INVITATION: Preventing Jewish-Arab Violence within the Green Line

In May 2021, a period of fear and violence shook Israel: A conflict that started in Jerusalem expanded into Gaza, and soon boomeranged and escalated inside the Green Line. Interethnic violence erupted in Israel’s mixed cities, where the country’s Jewish and Palestinian citizens live side-by-side, leading to death and destruction. Following the devastating October 7 attacks, however, there has been no repetition of intercommunal conflict inside Israel, in spite of the efforts of those seeking to incite racism and violence.

What has Israeli civil society learned from the past to prevent such violence and how might it apply those lessons in the future so that Jews and Arabs can come together across differences?

To discuss these questions and more, join us on Wednesday, February 28, at 9am PT / 12pm ET for a webinar discussion featuring our Co-Deputy CEOs, Shahira Shalaby and Ruth Lewin-Chen, and moderated by Partners for Progressive Israel board member, Professor Sam Fleischacker. There will be time at the end for audience Q&A. Register here to take part in this crucial conversation, which is cosponsored by Partners for Progressive Israel and The Abraham Initiatives. 

I hope to see you there!

Sincerely,

Lydia Woolley
North American Program Director

RSVP HERE

Shahira Shalaby is Co-Deputy CEO at The Abraham Initiatives, where she oversees our work in mixed cities. She is the former Deputy Mayor of Haifa, a former city councilor, and was among the founders of the Palestinian Feminist Movement in Israel. She has established several initiatives and organizations working to improve the status of Arab women in Israel and has consulted for social change organizations on issues of leadership, strategic thinking, teamwork, developing and managing resources, and community work. She is a group facilitator, specializing in dialogue, conflict resolution, and facilitator training. She holds a Masters' degree in religious studies and a Bachelor's degree in social work. 

Ruth Lewin-Chen is Co-Deputy CEO at The Abraham Initiatives, and previously led The Abraham Initiatives' Mixed Cities program. Her skillset comes from her experience directing conflict resolution programs and advocating for the representation of women in decision-making positions in the local council of Mevasseret. For the past decade, Ruth has been promoting a shared society in Israel, mainly through the facilitation of dialogue groups of Arab and Jewish youth and by developing knowledge on social movements with Shatil. Ruth holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology and Comparative Literature and a Master’s in Organizational Sociology from Hebrew University.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to lydia@abrahaminitiatives.org with any questions.

Jewish Currents

Wednesday, February 28th at 1pm ET:

Gaza is the deadliest place in the world to be a journalist today. More than 75% of media workers killed worldwide in 2023 have died in Israel’s assault on the besieged enclave. In the occupied West Bank, too, Israel’s jailing of Palestinian journalists has reached an all-time high, with the Committee to Protect Journalists raising the alarmabout Israel’s harassment of reporters and the silencing of their coverage.

Join us for a discussion on how this lethal environment for journalists is impacting our ability to understand what’s happening on the ground, what it says about the future of covering conflict zones safely, and the latest efforts to hold the Israeli government accountable for these attacks. We will also discuss the challenges that journalists around the world face in covering Israel’s war on Gaza accurately and ethically.

This event is sponsored by Just Vision, Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU), +972 Magazine, the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA), and theCommittee to Protect Journalists.

Read More & Register Here

SPEAKERS:

Fadi Abu Shammalah is a Palestinian journalist from Gaza who was recently evacuated with his family to the US via Egypt, and who still has colleagues trying to report what is happening on the ground as Israel closes in on Rafah. He also serves as a Just Vision outreach associate. You can read more about his experience in this New York Times op-ed.

Karen Attiah is a columnist at The Washington Postwho has written and posted extensively about the impact of Israel’s war on journalists and other civilians (“Where is the outrage over Israel’s killing of journalists in Gaza?”). Karen was the winner of the 2019 George Polk Award as well as the 2019 Journalist of the Year Award from the National Association of Black Journalists. She has been a fierce advocate for accountability and justice since agents of Saudi Arabia killed her late colleague, Saudi-American journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Gypsy Guillén Kaiser is the advocacy and communications director for the Committee to Protect Journalists, which is investigating and documenting the plight of Palestinian journalists. Their most recent reports are available here.

Haggai Matar is the executive director of +972 Magazine, an independent, nonprofit online magazine run by a group of Palestinian and Israeli journalists. He is also co-director, together with Just Vision’s Suhad Babaa, of the Hebrew-language news site Local Call, and serves on the board of the Union of Journalists in Israel.

Julia Bacha (moderator) is Just Vision’s creative director and a filmmaker who directed movies includingBudrus (2009) and Boycott (2021).

Join Us On Wednesday, February 28th

Confronting Grief Meet the Newly Bereaved

Maoz Inon is one of the newest bereaved members of the Parents Circle – Families Forum. Inon’s parents were killed on October 7th, 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel. Mohamed Abu Jafar, a Palestinian member of the Parents Circle, lost his brother in 2002 when he was killed by Israeli soldiers.

Join us for a conversation between Maoz and Mohamed on how they are confronting grief and the work of bereaved peacemakers during a time of war.

Confronting Grief: Meet the Newly Bereaved webinar recording December 19, 2023

Frontier Markets at COP28

From Ajaita Shah

Dear All,

We are looking forward to seeing you at COP 28 this year!

 We're thrilled to announce that Frontier Markets and Frontier Innovations Foundation will have a presence at COP 28 this year.

We will be introducing our new initiative: "She Leads Bharat: Mahila Kisaan.” which aims to unlock the potential of 1 million small women farmers as climate champions of rural India through women facilitators, digital platforms, and market solutions in agriculture, renewable, energy and finance. This initiative is powered by Frontier Innovation Foundation’s “She-Leads Impact Fund,” a $20MN blended capital facility aimed to unlock markets and private sector capital for women. This first-of-its-kind catalytic capital fund was initiated by women leaders to harness the power of grant funding, corporate partnerships, and technology designed by women for women.

Our ultimate goal is to enable 1 million women digital facilitators who will positively impact the lives of 100 million women by 2030. The inaugural investments of the She Leads Impact Fund will focus on inclusive finance and climate interventions in India.

I am looking forward to speaking at several amazing COP 28 events this coming week thanks to amazing partners like Kite Insights, Edelman, EY, Adelphi, and of course, 2X. I'm looking forward to sharing insights and learning from the discussions at the summit.

Reach out if you want to chat more or find opportunities to collaborate: https://www.frontiermkts.com/she-leads-bharat

Here are the events – looking forward to seeing you there,

Ajaita

Event 1: Women In Finance and Energy Transition ROI: The new ROI return on impact through women in finance

Diversity is proven to be a competitive advantage across various industries and locations. A recent Blackrock study reveals that companies with more gender-balanced workforces outperformed their least-balanced counterparts by up to 2 percentage points annually from 2013 to 2022. Our panel discusses how gender parity is particularly crucial in the clean energy transition, where women often drive innovative and inclusive solutions. 

We will be discussing the challenges in recruiting and retaining more women at all levels of the energy transition, from fund management and middle management to on-the-ground business ownership. The discussion emphasizes the unique perspectives and skills women bring, the impact of gender parity on decision-making, and the necessary steps to achieve it.

Location: Mubadala Pavilion, Energy Transition Hub, Green Zone

Date : December 4

Time: 15:00 – 16:00

Event 2: 2XG : Gender and climate-smart investing: the key to accelerating climate action

Despite being disproportionately negatively impacted by climate change, women – whether at a global, national or local level, within a political, business or social context – are already leading the charge for climate action. Moreover, as outlined by the UNFCCC women are key critical agents of change to building our society’s resilience and need to have elevated roles in decision-making positions and as users of climate capital. It’s been shown that corporations with robust female leadership have yielded a Return on Equity (ROE) of 10.1% annually, in contrast to the 7.4% for those lacking such leadership. Financing and supporting innovative climate solutions at speed and scale is key to meeting the targets set out by the Paris Agreement and ensuring a just transition. Moreover, advancing and further funding gender- smart adaptation and mitigation climate solutions is a core part of this inclusive pathway. 

We will be discussing our role as a social business leading on gender and climate in India via She-Leads Bharat: Mahila Kisaan, and the opportunities to unlock private sector capital into the Agriculture, Finance and Renewable Energy sectors when investing in women entrepreneurs and women as market drivers.

Location: Technology and Innovation Hub, Green Zone

Date : December 4th

Time : 16:30 - 17:30 GST

Twist the kaleidoscope: Climate, gender and youth.

The roundtable discussion will examine how blended funding is particularly well suited to support young women entrepreneurs advancing solutions related to loss & damage, and adaptation & resilience, and explore what cross-sector, cross-industry and cross-skill collaborative solutions can be deployed towards this aim. How can thinking with a climate, gender, and youth lens help social impact entrepreneurs access the support they need to reach their full potential? 

We are looking forward to sharing our experience in bringing a gender and emerging market lens via She-Leads Bharat: Mahila Kisaan, the blended capital approach via our Foundation to drive pilots around climate gender solutions in India unlocking businesses to take strong interest in rural market, gender, and climate initiatives.

Location: Majlis Room, DP World, Green Zone

Date : 5th December 2023

Time : 10.30-11.30 am

Climate Impact Female Founders Council

ClimateImpact is collaborating with EY to host the third Female Founders Council alongside COP28. In line with COP’s thematic agenda, we will be exploring the topic of Just Transition through varied discussions. 

As Founder of Frontier Markets and Frontier Innovations Foundation, I will be sharing our perspective around where women farmers’ voices and experiences need to be included to design better green and climate interventions in India. Women as climate solvers, women as influencers, women as co-creators, women as the solution for Just Transitions.

Location: The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Date: Tuesday, 5 December

Time: 4-6pm GST

UNFCCC COP 28 Side Event Concept

This event will address key issues of a proactive climate foreign policy: How can cooperation between different partner countries address the climate crisis and accelerate the global energy transition - complementary to the climate negotiation process? How can the phase-out of fossil fuels be realised as quickly as possible, even in countries whose economies are still largely based on corresponding export revenues? How can partnerships be designed in such a way that they are successful for both sides and enable a just transition to a climate-neutral and socially just future?

We are looking forward to sharing our perspective from working in India, the role that Development Finance can play to unlock the potential of gender and climate, and share more about our She-Leads Impact Fund

Location: German Pavilion, Blue Zone

Date: Friday, 8 December

Time: 11:30am - 12:30pm GST

Solidarity: a path to liberation -- Combatants for Peace

Watch the Recording 

Moderator, A'ida Shibli, began the conversation by inviting us to think of our time together as a "ceremony." Through deep listening, silence, and searching, we found comfort, connection, and direction. Moderator, Stephen Apkon, discussed how each time Palestinians and Israelis choose to stand together, especially in times of intense trauma, it is a heroic and sacred act. He reflected, "[Through CfP] I've learned the importance of nonviolence in the work to end the occupation, and I've learned the importance of not dehumanizing anyone because when we do, we dehumanize ourselves." 

It was humbling and powerful to hear from CfP's Palestinian and Israeli activists about their commitment to interdependence.

CfP Israeli Co-Founder, Avner, shared, "We must be open to all of this suffering, to the pain of all people, and be able to hold it...This very sensitivity to human life is our engine and our generator. This very sensitivity has extended our sense of self...To bomb 'them' is to bomb Souli and Rana, and it is to bomb myself..." 

CfP Palestinian Co-Founder, Souli, encouraged us to hold fast to our values, not simply during times of comfort, but in the face of immense challenges and great suffering. When reflecting on "another way", Souli shared, "I feel this voice is really loud now and I feel this can offer an alternative to other people - rather than the voice of darkness or the voice of us vs. them."

Many of you have asked for CfP's recent statement and the poems read during the meeting. Please find links below:

CfP's recent call to actionMahmoud Darwish PoemLeah Goldberg PoemAs a bonus, Stephen Apkon, Director and Producer of "Disturbing the Peace" has generously offered free access to the film. 

Support Combatants for Peace

Combatants for Peace invites us to reject dualistic thinking and choose a third way - a path of safety, dignity, and liberty for all who live on the land. Thank you for your incredible solidarity and support during this time. We will move forward together - holding fast to our values and shared humanity. 

Podcast - Can Violent Extremists Leave Their Past?

Guest host Michael Niconchuk looks for answers with experts Juncal Fernandez-Garayzabal and Noah Tucker.

Violent extremism is growing globally. It doesn’t know religion or creed. Where once it was confined to specific ideology or identity groups, at least in public discourse and discussion, now it appears across societies, across cultures and across borders. Violent extremist ideologies and actions are becoming part of the global fabric.

Why do people get involved in this type of violence? How can they disengage? Can violent extremists be helped to reenter society integrated in healthy, socially positive, empowered ways to engage as productive and peaceful citizens?

In this episode of New Thinking for a New World, guest host Michael Niconchuk looks for answers. Mike, a Tällberg Foundation board member, serves on the Advisory Board of the Counter Extremism Project and is a program manager at the Wend Collective. His guests are Juncal Fernandez-Garayzabal, development and program manager at the Counter Extremism Project, and Noah Tucker,program associate at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs Central Asia Program.

Can violent extremists once again become productive citizens? Can you imagine someone with that history living next door to you? Let us know what you think by commenting below

Listen to the episode here or find the New Thinking for a New World podcast on a platform of your choice (Apple podcast, Spotify, Google podcast, Youtube, etc

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Juncal Fernandez-Garayzabal, Ph.D., is Counter Extremism Project’s (CEP) Development and Program Manager, but she is also one of the co-founders of Parallel Networks, a 501C3 non-profit organization set up to combat polarization, hate and extremism in the United States. Juncal has gained professional experience researching conflicts, forced migrations, organized crime and security. Her research has developed through collaboration in projects with institutions like Georgetown University, the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies and UNICEF Madrid. She also gained hands-on experience in peacebuilding while in Latin America and Africa, where she provided psychosocial support to internally displaced populations and other victims of extremism and violence in post-conflict settings. Since 2019 she has been working to build the capacity of several countries, including the United States, the Republic of the Maldives, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan to effectively rehabilitate and reintegrate individuals returning from conflict areas and those convicted for extremism-related offenses.

Noah Tucker is a program associate at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs Central Asia Program. He was previously Executive Editor for the Not in Our Name film and television series, the first region-wide project designed to prevent violent extremism in Central Asia through community dialogues in areas most directly affected by recruiting to Syria. Noah has worked as a consultant on multiple collaborative projects for government, academic and international organizations to identify the way social and religious groups affect political and security outcomes in Central Asia and Afghanistan. Recent publications include “Uzbek Women in the Syrian Conflict: First-Person Narratives and Gendered Perspectives on Mobilization and De-Mobilization.” Noah has worked on Central Asian issues since 2002—specializing in religion, national identity, ethnic conflict and social media—and received an MA from Harvard in Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies in 2008 and is currently a recipient of the Handa Studentship at the Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St Andrews (Scotland). He has spent some six years living and working in in the region, primarily in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan and works in Russian and Uzbek. He most recently conducted fieldwork and training to support reintegration efforts for returnees from the Syrian conflict in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in October 2023.

ABOUT OUR GUEST HOST

Michael Niconchuk is a researcher and practitioner at the intersection of psychological trauma recovery, migration, and violence prevention. Trained in security studies, international relations, and social cognition, Michael has worked for more than a decade in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Balkans to support local capacities to offer evidence-based care for persons affected by violent conflict, extremism, and displacement, including extensive work on innovative community programs and policy to support the healing and wholeness of folks affected by the Syrian conflict as well as the return and rehabilitation of the families of foreign terrorist fighters in the Middle East. He is the author of The Field Guide for Barefoot Psychology and numerous publications on mental health, identity-based violence, and migration.

Global Maritime Accord Academy: Part 2

See the youtube link here

The Global Maritime Accord (GMA) is the first integrated and coordinated approach towards the harmonized administration and governance of the oceans, especially the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. The GMA Academy (GMAA) is the learning, teaching, research and exchange platform for drafting the GMA.

GMA and GMAA are focused on the health of oceans in a globally shared effort. They aim to strengthen and support the implementation of the Intergovernmental Conference on legally binding instruments under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the safeguarding of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

Members of the Accord development effort include oceanographers, lawyers, environmentalists, diplomats and military security experts, from Australia, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Germany, India, Israel, Netherlands, New Zealand, Kenya, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom and United States.

Honouring the Trail-Blazing Work of Irwin Cotler

An excerpt from the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights:

“We are delighted that Irwin Cotler, our Founder and International Chair, was just awarded the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor, one of the country’s highest civilian awards. It recognizes those who “have made an outstanding contribution to the State of Israel or to humanity.” 

The award honours Irwin’s “unique contribution to the Jewish people” - a contribution celebrated by this short, moving video.

“[Irwin Cotler] is a world-renowned human rights advocate who has made a special contribution in the field of the struggle for human rights, and in the fight against antisemitism, hate crimes, and racism in general.” - Office of President Isaac Herzog

We invite you to congratulate Irwin for this acknowledgement of his decades-long career in tireless defence of human rights, including by combating antisemitism and other forms of hate.

Through your support, we can continue our critical work and build upon the inspirational legacy of our founder. Any contribution goes a long way.

On the Meaning of this Award

"Over the past few years, I have had the immense privilege of working closely with Professor Cotler, including on issues relating to Israel, antisemitism, and the global Jewish community. Over the course of those short years alone - in his role as both International Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and Canada's Special Envoy for Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism - Professor Cotler's tireless contributions have been more than deserving of the Presidential Medal.

And yet, the past few years are merely a glimpse - a microcosm - of Prof. Cotler's lifetime of work on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people. He has been a lifelong advocate for peace and human rights in Israel and the surrounding region. He played a role in the peace process between Egypt and Israel, was deeply involved in organizing humanitarian rescue efforts for both Soviet and Ethiopian Jewry, and has served as a trusted advisor and mentor to Israeli and Jewish leaders across decades and disciplines.

Professor Cotler represents the very best of what Israel and the Jewish people have to offer. He represents an aspirational Israel - one that is Jewish and democratic, prosperous and peaceful. At this juncture, his leadership is more valuable than ever, and the Presidential Medal of Honour is recognition of that."

- Noah Lew, Special Advisor to Irwin Cotler

Honoring Women. Life. Freedom.

From Sousan Abadian: Join us in NYC to honor all Iranians, from every walk of life, ethnicity, religious and political persuasion, who are taking a peaceful stand for needed cultural change and healing, greater freedom and justice.

I'm pleased to announce StopFemicideIran's upcoming event on September 14th to mark the anniversary of the Woman. Life. Freedom revolution in Iran. Please check out the list of amazing speakers who will be joining us in NYC.
The morning event will be held from 9:30 am-12 pm. Please check out this link for additional information. Space is limited. https://bit.ly/3L6borq
Afternoon event features a film festival which is almost SOLD OUT!

Lantos Foundation To Honor Canadian Human Rights Lawyer And Former Justice Minister Irwin Cotler With 2023 Lantos Human Rights Prize

August 8, 2023

Lantos Foundation To Honor Canadian Human Rights Lawyer And Former Justice Minister Irwin Cotler With 2023 Lantos Human Rights Prize

Media contact:

Chelsea Hedquist

press@lantosfoundation.org

August 8, 2023 – The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice today announced that it will award the 2023 Lantos Human Rights Prize, its highest human rights honor, to distinguished Canadian human rights lawyer and former Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler. He will receive the award at a ceremony taking place on October 24, in Washington, DC. Professor Cotler, who was an admired friend and contemporary of the Foundation’s namesake Congressman Tom Lantos, will join the distinguished ranks of Lantos Prize laureates, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the late Professor Elie Wiesel, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, founder of the global Magnitsky movement Bill Browder, and NBA athlete turned activist Enes Kanter Freedom – among other notable figures.

 “I am deeply humbled and honored to be counted among the ranks of Lantos Prize laureates,” said Professor Cotler. “It is especially moving for me as I had the pleasure to know and work with Congressman Lantos – a towering figure in the world of human rights who has inspired my own work – and to work in common cause with the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice.”

