We are here to break old habits. Donate to B'Tselem today: http://bit.ly/DonatetoBTselem 2014 was a terrible year. It was one of the cruelest and deadliest in the history of the occupation. After so much killing, devastation, pain and suffering it is natural to want to “get back to normal”. We must not get back to normal. That “normal” is morally reprehensible. It is deadly, guaranteeing the very opposite of peace and justice. For the millions of Palestinians living under occupation, that “normal” means living a practically defenseless existence in the face of a constant threat of harm. Human rights violations must never become the norm – not after 47 years, not after one hundred.
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Launched in 2007, the B'Tselem Video Department's Camera Project strives to protect human rights in the Occupied Territories through the medium of film. The Project distributes hundreds of video cameras to trained Palestinian volunteers who live in high tension areas within the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. These volunteers capture video footage, which B’Tselem distributes through traditional and new media in Israel and abroad. The cameras enable individuals to share their daily struggles and put a human face on the realities of living under military occupation.
In this innovative project, B’Tselem and the Guardian gave six Palestinians and Israelis cameras to create video diaries of their lives in occupied East Jerusalem, under the shadow of the settlement enterprise. The diaries offer a glimpse into the impact of the volatile reality on their lives. This is one aspect of B’Tselem’s video project, in which the organization has given some 200 Palestinian families cameras to document violations of their rights.
Immediately after Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip ended last year, B'Tselem gave video cameras to 15 young Gazan students and asked them to document everyday life around them. Each volunteer chose his or her personal viewpoint. The results are on air in Israel's leading online news portal, Ynet, and have been covered by the New York Times.