B’Tselem is a Jerusalem-based anti-Israeli organization founded in 1989. The group accuses Israel of “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza, claims that Israel is engaged in an “occupation” that it values above human life, and claims that the Israeli prison system is a “network of torture camps.” ¹ In a September 2024 article, B’Tselem claimed “the Israeli government does not want to return the hostages [taken by Hamas in the October 7, 2023 attacks] in a deal, but to continue the war indefinitely.” ²

The group also claims that Israel is a “regime of apartheid and occupation…inextricably bound up in human rights violations” and it “strives to end this regime, as that is the only way forward.” ³

Background

B’Tselem also calls itself “The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories,” as it was founded to document and research what it calls “human rights violations committed by Israel in the Occupied Territories.” ⁴

“B’Tselem,” literally means “in the image.” It is a reference to the Biblical Hebrew phrase that means “made in the image of God” or “divine image.” Judaism believes all human beings are made in the image of God, per Genesis 1:27: “And God created humankind in the divine image.” ⁵

Initiatives

B’Tselem’s ‘campaigns’ section on its website includes, “Why is this Apartheid,” which alleges that Israel practices apartheid; a campaign to stop the demolition of West Bank village Khan al-Ahmar; “Say no to forcible transfer,” regarding what B’Tselem says is Israel trying to displace Palestinians in the West Bank; and a campaign regarding Batan al-Hawa, a neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem that B’Tselem claims is “the setting for the largest expulsion in recent years.” ⁶

Financials

The Bydale Foundation gave $10,000 through the left-wing New Israel Fund earmarked for “Btselem documenting human rights” in 2023. ⁷ B’Tselem received $30,000 from Source of Hope Foundation in 2022 ⁸ and $30,786 through the donor-advised fund Jewish Communal Fund during the fiscal year ending in June 2021. ⁹ The New York-based Mal Bdl Charitable Foundation gave $20,000 in 2018. ¹⁰

B’Tselem made just one grant in 2021 of $90,000 to the Tides Foundation earmarked for programmatic support. ¹¹

B’Tselem’s list of donors on its website, last updated on November 30, 2017, includes the Open Society Foundations, Church of Scotland, Moriah Fund, New Israel Fund, a few consulates and embassies, and a few United Nations agencies. ¹²

Leadership

​​B’Tselem’s website lists Orly Noy, a “left-wing Mizrahi activist” and writer and editor of the left-of-center +972 online magazine, as board chair. Other members include University of Maryland Ph.D. candidate Thair Abu Rass, Concordia University sociology professor Meir Amor, political activist Smadar Ben Natan, attorney Ido Blum, sociologist Rob Dudai, attorney Elias Khouri, “Academic folklorist” Vered Madar, health policy researcher Osama Tanous, former Adalah deputy general director Sawsan Zaher, and high-tech executive David Zonsheine. It is unclear when the website was last updated. ¹³

Tax forms filed in 2022 list a completely different board: Simone Zimmerman is listed as executive director. Zimmerman co-founded another anti-Israel group, IfNotNow. She was also the national student president of J Street U while in college at University of California, Berkeley. ¹⁴ Naomi Orensten, Sarah Anne Minkin, Hadar Harris, and Aaron Back are listed as board members on the tax forms. ¹⁵

B’Tselem’s board previously included Peter Beinart, who wrote in favor of Palestinian nationalism shortly following the attacks against Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023. ^{16 17}

1. “Highlights.” B’Tselem. https://www.btselem.org/.
2. B’Tselem at the UNSC: For the Israeli Government, the Occupation and the Settlements Matter More than Human Life. 5 Sept. 2024, www.btselem.org/video/20240905_btselem_at_unsc#full.
3. “Positions.” B’Tselem. https://www.btselem.org/about_btselem/positions
4. “About B’Tselem.” B’Tselem, www.btselem.org/about_btselem.
5. “Genesis 1:27.” Sefaria, www.sefaria.org/Genesis.1.27?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en.
6. “Campaigns.” B’Tselem. Accessed December 6, 2024. https://www.btselem.org/campaignlist.
7. Bydale Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990PF), 2023 https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/136195286/202401139349100325/IRS990PF. Part XIV Line 3.
8. Source of Hope Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990PF), 2022, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/264380918/202400869349100100/IRS990PF Part XIV Line 3.
9. Jewish Communal Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990PF), 2021, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237174183/202240409349300049/IRS990ScheduleI Part XIV Line 3.
10. Mal Bdl Charitable Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990PF), 2018, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/823367003/202020439349100402/IRS990PF Part XIV Line 3.
11. B’Tselem, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2021, Schedule I https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/262823635/202220539349301112/IRS990ScheduleI.
12. “Board Members.” B’Tselem, www.btselem.org/about_btselem/board_members.
13. “Board Members.” B’Tselem. Accessed December 16, 2024. https://www.btselem.org/about_btselem/board_members.
14. B’Tselem USA Welcomes New Director, Simone Zimmerman, www.btselem.org/press_releases/20190305_btselem_usa_welcomes_new_director. Accessed 5 Mar. 2019.
15. B’Tselem, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2021, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/262823635/202220539349301112/full Part VII, Section A, Line 1A.
16. B’Tselem USA Announces the Formation of Advisory Board. 5 May 2011, www.btselem.org/page/5-may-11-b-tselem-usa-announces-formation-advisory-board.
17. Beinart, Peter. “Opinion | There Is a Jewish Hope for Palestinian Liberation. It Must Survive.” The New York Times, 14 Oct. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/10/14/opinion/palestinian-ethical-resistance-answers-grief-and-rage.html?searchResultPosition=9.