For nearly five decades, Professor Cotler has been one of the world’s foremost human rights lawyers and has served as counsel to numerous high-profile prisoners of conscience, including Soviet “refusenik” Natan Sharansky, anti-apartheid activist and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela, Chinese Nobel Peace Laureate Liu Xiaobo, imprisoned Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, Venezuelan political prisoner Leopoldo Lopez, and many others. He developed a unique advocacy model that helped win freedom for many of these prisoners, earning him the well-deserved monikers of “Freedom’s Counsel” and “Counsel for the Oppressed”. This model helps guide the work of advocacy groups and human rights organizations around the world – including the Lantos Foundation, which relied heavily on Professor Cotler’s model during nearly three years of advocacy leading up to the release of 2011 Lantos Prize laureate Paul Rusesabagina.

Today, Professor Colter serves as International Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, the organization he founded to carry forward his lifelong mission of pursuing justice for all people and advancing human rights for the vulnerable and oppressed. In 2020, he was appointed by Canadian Prime Minister Justice Trudeau to serve as Canada’s first ever Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, and he is a powerful voice speaking out against the rising tide of global antisemitism in its many forms. He is also an Emeritus Professor of Law at McGill University.

“The Lantos Foundation is deeply honored to bestow the Lantos Human Rights Prize on a person of Professor Cotler’s stature in the human rights movement – he is, quite simply, a giant in the human rights world,” said Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation. “Over the past many decades when individuals around the world have been denied their fundamental human rights, Professor Cotler has been there on the front lines, defending those who have been left defenseless. Though he is modest to a fault, he has had an outsized and undeniable impact on human rights throughout the world. Despots and dictators surely tremble when they hear that Irwin Cotler has taken up the causes of their political prisoners because there is no one more effective than he at winning freedom for the unjustly imprisoned. I know my late father Congressman Tom Lantos would be delighted to see such a worthy recipient receive the Prize named in his honor.”

Professor Cotler has also had a distinguished political career, as a former Minister of Justice, Attorney General and longtime Member of Parliament in Canada. Throughout his political career, Professor Cotler’s commitment to human rights has always been at the forefront: he initiated Canada’s first-ever law on human trafficking; issued Canada’s first National Justice Initiative Against Racism and Hate; overturned more wrongful convictions in a single year than any prior Minister of Justice; and consistently pushed the Canadian government to make the pursuit of international justice a government priority.

Both Professor Cotler and Congressman Lantos were deeply inspired by the example of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust. Both looked to his example to motivate their own work on human rights and justice. Congressman Lantos’ first act when elected to the U.S. Congress was to introduce a bill conferring honorary American citizenship on Raoul Wallenberg. This act inspired Professor Cotler and others to push for Canadian honorary citizenship for Wallenberg, as well, which became a reality only a few years after Congressman Lantos’ bill was signed into law.

The 2023 Lantos Prize will be conferred at an invitation only ceremony in DC. More details about the ceremony will be forthcoming for members of the media. The Lantos Human Rights Prize has been awarded annually since 2009 (see a full list of laureates here). It is given to a human rights champion or champions each year to help draw attention to human rights violations around the world and to encourage governments to make human rights a priority on equal footing with other policy decisions. The Lantos Prize is named for Congressman Tom Lantos, who co-founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus – which was reconstituted as the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission following his passing.

###

About the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice: The Lantos Foundation was established in 2008 to carry forward the legacy of Congressman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to the U.S. Congress and a leading human rights champion. The Foundation works with a range of partners and often in cooperation with the U.S. Government on issues that span the globe. The Foundation’s key areas of focus include human rights issues related to religious freedom, rule of law, internet freedom and activist art. The Foundation also administers the Lantos Congressional Fellows Program, supports human rights advocates, activists and artists through its Front Line Fund grant program, and awards the annual Lantos Human Rights Prize to honor and bring attention to heroes of the human rights movement. Past recipients of the Prize include His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Professor Elie Wiesel, the real-life hero of Hotel Rwanda Paul Rusesabagina, Israeli President Shimon Peres, Iraqi Parliamentarian Vian Dakhil, Hong Kong Democracy activist Joshua Wong, Bill Browder, the driving force behind the global Magnitsky movement, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative Bryan Stevenson, among others.

