Every good human rights activist knows that information is the key to bringing about change. After all, without information or education on an issue, no one even knows that change is needed. B'Tselem is a great organization because of this. B'Tselem has taken it upon themselves to educate the United States about the situation of human rights in Israel because of the integral role that U.S. foreign policy plays in Israeli policies; educating the West in order to bring about change in the Middle East. I also completely agree with their ideas that human rights are universal and think it is very important that they report human rights violations from the Occupied Territories and Israel itself. In the "About Us" section of B'Tselem's website, they state: "All Israelis and Palestinians have equal rights to live in dignity and safety, and Israeli and Palestinian authorities must respect these rights" even though the majority of their focus is on Israeli security forces. I also find it very important that they not only report about these human rights violations, but interact with the Israeli authorities as well, collecting statements and reports from them regarding their own reports. I am taking a journalism class right now and one of the most important points of journalism is that it is designed to be a sort of check to the government's power. B'Tselem focuses on informing the public about their government's human rights violations in order to evoke responses and prevent the government from being able to have unlimited power. Information is also a kick start to action, from the information people learn about these issues, they can be moved and decide to take their own actions to stop the policies and human rights violations that are being enacted by their government.
Question: What role do you feel like information plays in bringing about change in Israel?
I actually did not look at this part of the website so reading your blog has given me more information on the topic. So you have succeeded in educating me! I agree with you that information is the first essential step in transforming the ideas of the reality others are facing. Additionally, I feel that as members of a western culture that have never known any at-home conflict during our short lives, it is difficult to understand the daily reality that is Jerusalem. These individuals are helping me to piece together what it is like to be a citizen of Jerusalem and understand the troubled path that has led Jerusalem to its modern day uneasiness.
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