We are proud to announce that Rotem Ilan, Director of ACRI’s Israeli Children Project has been awarded a Notable Human Rights Defenders Award by The Emile Zola Chair for Human Rights at the College of Management.
Each year the Chair grants this award to three notable human rights defenders. Each recipient receives a sum of NIS 3,000, which will be directed to a cause of her/his choosing in the field of human rights.
In honoring Rotem, the Chair justified this selection by listing some of Rotem’s contributions to human rights in Israel. Some of these are listed below:
- For her vision in establishing the Israeli Children organization to prevent the expulsion of migrant workers and their children who were born, raised and educated in Israel;
- For her ability to alter the accessibility of female migrant workers to the public sphere – wherein once there was rampant discrimination, they are now welcome to make their voice heard;
- For her exemplary leadership of a volunteer organization that operated intensively and professionally on all fronts;
- For her success in raising the profile of the issue of the families of migrant workers and transforming it from an invisible topic to a moral and ethical imperative that requires a broad public discussion on social justice;
- For managing a public campaign that lead to a government decision to grant status to thousands of women and children who met certain criteria;
- For empowering the community of migrant workers and their families – a community that had previously been invisible to most of Israeli society;
- For harnessing the full power of the community – especially during the crisis of 2011 when a series of detentions and expulsions were initiated.
- For her devotion to others and her willingness to help without seeking anything in return;
- For her creative leadership and considered morality that characterized her establishment of this organization, its strategy, management and outreach to members of the community as well as its friends and children.
- For her brave decision to merge Israeli Children with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel on the basis that this will enable her to maximize her operations and ensure the provision of the best possible assistance to the community.
For these reasons, the chair came to the unanimous decision to grant Rotem Ilan the Notable Human Rights Defenders Award on behalf of The Emile Zola Chair for Human Rights at the College of Management.
Rotem has donated her NIS 3,000 prize to P’, a migrant worker that has suffered terrible abuse and exploitation during her time in Israel and for whom Rotem is attempting to attain basic civil rights and legal status.
Congratulations Rotem!