The Elephant in the Room

We, academics and other public figures from Israel/Palestine and abroad, call attention to the direct link between Israel’s recent attack on the judiciary and its illegal occupation of millions of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Palestinian people lack almost all basic rights, including the right to vote and protest. They face constant violence: this year alone, Israeli forces have killed over 190 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and demolished over 590 structures. Settler vigilantes burn, loot, and kill with impunity.

Without equal rights for all, whether in one state, two states, or in some other political framework, there is always a danger of dictatorship. There cannot be democracy for Jews in Israel as long as Palestinians live under a regime of apartheid, as Israeli legal experts have described it. Indeed, the ultimate purpose of the judicial overhaul is to tighten restrictions on Gaza, deprive Palestinians of equal rights both beyond the Green Line and within it, annex more land, and ethnically cleanse all territories under Israeli rule of their Palestinian population. The problems did not start with the current radical government: Jewish supremacism has been growing for years and was enshrined in law by the 2018 Nation State Law.

American Jews have long been at the forefront of social justice causes, from racial equality to abortion rights, but have paid insufficient attention to the elephant in the room: Israel’s long-standing occupation that, we repeat, has yielded a regime of apartheid. As Israel has grown more right-wing and come under the spell of the current government’s messianic, homophobic, and misogynistic agenda, young American Jews have grown more and more alienated from it. Meanwhile, American Jewish billionaire funders help support the Israeli far right. 

In this moment of urgency and also possibility for change, we call on leaders of North American Jewry - foundation leaders, scholars, rabbis, educators - to

1. Support the Israeli protest movement, yet call on it to embrace equality for Jews and Palestinians within the Green Line and in the OPT. 

2. Support human rights organizations which defend Palestinians and provide real-time information on the lived reality of occupation and apartheid.

3. Commit to overhaul educational norms and curricula for Jewish children and youth in order to provide a more honest appraisal of Israel’s past and present.

4. Demand from elected leaders in the United States that they help end the occupation, restrict American military aid from being used in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and end Israeli impunity in the UN and other international organizations. 

No more silence. The time to act is now.

Vladimir Kara-Murza Stands Tall Against Putin's Kangaroo Court

On Monday, a closed court in Moscow rejected the appeal of Russian opposition leader, democracy advocate, and longtime HRF community member Vladimir Kara-Murza. Arrested in April 2022, Kara-Murza was handed a 25-year prison sentence by a kangaroo court the following year on fabricated charges of “high treason,” “spreading deliberately false information” about Russia’s armed forces and participating in the actions of an “undesirable” organization. 

Kara-Murza's real offense has been denouncing Vladimir Putin’s war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine and the Kremlin's ongoing crackdown on Russian democrats. Such bold moves have long made Kara-Murza a target of Putin's dictatorship; he’s survived two near-fatal poisoning attempts by Russian officials since 2015.

In true heroic defiance, he gave these last words in Moscow’s First Court of Appeal of General Jurisdiction on July 31:

Throughout this process — first in the Moscow City Court, now here in the Court of Appeal — a very strange feeling has not left me. Judicial procedures, by their very nature, must be linked in some way to the law. But everything that happens to me has nothing to do with the law, except perhaps in the sense of the complete opposite. The law — both Russian and international — prohibits the waging of aggressive war. But for more than 16 months, the man who calls himself the president of my country has been waging a brutal, unprovoked, aggressive war against a neighboring country: kills its citizens, bombs its cities, seizes its territories. 

The law — both Russian and international — prohibits attacks on civilians and civilian objects. But in the 16 months of [Vladimir] Putin's aggression in Ukraine, tens of thousands of civilians were killed and wounded, and thousand hospitals, schools, and houses. The law — both Russian and international — prohibits the propaganda of war. But war propaganda is all I hear from morning till night on the TV that plays in my prison cell.

