfaith context.

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