Dear friends

Saturday night, just a week before Christians celebrate Easter Sunday, Jews around the world gather to celebrate Passover, the festival of freedom.

It will be hard for me to celebrate freedom here in Jerusalem, with the renewal of the war in Gaza and its deadly toll on innocent civilians, and with Israeli and other hostages still held in Hamas tunnels. The daily headlines are so grim, it is hard not to despair. So I’m grateful to be working at HaMoked, which is making a tangible difference to people’s lives every day.

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Yet the freedom of HaMoked to continue its work in defense of human rights is also under threat. PM Netanyahu and his government are advancing legislation to restrict funding to human rights organizations, to prevent us from turning to the Israeli courts, and to criminalize any contact with the International Criminal Court. This alongside efforts to curtail freedom of speech and association, and to politicize the courts.

It is important to understand the link between the efforts to silence domestic critics and the severe deterioration in Palestinians’ human rights. The government is undermining Israel’s system of checks and balances in order to advance its agenda of dispossession of Palestinians, and the entrenchment of settlements and occupation, both in the West Bank and now also in the Gaza Strip. And of course Netanyahu’s authoritarian tendencies are emboldened by President Trump and his aggressive attack on democracy and the rule of law, both domestically and internationally.

At the Passover seder, we are commanded to see ourselves as if each of us went out of slavery and oppression into liberty. Each generation, we must strive to overcome the obstacles to freedom. This year, those obstacles are very clear.

So HaMoked will continue to do its vital work. We are the first phone call for thousands of Palestinian families when a loved one is arrested and they want to know where he or she is being detained. We are the only address for tens of thousands of Palestinian farmers denied access to their farmlands beyond the Separation Wall. We are the lifeline for hundreds of Jerusalem families struggling to remain together in the face of policies of enforced displacement of Palestinians from the city.

But we need your help. With this government advancing legislation specifically targeting funding to human rights organizations like HaMoked, I am asking you to make a donation now if you can. Your donation will enable us to continue providing free legal aid to Palestinians who have nowhere else to turn, and to conduct strategic litigation and advocacy demanding respect for human rights.

I wish a happy holiday for those celebrating Passover or Easter. May we see an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a return of the hostages, and redoubled efforts to bring freedom to all.

Sincerely,

Jessica Montell
Executive Director of HaMoked