Today, in our country, not those who wage this criminal war, but those who oppose it, are judged. Journalists who tell the truth. Artists who put up anti-war stickers. Priests who remind of the commandment "Thou shalt not kill." Teachers who call a spade a spade. Parents whose children draw anti-war pictures. Deputies who allow themselves to doubt the appropriateness of children's competitions when children are being killed in a neighboring country.

Or, as in my case, politicians who openly speak out against this war and against this regime. Twenty-five years for five public performances. As the head of my convoy in the Moscow City Court joked: “It looks like he did a good job.”

All this has already happened in our country. In 1968, participants in a demonstration on Red Square against the invasion of Czechoslovakia were sentenced to camps and exile, and in 1980 Academician Sakharov was exiled to the closed city of Gorky for speaking out against the war in Afghanistan.

But very little time passed — not by historical standards, but by human standards — and the president of Russia in Prague condemned that occupation and laid flowers at the memorial to its victims, and the highest legislative body of our country recognized the war in Afghanistan as deserving of moral and political condemnation.

The same will happen with the current war in Ukraine, and much sooner than it may seem to those who unleashed it. Because in addition to legal laws, there are laws of history, and no one has yet been able to cancel them.

And then the real criminals will be judged, including those whose arrest warrants have already been issued by the International Criminal Court. As you know, war crimes have no statute of limitations.

To those who organized my and other show trials of opponents of the war; by trying to present opponents of the authorities as “traitors to the Motherland”; for those who are so nostalgic for the Soviet system, I would advise you to remember how it ended. All systems based on lies and violence end the same way.

Almost as powerful as those words was this courtroom display of courage.

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies.

For media inquiries or interview requests, please contact media@hrf.org.

Light in Gaza Webinar: A Rose Shoulders Up: Poetry and Culture in Gaza

Here is the link to register for the webinar:

https://afsc.org/events/rose-shoulders-poetry-and-culture-gaza

Light in Gaza Webinar: A Rose Shoulders Up: Poetry and Culture in Gaza

Register for our next “Light in Gaza” webinar, A Rose Shoulders Up: Poetry and Culture in Gaza (June 27, 12 p.m. ET/ 9 a.m. PT). Professor and Middle East expert Ann Lesch will talk with “Light in Gaza” contributor Mosab Abu Toha about his life and work in Gaza. Mosab is a poet, essayist, short story writer, and the founder of the Edward Said Library in Gaza.

In August 2022, AFSC and Haymarket Books published Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire. This distinctive anthology imagines what the future of Gaza could be, while reaffirming the critical role of Gaza in Palestinian identity, history, and struggle for liberation. Ann Lesch is a member of the editorial team for Light in Gaza, and Mosab Abu Toha contributed poetry and an essay on cultural struggle in Gaza. Click here for more information about the anthology.

VII Foundation - Upcoming exhibition at the Arles campus

Join RefugePoint in celebrating World Refugee Day 2023 with a virtual 5K fundraiser!

Join RefugePoint in celebrating World Refugee Day 2023 with a virtual 5K fundraiser! Walk, run, swim, row, or bike—you can choose your own adventure while supporting refugees.

This event will take place between June 19 - 25, 2023, and you can participate from anywhere. By signing up today and starting a personal fundraiser, you can help us expand access to resettlement and self-reliance for refugees around the world.

Since 2005, RefugePoint has assisted over 120,000 refugees with a focus on those that are chronically underserved by traditional humanitarian responses. In the last year alone, we've advanced programs for unaccompanied children, those stuck indefinitely in limbo, and launched a Traineeship Program to train new experts in refugee resettlement casework around the world. 

Register for our virtual 5K today to support the necessary programs that assist refugees facing extreme vulnerabilities and amplify their stories. Want to donate instead? You can still do so by clicking below!

Register Today

Are you interested in gaining complimentary entry? Donate or fundraise $250 or more, and we'll waive your entrance fee! All U.S. participants who register by May 25th will also receive a RefugePoint T-shirt. Rock your awesome new gear and tag us on social media while doing so.

Sincerely,
Sarah Hidey
Chief Development Officer

Webinar for Ocean and Climate Policy Innovators, Researchers and Media

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2023 Joint Memorial Day Ceremony

Lian Najami: The Arab-Israeli Experience