October 31, 2024
This newsletter is bleak, and I know that it is arriving during what is already a very stressful election season. But I am sending it because a core part of ACRI’s mission is to provide accurate information so that we understand what is happening and can work effectively to change it. We are allies in a shared fight for human rights and democratic values, and we can’t change what we can’t face.
Since the horrific massacre carried out by Hamas on October 7th and the subsequent outbreak of this terrible war, we have found ourselves living in a world in which human rights violations have been allowed to run rampant. Gaza has become a humanitarian disaster zone, where human rights violations occur daily. Approximately 41,000 have been killed, including over 15,000 children, tens of thousands more have been wounded, and most residents have been displaced from their homes. In Israel, close to 1,700 people were murdered and killed during the October 7th massacre and the war, thousands more were wounded, and tens of thousands of Israelis have been evacuated from their homes in the south and north. There are still 101 hostages being held by Hamas.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has been extensively covered in a report by anti-occupation organizations, of which ACRI is a partner. In this current report, we wish to highlight the state of human rights in Israel and the West Bank.
For decades, ACRI has been reporting on the state of human rights in Israel and the West Bank, but this report is by far the most alarming. Over the past year, the Israeli government has chosen to ignore the distress and the growing needs of its citizens in a way that is unprecedented in the country’s history. Its policies can essentially be boiled down to neglect and abandonment of citizens and residents, while severely damaging democratic principles and basic human rights.
The report reveals a pattern of government excess and disregard for the rule of law. The government is undermining the justice system and the public service sector in its quest to consolidate its power. It uses force to limit freedom of expression and protest; systematically violates the rights of detainees; and gives implicit and explicit support to settler violence in the West Bank. Many of its punitive policies are used specifically against Arab society in Israel and Palestinians in the territories. Instead of addressing the urgent needs created by the war, the government has continued to be motivated by narrow political motives, and shirks its responsibility toward most of its citizens. It promotes racist and reckless budgetary policies, continues to fuel social and political flames that leave people bitterly divided, and persists in its efforts to undermine democracy—including by continuing to advance the legal coup.
In the shadow of war, while public attention is directed elsewhere, the government is also making major changes regarding control in the West Bank. It is deepening and accelerating the annexation process while establishing Jewish supremacy and pushing out the Palestinian population.
Disasters and emergencies have always been fertile ground for clawing back democratic and human rights. “Emergency” measures (that generally end up becoming permanent) that are taken allegedly on behalf of keeping people safe are often used to silence minorities and government critics, normalizing human rights violations of human rights and the weakening of democracy. We hope that this report, and the overall picture it presents, deepens the public’s understanding of these issues, and serves as a call to action and resistance. The stakes are high, but we are in this together.
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