B’Tselem opens office in Washington

By · September 25, 2008

An Israeli human rights group celebrated the opening of its Washington office.

B’Tselem sponsored a reception on Capitol Hill Wednesday to mark the opening. The group, which monitors human rights in the West Bank, will aim to “ensure that human rights is an integral part” of the U.S. policy debate on Israel, said B’Tselem Executive Director Jessica Montell.

“People who care about Israel need to care about human rights,” Montell said.

Mitchell Plitnick, B’Tselem’s director of U.S. outreach, said the organization will focus on providing data and information to Congress, the State Department and the White House, so that policymakers are aware of “the human rights status on the ground.”

“We’ll be advocating for a more central place for human rights” in the debate over Israel “in Congress, the State Department and the Jewish community,” Plitnick said.