Jerusalem Institute of Justice CEO says dozens of foreign legal interns will be hosted to assist in bringing International Criminal Court charges against Hamas & PA leaders, as part of a program promoting human rights and the rule of ‎law.

By Yair Altman

An initiative by the Jerusalem Institute of Justice ‎hosts dozens of foreign legal interns a year as part ‎of Israel’s international public diplomacy efforts. ‎ The program was launched in 2010 as part of the ‎JIJ’s vision to promote human rights, the rule of ‎law, and the freedom of thought, conscience and ‎democracy. ‎

Since then, the institute has been hosting interns from around ‎the world who have an academic background in ‎international law, administration and politics, and ‎who are actively involved in research projects ‎focusing on human rights in the Middle East from an ‎Israeli perspective.‎

Jerusalem Institute of Justice ‎volunteers at the International Criminal Court ‎in The Hague – Screenshot: Twitter

CEO of the Jerusalem Institute of Justice Flavia ‎Sevald said one of the activities the interns ‎recently pursued was “filing a motion for an ‎International Criminal Court investigation against ‎Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh for crimes against ‎humanity and human rights violations. ‎

‎”We are currently preparing to file for ICC action ‎against Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud ‎Abbas. Without the interns gathering testimonies we ‎wouldn’t be able to promote such initiatives,” she ‎said.

Alexandra Mogrin, 24, a volunteer from Brussels who is ‎involved in the emerging case against Abbas, said ‎she chose the program because she “wanted a ‎background in human rights, and just reading the news in ‎Belgium offered me no understanding of what is ‎really happening here.”‎

She said most people have a skewed view of the ‎Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is why they find ‎it easier to pick sides.‎

‎”We in Europe don’t have a very positive view of Israel, and it [Israel] is constantly being condemned, by bodies like the United Nations, which the ‎media underscores. It was important for me ‎to formulate my own opinion and not simply believe what I was told,” she said.

View original Israel Hayom publication at:
http://www.israelhayom.com/2018/11/16/israel-recruits-foreign-interns-to-assist-in-public-%E2%80%8Ediplomacy-%E2%80%8E/