Keeping Safe, Keeping Sane, Keeping Busy
- Noa Sattath
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
March 11, 2026
Dear friend,
During these anxious and frightening times, I wanted to update you on how we are doing at ACRI. With sirens warning of missile attacks blaring at all hours of the day and night, children home from school, and dealing with unimaginable levls of uncertainty, we are nonetheless keeping busy. So far ACRI’s staff is sheltering in place, and we are doing our best to keep safe and keep sane. If we have learned anything from the past years of war, it is that as war ramps up, so does the need for our work protecting human rights.
This is some of what has been keeping us busy during wartime:
The steep rise in settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. This is, unfortunately, not a new issue, but the number of attacks, and the level of violence, has increased sharply since the outbreak of the war. As the national and international focus shifts to Iran, violent settlers see an opening and take advantage of the situation to escalate their activities. The situation is horrific: over the last week alone, 6 Palestinians were shot dead. Palestinians in the West Bank are caught between rockets and missiles from Iran and escalating harassment and violence from settlers (with little to no help from the army, which at best remains indifferent and at worst actively supports the violence). Thanks to our work, the Supreme Court first issued a nisi order (a step before a restraining order) and later issued a temporary order mandating that the military remove an especially violent settler and his cronies from Palestinian land,* and recently demanded that the Civil Administration justify its failure to protect Palestinian farmers in the Jordan Valley. We will continue to insist that the Civil Administration fulfill its obligations under Israeli and international law to protect the West Bank’s Palestinian population, to demand justice for Palestinian victims of settler violence, and to ensure that there are consequences for the perpetrators of the violence.
Protecting the right to protest during wartime. Those of you who have been following our work know that this is a perpetual issue. During the Gaza War and the previous war with Iran we often had to intervene when police attempted to block protests, or control the protests’ messages; recently we also successfully appealed after the police attempted to block a peacetime demonstration for peace. This war has proven to be no different. Police have recently been violently dispersing peaceful and legal antiwar protests, and even arrested and illegally strip-searched one protester. Freedom of protest is one of the fundamental freedoms in a democratic society, and will continue to push back against any attempts by law enforcement and others to suppress this critical right.
The Knesset’s legislative work is currently on hold during the war, but the dangerous anti-democratic legislation on the agenda will return in force once the war is over. Even during the uncertainty of war, we are not losing sight of the future and will be ready to spring into action to oppose some of the most heinous proposals, such as the Death Penalty Bill.
Knowing that we have committed and caring partners who are always ready to stand with us is a huge source of energy during these difficult times. Thank you for checking in, for standing with us, and for your continuing partnership. Donate Now.
*The temporary order is a very big deal, and was issued minutes before this newsletter was sent!
