HaMoked

HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual founded by Dr. Lotte Salzberger is an Israeli human rights organization. The organization was established in 1988 against the backdrop of the first Intifada in order to help Palestinians injured as a result of the “broken bones” policy, and was at first called “The Hotline for Victims of Violence.”

As Palestinians from the Israel Occupied Territories of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem turned to HaMoked with other complaints about the occupying authorities, the organization expanded its activities to handle a wide range of human rights violations: Detainee Rights: torture; administrative detention; family prison visitation and conditions of detention; tracing individuals whose site of detention is unknown.

Family Unification and Residency Rights: processing requests for unification; registering children in the Population Register; registering children in the National Insurance Institute and the health insurance funds; arranging visitation permits, and return of deportees. Freedom of Movement: closure; roadblocks; siege; curfew; entry from abroad; leaving the territories; passage between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Violence committed by security forces and settlers: death; injury; beatings; pillage and vandalism; confiscation of property and of identification documents; damage to property; brutality and threats; theft; advocacy for accountability, legal action and access to justice. Other issues dealt with include demolition of houses, deportation, and respect for the dead.

HaMoked’s main objective is to assist Palestinians whose rights are violated by the Israeli authorities or as a result of Israeli policy. Once a complaint is received, HaMoked contacts the relevant authorities, for instance the Civil Authority, the Military Attorney General, the State Attorney General, or any of a variety of governmental offices. When necessary, HaMoked files legal claims and submits petitions to the High Court of Justice. Concurrently, HaMoked endeavors to bring about changes in policy by the authorities and to implement legislative amendments that would improve the status of human rights in the Territories and East Jerusalem.

HaMoked operates an Emergency Human Rights Hotline in order to attempt to offer real time solutions by working vis-à-vis relevant authorities in the field. Emergency situations include those arising from restrictions on movement within the territories; from violence; from delays in the evacuation of the injured, the sick, and women in labor; and from the blockage of humanitarian aid such as food, medicine and water.

HaMoked’s team numbers thirty, and includes both Jews and Arabs. HaMoked’s departments include the legal department; the client intake service which maintains contact with the complainant; the client advocacy service responsible for contact with the relevant authorities and all follow-up; the information department and administrative support services.
Since its inception HaMoked has handled more than 32,000 complaints.

[…] After more than thirty years of military rule in the territories, the security establishment has grown accustomed to the idea that in the bureaucratic planning process, the welfare of the Palestinian inhabitants will always come last, necessarily following other considerations. These priorities have created a situation untenable for the Palestinians:
- Depth of barrier vs. creating Palestinian enclaves
- Depth of barrier vs. cutting villagers off their farmlands
- Segregation of population vs. access to essential services

B’Tselem

B'Tselem – The Israeli 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.

B'Tselem in Hebrew literally means "in the image of," and is also used as a synonym for human dignity. The word is taken from Genesis 1:27 "And God created humans in his image. In the image of God did He create him." It is in this spirit that the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "All human beings are born equal in dignity and rights."

As an Israeli human rights organization, B'Tselem acts primarily to change Israeli policy in the Occupied Territories and ensure that its government, which rules the Occupied Territories, protects the human rights of residents there and complies with its obligations under international law.

B'Tselem is independent and is funded by contributions from foundations in Israel, Europe, and North America that support human rights activity worldwide, and by private individuals in Israel and abroad.

B'Tselem has attained a prominent place among human rights organizations. In December 1989 it received the Carter-Menil Award for Human Rights. Its reports have gained B'Tselem a reputation for accuracy and the Israeli authorities relate to them seriously. B'Tselem ensures the reliability of information it publishes by conducting its own fieldwork and research, whose results are thoroughly cross-checked with relevant documents, official government sources, and information from other sources, among them Israeli, Palestinian, and other human rights organizations.

Human rights organizations – those who air Israel’s dirty laundry in public – are rightly perceived as undermining the propaganda efforts of Israel abroad. It is a testament to our effectiveness that we engender such condemnations.

The strength of human rights advocacy rests on the accuracy of our information and analysis. We hurt our cause when we resort to exaggerations and hyperbole. It is clear that hurling more groundless accusations will not end the violence. It merely escalates mutual hostilities. There are truths in this conflict, but they are not truths that can always be easily condensed into a black and white sound bite or a photomontage. To end the violence we do not need more partisans in the propaganda war. Instead we need advocates for justice to speak the truth, and to hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations.