IAB 2015- The Human Rights Fellows Program was established by the Minerva Center for Human Rights in 1999. The Program seeks to foster awareness of human rights among university students; to educate new generations of human rights activists and leaders by introducing them to human rights theories and exposing them to recent academic research in this area; and to allow students to experience the inner workings of human rights organizations on the ground.
The Program is designed to facilitate meaningful interaction between Arab and Jewish students, and provides a structured opportunity to engage (and de-demonize) the "other" – an opportunity that is unique in the university environment. Indeed, the vast majority of the students in the Program report that this was the first time they got to know and had substantive conversations – let alone developed personal friendships - with colleagues from the other community.
Each year 15 Hebrew University undergraduate and graduate students from a range of disciplines are chosen according to their proven interest in, and commitment to, the field of human rights, as well as their academic excellence. The Program consists of a comprehensive, year-long interdisciplinary course on human rights in Israeli society, taught at the Hebrew University by the Program's Founding Director, Dr. Daphna Golan - combined with an internship of 8-10 hours per week at human rights NGOs under the Center's supervision.
Each student chooses an organization from a lengthy list of NGOs that have asked to take part in the Program and have been approved by the Minerva Center for Human Rights. In recent years these have included: ACRI - The Association for Civil Rights in Israel; Bizchut - The Center for the Human Rights of People with Disabilities; Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel; Jerusalem Rape Crisis Center; Kav La'Oved - The Worker's Hotline; Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance; PCATI - The Public Committee against Torture in Israel; Bimkom - Planners for Planning Rights; ASSAF - Aid Organization for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Israel; Physicians for Human Rights; The Israel Religious Action Center; B'Tselem - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Territories; The Jerusalem African Community Center; and others.
Students chosen for the Program receive a scholarship and academic credit. Current and former Fellows are strongly encouraged to take part in other academic activities of the Minerva Center as well.
The Human Rights Fellows Program consistently receives rave reviews from the Fellows and from the organizations at which they volunteer – and has had a powerful cumulative impact on the development of human rights professionals and civil society in Israel. A recent survey of Program graduates found that an overwhelming proportion of past Fellows now work professionally in human rights fields and report that their experience in the Program had a deeply profound and formative impact on them, and on their choice of career.