BICOM

An Israeli human-rights NGO has been reapproved as a placement venue for national service participants.

B’Tselem is an organisation which scrutinises and monitors the actions of the IDF and the Israeli Government and frequently campaigns against IDF actions, both through the Israeli courts and in international forums. The organisation was removed by the National Civilian Service Administration over the summer after B’Tselem’s director gave an interview to al-Jazeera attacking Israel’s conduct during the war.

However, despite the controversy, the Attorney-General’s office ruled yesterday that B’Tselem must be reinstated as a venue eligible to receive national service participants.

According to Haaretz, Deputy Attorney-General Dina Zilber reinstated B’Tselem, saying that allowing their removal would “open the door to the politicisation of the National Civilian Service Administration” and “impos[e] an economic price-tag … because of statements that are controversial on one side of the political spectrum.”

Israel’s National Civilian Service is a state-funded programme which functions as an alternative to compulsory military service. Its participants are mainly Orthodox women but others, including Ultra-Orthodox men and Israeli Arabs of both sexes, also participate.

B’Tselem is one of a number of Israeli campaigning human rights organisations which receive state-funded volunteers through the National Service programme.