The article entitled Spain funds ‘summer camp’ for foreign volunteers to rebuild demolished illegal Palestinian homes, which merited the front page of The Jerusalem Post (August 10), would seem somewhat of a non-story. After all, Israel and the US funded NGOs assisting Jews in the Soviet Union.

Israel went so far as to argue that the human rights provisions of the UN Charter granted it the right to speak and act on behalf of persecuted Jews even if they were not Israeli nationals. Anyone approaching Jerusalem encounters the “Sakharov Gardens,” named for Andrei Sakharov, a Soviet human rights figure who could not have survived without the political support of outside governments – a close friend, by the way, of Natan Sharansky, whose own release from the Gulag was made possible by the intervention of foreign governments.

Israel has long and openly justified its interventions in countries like apartheid South Africa and Argentina under the military dictatorship as a way of defending the local Jewish communities. So-called pro-Israel organizations in the US are well known for advocating support for pro-democracy groups in Iran and Egypt. And doesn’t Israel intervene deeply in American internal politics when, through AIPAC, its lobby in Washington, it attempts to get “friends of Israel” elected to Congress and de-elect more critical members?

HERE I will say something that may surprise: Israel should intervene in situations when human rights are threatened, be they of Jews or of any other people. Indeed, Israel was one of the first countries to urge the governments of the world to employ universal jurisdiction in prosecuting Nazi war criminals. In doing so it recognized the essence of human rights – the notion that they are universal. “Universal jurisdiction” means, as Israel pointed out in the wake of the Holocaust, that safeguarding the rights of individuals and peoples is not the exclusive domain of the government involved, but is the business of the entire international community.

In urging universal jurisdiction on the international community, Israel rejected categorically the contention that the treatment of one’s own citizens or people under one’s control is a “domestic, internal matter.” This was the argument used by the most nefarious of regimes: Hitler’s claim that Germany’s “Jewish problem” was an internal issue and that foreign governments should “butt out” is the most notorious, but it’s been repeated by Russia in regard to Chechnya, China in regard to Tibet and the Serbs in their campaign of “ethnic cleansing” in Bosnia to mention just a few. Human rights organizations are the favorite targets of oppressive regimes.

One of the major instruments in enforcing universal human rights is the Fourth Geneva Convention, approved by the UN in 1949 and ratified by Israel. It provides a double layer of protection for people living under occupation: The occupying power is held responsible for the well-being of the people under its control, but so is the entire international community. While Israel refuses to apply the Fourth Geneva Convention to the occupied territories, denying that it even has an occupation (a position rejected by every country in the world, including its American patron), in fact all governments and court systems are required under universal jurisdiction to prosecute violations of human rights and to intervene on behalf of the peoples being oppressed.

This is no mere academic issue. Had the Fourth Geneva Convention been adopted and enforced by the international community in 1939 instead of 1949, the worst of the Holocaust could have been averted.

SO WHAT’S wrong with Spain supporting human rights organizations such as the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), Breaking the Silence, Rabbis for Human Rights, the Coalition of Women for Peace and ACRI, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel? Just as it is absolutely appropriate for Israel to intervene when Jewish human rights are threatened abroad, so too is it absolutely appropriate for the Spanish government to intervene to strengthen human rights in Israel while offering protection to the Palestinians whose homes are being demolished.

But it isn’t enough.

While I’m grateful that countries like Spain pursue their international responsibilities as guarantors of human rights, the occupation is robbing Israel of its soul. The fact that government officials and the media criticize “foreign intervention” yet ignore the reasons for it – in this case Israel’s demolition of more than 24,000 Palestinian homes in the occupied territories since 1967 with no “security” justification at all – puts our country in the company of disreputable regimes under which Jews have traditionally suffered or against which they have struggled. If we cannot end this occupation on our own, I would ask Spain and the rest of the international community to intervene even more forcefully. Forget the pointless negotiations.

Merely enforcing the Fourth Geneva Convention would cause the occupation to collapse of its own illegality and immorality.

As for all those Israeli officials who nevertheless complain about foreign intervention in Israel’s “internal affairs,” I would simply point out a geographical and political fact: Neither the occupied territories nor their Palestinian residents are “internal” to Israel. Both are external. Our oppression of the Palestinians has nothing to do with the State of Israel. It is rather disingenuous, therefore, to argue that Spain, by supporting ICAHD’s rebuilding of Palestinian homes illegally demolished in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention is somehow “interfering.”

