Resistance in Action Paving the Way for Hope
- Noa Sattath
- Apr 10
- 2 min read
April 10, 2025
Dear friend,
The holidays of spring tend to share themes of hope, renewal, and life.
Yet for the second time, we are entering these holidays with broken and heavy hearts. How can we appreciate the colors and the greenery when Gaza has been reduced to rubble? How can we celebrate liberation and life when there are 59 hostages who have been held for more than a year and a half? How can we celebrate freedom when the systems of democracy are being dismantled, and autocracy is on the rise?
Reflecting on the work of ACRI, gives me strength, resilience and motivation as we enter this holiday season. We at ACRI have been working—HARD—and these are a few things that give me strength to continue:
ACRI is protecting freedom of speech and freedom of expression:
After the University of Haifa cancelled a student activity to screen the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, we sent legal correspondence protesting the decision to the Ministry of Culture and the university’s Dean of Students. The screening was ultimately allowed to proceed. Together with our successes arguing for the rights of demonstrators to protest and carry antiwar signs, and the rights of academics to express their opinions, however controversial, we have been ensuring that all citizens and residents have the right to freedom of expression.
ACRI is holding law enforcement accountable when they abuse their power:
In addition to working to prevent demonstrators from becoming subjected to violence and false arrest, we are also combatting the abuse of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. We had a major victory in the closure of the notorious detention center in Sde Teiman, and have filed petitions to ensure that from the moment of arrest and during the period of imprisonment suspects and detainees are treated with a basic level of decency and are not deprived of their human rights. We are also in the midst of a case to force the government to allow visits from the Red Cross to Palestinian security prisoners.
ACRI is on the front lines of fighting against the judicial overhaul:
We filed petitions against the new law changing the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee that seeks to politicize Israel’s judiciary, and we are closely monitoring developments regarding the attempt to remove the Attorney General from office. We are at the forefront of the fight against the shrinking of the democratic space in Israel, and we will not give up.
This is a time of a great many changes. Resistance requires unprecedented strength and resilience, but those of us who can persist, will not stop. May this season be one of repair, resistance, redemption and, yes, hope.
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