Biography
Jessica Montell is Executive Director of B’Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. She is the author of B’Tselem’s comprehensive report Prisoners of Peace: Administrative Detention in the Oslo Process and numerous articles on human rights, international humanitarian law, and counter-terror policies. Previously Ms. Montell worked at HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, another Israeli human rights organization, and served as a consultant to the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (now Human Rights First). A native of California, Ms. Montell lives in Jerusalem with her husband and three children.
B’Tselem has championed human rights in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for over two decades, promoting a future where all Israelis and Palestinians will live in freedom and dignity. B’Tselem has earned international recognition as the most respected source of information on human rights issues in this context. In its two decades of activity, B’Tselem has published over one hundred reports on a wide variety of human rights issues, and has pioneered the use of video to promote human rights. B’Tselem’s activities receive extensive media coverage, generate public debate, and encourage changes in official policy.
Topics for HR Missions
- “Communities or Settlements?” (June 2012)
