Download Plug-ins
Are some of the portions of the Rabbis for Human Rights site not working for you?
Make sure you have all the necessary plug-ins installed.
» download plugins!
|
projects
what we do
"..The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom: a good understanding have all they who do his
commandments.."
Psalms
111:10
Rabbi For Human Rights encourages respect for human rights and
social justice. We combine the heritage of the Jewish tradition
and the pluralistic approach to its study and interpretation and
apply them to direct action projects in order to bring about a
tikkun olam (fixing of the world) in our day and age.
Israel has the
right and the responsibility to meet the security needs of its
citizens. RHR is convinced that Israel’s security needs are
best served by measures that avoid, as much as possible, the
creation of conflicts between Israel’s right to
self-defense and Palestinian’s rights to their land,
freedom of movement, access to livelihood, health care and
education centers. RHR works with a coalition of organizations
that oppose the route of the Separation Barrier where it
unnecessarily expropriates lands, cuts people off from their
fields, and divides and surrounds villages.
»» view
gallery
educational initiatives
family rights
Rabbis for Human Rights provides advice and support for families in distress and promote services that help secure the best possible
futures for children and families.
»»view
gallery
food rights
In Cooperation with Latet (Israel Humanitarian Aid) Rabbi's for Human Rights .encourage those who celebrate to bring some celebration to the lives of needy families in Israel by donating 7 shekels for each guest that attends their celebration.
»» Donate to Food for Life http://www.latet.org.il
harvesting rights
The Olive Tree
Campaign is an interfaith project, bringing international and
Israeli volunteers from all religious backgrounds together to
participate in planting and harvesting efforts. By coordinating
with the Israeli security forces and the local Palestinian
population, and through the physical presence of its members and
volunteers, RHR helps guarantee Palestinians’ access to
their trees while reducing the number of violent incidents and
acts of theft during the harvest season. RHR sells olive oil for
Palestinians encumbered from selling their produce. Volunteers
document the successes and failures of the implementation of
scheduled times for Palestinians to cross the fence in order to
harvest their crops.
»»
more
»»
Olive Tree Campaign
[HEBREW PDF 203 KB] »» view
harvesting gallery
housing rights
RHR works to change
the administrative policies that prevent approval of building
licenses for most Palestinians while leading to the demolition of
homes built without approval. RHR works to prevent demolitions
through education, lobbying, legal appeal, publicity, protest
and, as a last resort, civil disobedience. RHR also protests the
policy of home demolitions by helping to rebuild destroyed homes,
and to ensure the rights of the cave dwellers in the hills north
of Arad. With this project, RHR seeks to ensure equality under
the law and to prevent the suffering, financial loss, and hatred
that result from administrative home demolitions.
»» more
about housing rights
 Read
the Rabbinical Opinion [PDF HEBREW 118 KB]
»» Photo Gallery of
a family rendered homeless
»»
Photo Gallery of Rabbis for Human Rights Activist Rabbi Arik
Ascherman being arrested for non violent civil disobedience in
attempting to prevent the demolition of a home.
»»
Photo Gallery of home rebuilding Project
humanitarian fund
The Humanitarian
Fund provides financial assistance to Israeli Terror victims and
donates food, medicine and other critical supplies to Arabs in
the territories. Join us in our utter condemnation of attacks on
innocent civilians. We call upon our fellow
Jews to stand with the people of Israel at this time, empathizing
with those families who have been decimated by Palestinian
terrorism and with those families who have sent their sons,
husbands, and fathers to combat it."
Read our Statement On The Current Crisis
»» English Version
»» Hebrew Version [PDF 128
KB]
human rights yeshiva
A yeshiva program
for the study of Jewish values in defense of human rights where
traditional and modern texts are brought to bear on questions of
human rights and pressing social issues confronting Israel today.
RHR’s Human Rights Yeshiva for Israeli university students
brings traditional and modern texts to bear on questions of human
rights and pressing social issues confronting Israel today. In
addition to studying in an open beit midrash setting, each
student volunteers three hours each week, doing fieldwork on one
of the issues addressed in their studies. Participants include
religious and secular Jewish students, new immigrants and
native-born Israelis from all over the country. We are currently
in need of sponsors
for students.
»»
more
indentured servants rights
Working with the The Hotline for Migrant Workers and Kav LaOved (worker's hotline) in promoting and protecting the basic civil and human rights of the most vulnerable / disadvantaged members of Israels labor force, including migrant workers, indentured servants, ethnic minorities, people employed via sub-contractors and victims of human trafficking. These workers are subject to withheld payment, under payment, social benefits violations, passport confiscation, deportation, confinement, and criminal abuse. Most of them have no representation or access to institutional help. Due to their nationality, legal status, social-economic background, religious convictions, cultural-linguistic barriers, and / or gender, these individuals are less likely to be familiar with their rights, and less capable to guarantee their implementation. We are involved in direct intervention, legal action and raising public awareness towards effecting a systemic change in labour policies. Our work is based on the belief that Israel, as a democratic and Jewish country, should respect and protect the human rights of all those residing within it - citizens, residents and migrant workers alike.
»» view
gallery
indigenous peoples rights
In 1997, the
Israeli Government forced a group of nomadic Bedouin, the
Jahalin, to move to a hilltop in Abu Dis, a village on the edge
of Jerusalem. The site is located near the Jerusalem garbage
dump, potentially causing a host of environmental concerns. RHR
is currently conducting an environmental review and working with
local groups to force the Israeli government to address this
issue. For the last few years, RHR has been organizing English
tutoring by volunteers for the Jahalin Bedouin youth
Overview of the Jahalin Predicament [PDF 49 KB]
»» view
gallery
interfaith initiatives
planting rights
For Tu
B’shvat, the traditional time for planting trees,
Volunteers from Israel and around the world join together for 10
days of Talmud Torah (Jewish text study), learning about
RHR’s activities and planting trees in Israel and the
Territories. During this period alone, RHR plants and/or provids
saplings in areas where trees had been uprooted, where
Palestinian arsonists had burnt down trees in Israel, on
Palestinian lands in danger of expropriation, and in an
unrecognized Bedouin village in Israel proper. RHR has planted
and/or provided over 10,000 trees. We have an ongoing need to
replenish our specialized funds in order to continue this
critical work.
»» view planting
gallery
tractate independence
In our work to
encourage thinking about Human Rights, we are developing a
talmudic-style commentary on the Israeli Declaration of
Independence. The commentary will bring together quotes from
rabbinic and secular theologians and philosophers. After
completion, this document will be used as a tool in Israeli
Schools for helping Israeli youth to understand their rights and
obligations as members of a Jewish, Democratic state.
Overview of the Tractate Independence Project [PDF 91 KB]
unequal treatment based on religion and nationality
Protecting the lives of innocent bystanders
On September 7, 2004, A small number of Rabbis released a message calling on the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) to change its operating protocol regarding civilians in combat zones. Rabbis for Human Rights has issued a rebuttal, claiming that the sources in the message were taken out of context, while emphasizing the need to be courageous in trying to convert our enemies into our friends. In our message we state that "There is no doubt that the IDF has both the right and the responsibility to protect the citizens of the country from those who come to murder them. However this right does not relinquish the IDF from the responsibility to the lives of innocent men, women and children that were created in the image of God, even though that in their midst are those who are arising to murder us"
»» Complete coverage of the issue including press reports, multimedia presentations, and our rebuttal "Who is courageous? Those that convert their enemies into their admirers".
|
|
