In October 2016, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked the Israeli organization B'Tselem, following its participation in an informal session of the United Nations Security Council, accusing it of joining what he called a "choir of defamation" against Israel.

Netanyahu wrote on Facebook at the time that B'Tselem's director "urged the Security Council to act against Israel."

He said: “What these organizations cannot achieve through democratic elections in Israel, they are trying to achieve through international coercion,” adding that these groups “recycle the false claim that the ‘occupation and settlements’ are the cause of the conflict.”

The matter did not stop there, as Netanyahu then threatened to take steps to remove “B’Tselem” from the list of organizations in which Israeli youth could perform their compulsory national service.

What is B'Tselem?

When you visit B'Tselem's website, you will find in large print: "Anyone who abandons the basic moral principle that all human beings are created in the image of God has lost his humanity."

It is the Israeli information center for human rights in the occupied territories. It was established through the efforts of a group of lawyers, thinkers, and journalists, along with members of the Israeli Knesset.

The organization was called B'Tselem, which was the name chosen for it by the late Israeli politician, Yossi Sarid, who was one of the organization's members.

B'Tselem is a Hebrew word meaning "in the image," and the founders took inspiration from Genesis 1:27: "And God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created them."

Sarid had parliamentary and political experience, and was one of the most important advocates of peace with the Palestinians. He was a member of the Israeli Knesset for several terms for the Meretz party.

He also served as Minister of Environmental Affairs in the government of Yitzhak Rabin between 1993 and 1996. And Minister of Education in the government of Ehud Barak, until 2000.

The organization says the name B'Tselem expresses "the universal and Jewish moral edict to respect and support the human rights of all people."

B'Tselem presents itself as an independent, non-partisan organization, and discloses that its funding sources are donations that come in the form of grants from European and North American foundations that support human rights activism around the world, and generous contributions from individuals in Israel and abroad.

What are B'Tselem's goals?

The organization says it is working to achieve a future that guarantees human rights, freedom and equality for all those “living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean,” meaning Palestinians and Jews alike.

The organization believes that achieving this future “will only be possible when the Israeli occupation and apartheid regime ends.”

She points out that "the essence of the apartheid system existing between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea is to strengthen and perpetuate the sovereignty of one group over another."

Accordingly, B'Tselem is working to "change this reality, realizing that this is the only way to achieve a future where human rights, freedom and equality are guaranteed for all human beings who live here, Palestinians and Jews alike."

What are B'Tselem's activities?

Since its founding in 1989, B'Tselem has been documenting, researching and publishing statistics, testimonies, videos, position papers and reports concerned with "human rights violations committed by Israel in the occupied territories."

The organization says on its official website, “The initial mandate we assumed focused on the occupation regime in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and in the Gaza Strip.”

It added, "Over the years, it has become clear that the concept of two parallel regimes operating between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River – permanent democracy west of the Green Line and temporary military occupation to its east – is disconnected from reality."

The organization believes that the entire area controlled by Israel is “governed by a single apartheid regime, which governs the lives of all the people living in it and operates according to a single organizing principle: to establish and sustain the control of one group of people - the Jews - over another group - the Palestinians - through laws, practices and state violence.” ".

Honoring B'Tselem

B'Tselem says that during more than 30 years of work, it has achieved a "prestigious position" in the local and international human rights community.

The organization has received several awards, the most important of which are: the Carter-Meynell Prize for Human Rights (1989, jointly with Al-Haq), the Human Rights Award from the Danish PL Foundation (2011, jointly with Al-Haq), the Stockholm Human Rights Prize (2014), and the Human Rights Award from the Danish PL Foundation (2011, jointly with Al-Haq). French Republic (2018, in partnership with Al-Haq). The B’Tselem video project also received awards including the One World British Media Award (2009) and the Israeli Documentary Filmmakers Forum Award (2012).

Alhurra