JERUSALEM – July 9, 2007 – Growing up in Israel in the shadow of the Holocaust, Tali Nir, an attorney at the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), always felt a strong moral obligation to instill the values of democracy and justice in her government and fellow citizens. Last month, Nir had a unique opportunity to explore international human rights at the prestigious German-Israeli Young Leaders Exchange, a conference bringing together the two countries’‘ top young leaders.
Nir was selected as a delegate in the exchange because of her vast experience in international human rights law, both in Israel and in Europe, including her work on ACRI’‘s East Jerusalem project. Nir and her colleagues at ACRI help ensure access to social services to improve the lives of East Jerusalem’‘s Palestinian residents.
The week-long seminar brought together 24 Israelis, Germans, and American Jews, young leaders in the fields of law, business, media, politics, and human rights, to discuss current political and social issues that affect their countries and the world. The goal of the program is to foster understanding and dialogue between young German and Israeli leaders.
Though the conference was meant to focus on Israeli-German relations in the era of globalization, participants found themselves returning to discussions about the historical relationships between their countries and peoples, Nir said. Some of the German participants spoke about their familial connection to the war, revealing their grandparents had been members of the SS or the German Army. Many of the Israeli fellows told stories of their grandparents who survived the Holocaust.
Nir’‘s work in human rights at ACRI allowed her to contribute a unique perspective to these talks. Though many of the Israeli participants said the Holocaust was proof that Jews were constantly under attack, Nir approached the issue from a different angle.
“I believe the most important lesson of the Holocaust is a universal one, that we must fight for human rights and democracy. We must protect the dignity of each human being,” she said. “I stood up at the conference to remind Israelis that we are no longer victims. We have political power and we must use it for good.”
The connection between history and human rights is what encouraged her to work for ACRI, an organization that she says has a strong moral compass. “We work on the entire spectrum of human rights issues in Israel, trying to make our country a better place for all of its people,” Nir said. In addition to her work as an attorney, Nir is familiar with human rights through the media. She served as the legal correspondent for Channel 2 TV and Haaretz newspaper, both in Israel and in Holland. She holds a European Master of Law and Economics and a Master of International Public Law from the University of Amsterdam.
In her position as an attorney at ACRI, Nir works to protect the rights of East Jerusalem residents by petitioning the Israeli government on various issues, including education rights, welfare issues, planning and infrastructure, and police brutality. Most recently, she was successful in convincing the Jerusalem Municipality to hire five additional social workers to address the area’‘s extreme poverty.
Palestinian East Jerusalemites hold the status of “permanent residents” of Israel. Permanent residents are required to pay taxes and are entitled to vote in the municipal elections and receive all the basic services provided by the municipality. However, the resources allocated by Israel to East Jerusalem have been insufficient to meet the needs of the Palestinian population at its natural growth rate. As a result, there exists a severe shortage of public services and infrastructure in East Jerusalem, including health and education services, welfare services, postal services, water and sewage systems, and roads and sidewalks.
The German-Israeli Young Leader’‘s Exchange fellowship allowed Nir to discuss and implement her passion for human rights on the international level. The first installment of the conference took place from June 15-23 in Germany. Participants will meet again in Israel in October. The program is organized by Bertelsmann Stiftung, a German think tank and foundation which works to promote multicultural understanding, civil society, and social change.
