Renewal, Rejuvenation, and Freedom from War
- Noa Sattath
- 18 hours ago
- 3 min read
March 30, 2026
Dear friend,
With Passover around the corner, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your continued support and interest in ACRI’s work. I hope that this Passover we can celebrate freedom from war, and that spring brings with it renewal and rejuvenation.
ACRI's staff never ceases to amaze me, but I am truly in awe of how much they have been able to accomplish in between sirens and running to protective spaces. One of our major projects right now is our opposition to the Death Penalty Bill, and we are getting ready to immediately petition the Supreme Court when it passes. This is a bill that is cruel, racist, and that goes against everything we believe about the primacy of human rights and the value of human life. We will oppose it tirelessly and relentlessly.
We have also had a number of successes. This is only some of what we have been able to achieve in the midst of this latest war:
Thanks to our efforts, the Supreme Court issued an interim order that the army must remove an especially violent settler (and anyone acting on his behalf) from any land that he stole from Palestinians; possibly the first time he has faced any consequences for his actions.
The Supreme Court also stated that the police should modify the procedures for the use of mounted police during protests to prioritize the safety of the public, and to make clear what mounted police are and are not authorized to do so that the public can submit complaints if the mounted police act in violation of the rules. Keeping demonstrators and would-be demonstrators safe is paramount in ensuring that the public takes advantage of its fundamental rights to freedom of expression and protest, essential in any democracy.
We sent an appeal after the guidelines for the upcoming matriculation exams did not take into account students from the north of Israel, who once again find themselves on the front lines of a war but who are expected to take exams with the same accommodations as those granted to students in much less fraught areas. Thanks to our intervention, the Ministry of Education will publish modified guidelines with special accommodations for students in the north. There are major educational gaps that exist between students in the center of Israel and those on the periphery, and this is a step towards recognizing the right to equal education for all.
The court made positive steps towards ensuring that a Palestinian family in the West Bank be compensated for the theft of their cows. In October 2025 dozens of soldiers arrived at the family’s barn and loaded their cattle—their source of income—onto trucks. The soldiers then gave the cows to settlers who claimed that the cows had been stolen from them. The court was livid when it heard about the circumstances of this case. It ordered the State to inform the court by the end of April both how it will compensate the family for the theft of the herd, and to respond to the request to publish the names and details of the settlers who received the cows. This was a case that stayed with me as it has made its way through court. Hearing the court’s outrage was extremely validating, and gives me hope during a time when that is especially important.
We are trying something new. This year, you can send a donation to ACRI as a holiday gift. With your help, we would love to expand our circle of supporters. You can find more information and send a gift here. Please note that unfortunately we cannot provide a US tax-deductible receipt for these gifts.
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