Waging Peace:  Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Human Rights

The Carter Center's Human Rights Program actively pursues a two-pronged approach to facilitate constructive U.S. engagement in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. First, it provides Israeli and Palestinian human rights defenders the opportunity to inform senior policymakers through firsthand, credible information about ongoing human rights violations that pose a threat to peace and justice for all residents of the region.

In November 2011, the program also supported public events with Palestinian activists engaged in nonviolent protests against the confiscation of Palestinian land in the West Bank, including a panel discussion with Manal Tamimi, a leader of the weekly protests against settlement encroachment on the village Nabi Saleh. Also on the panel was the Rev. Dr. Bernard Lafayette, original Freedom Rider; co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1960; and distinguished senior scholar in residence, Candler School of Theology at Emory University.  The panel was moderated by Karin Ryan, director of the Human Rights Program.

The program has organized briefings by prominent Israeli human rights attorneys and experts on settlements, Jerusalem, freedom of movement, and the Gaza Strip. These leaders were brought to Capitol Hill during key events, including the December 2008-January 2009 Gaza war and the summer 2009 deliberations surrounding the Obama administration's demand for a settlement freeze to engage with decision-makers on critical policy discussions. The Carter Center, as a result of orchestrating the Israeli speakers series, is now recognized as a leader in efforts to amplify the voices of Israeli and Palestinian human rights leaders.

See a video from prominent Israeli human rights attorney Michael Sfard of the organization Yesh Din – Volunteers for Human Rights.

The program also introduces these leaders to influential U.S. Christian leaders and mobilizes them to support U.S. policy reform through their good offices and large constituencies. These efforts will culminate in achieving progress toward U.S. policies based on the principle of peace with justice and more positive U.S. intervention in this conflict.

The first step in this effort was an event at The Carter Center on May 14-15, 2009, which convened a number of influential Christian leaders representing the mainline Protestant, historic African-American, and evangelical communities. The two-day strategic planning meeting was designed to support current ecumenical efforts that advocate for a new U.S. foreign policy in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory by utilizing the Carter Center's and other key leaders' convening authority to include historically less-involved Christian communities in these efforts. Efforts over the coming year will include additional symposia, campaigns surrounding religious holidays, and fact-finding missions for religious leaders to the region.

Read a letter from participants to President Obama calling on him to actively support a two-state solution, push for an end to new settlements, and address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.