Dear friends

Last month, Attorney Tamar Peleg-Sryck passed away at the age of 97. Tamar decided to study law at an age when most people retire from professional endeavors. For two decades she worked as a lawyer at HaMoked, fighting for basic rights for Palestinian prisoners.

I first met Tamar in 1997 when I was at B’Tselem, conducting research for a report on administrative detention. I spent days and days in Tamar’s apartment, pouring through court records from the hundreds of cases she represented on behalf of HaMoked. Tamar was my teacher and mentor on this issue.

These past months, much of HaMoked’s work is devoted to defending the rights of detainees. We are fighting against the forced disappearance of hundreds of Palestinians detained from the Gaza Strip. We are contesting the inhumane conditions of the entire Palestinian population in Israeli prisons. The legacy of Tamar’s stubborn efforts in these fields, her uncompromising fight for basic rights, shines like a beacon in these dark times. May her memory be an inspiration for us all.

I wish a blessed holiday to those of you celebrating Eid al-Fitr, and my best wishes for Passover. May this truly be a festival of freedom, with a ceasefire in Gaza and a return of the hostages.

All the best,

Jessica Montell
Executive Director of HaMoked