Finally, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s spokesman Mark Regev crosses a line of libel when he accuses me in the article of “justifying terror.” My views are well known and readers can view many of my presentations on YouTube. I always condemn terrorism, the killing or harming of innocent civilians. But, again, I take the human rights approach which condemns all forms of terrorism, whether that of non-state actors like Hamas or that of states, certainly including Israel.

Let’s start taking responsibility for our policies and actions so that other countries – who are not our enemies – will not find it necessary to “intervene.”

The writer is director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD).

After the excitement of the South Hebron Hills, it was nice to return to Beit Arabiya and both of our work sites in Anata. We began the day with a lecture on the economy of the occupation from Shir, of the Alternative Information Center. We talked extensively about the Global BDS campaign (Boycotts, Divestments, and Sanctions), with plenty of questions and disagreements about its potential. That night, representatives from the Palestinian Nonviolent Resistance Movement came to talk about the demonstrations in Bil’in, as well as demolitions and water inequality in the Jordan Valley.

We devoted the rest of the day to the work sites, and are making excellent progress, working right on schedule, and the group is feeling quite optimistic.

Anxela, form Spain, and the coordinator of this year’s summer camp, says that she feels happy about the camp’s progress. “I think we have a great group, and people are working very hard. We have also encountered a lot of good experiences to help us understand the situation here.”

Cody, from America, and the construction coordinator, agrees. “The camaraderie and the spirit of the camp and the construction site is amazing. It’s a testament to what can happen when we all work hard together.”

Arzu, from Turkey, is “impressed because everyone really is putting a lot of effort into the construction. I didn’t expect this kind of dedication.”

Hara, from Greece, says that the collaboration between the international participants and the Palestinians is her motivation for working hard. “We have a nice mix between the families of the homes and the volunteers. When I see the families sweating alongside me, I want to keep working, instead of stopping for a cigarette.”

Saleem, who has welcomed the participants into the home of him and his wife Arabiya, says that this year’s camp is “…fantastic! Our volunteers are cooperating very well. The languages are not the same, but through signs we can understand each other. The feeling is very good because of our progress on the houses.”

Today’s writers are working on the Jerusalem construction site, beside the Israeli “separation barrier”. Tuesday was a great day; we worked hard but still had fun by all singing together. Our group works well together, and we understand each other well. We have begun constructing an outside garden, cleaning up surrounding stones and digging to build stairs.

We began our excursion to the Old City of Jerusalem on a bus, with no problems at the checkpoint. We were not even asked for our passports! Then we picked up Meir Margalit, a member of both ICAHD and the Jerusalem City Council, who guided us through the city. We began the tour at “New Gate,” which was built for the Franciscans, to avoid walking around the city wall to access their buildings. We observed Ultra-Orthodox Haredim Jews, and learned the meaning and purpose behind their traditional clothing. We entered the Palestinian zone, and learned about the history of a radical Jewish group from the 1960’s called the “Black Panthers”. We drove across the old 1967 frontier toward the Mount of Olives, and saw the old checkpoint where observers still watch for the former frontier. Then we saw Israel’s Hebrew university, located on occupied territory.

On the Mount of Olives, we observed a settler house, occupied by political settlers just in the middle of a Palestine zone, at a strong strategic place. Then we began with the old city, discussing “the Dome of the Rock” and Al-Aqsa Mosque. We learned about the conflict between Jews and Muslims over the rock’s meaning, revolving around Abraham, Mohamed, and the Old Synagogue underground.

From the Mount of Olives, we could see E1 (the highway separating East and West Jerusalem), Beit Arabiya, and settlements, learning about plans to join them with Jerusalem.

After that we stepped through Damascus Gate and into the heart of the Old City. We walked through a complicated crossing of little streets full of shops holding everything you can imagine; but for Palestinians themselves, not just for typical tourists. It was really squished and crowded. In one of the shops we could see some uniformed men. On top of the shops, you can still see people living in their homes. Just before we arrived to the Holy Sepulcher Church, we could see an Israel flag waving in the wind. Just in front of the main door, a man with his weapon was sitting, watching the house. We discovered that they are paid by the state, and stay the whole day. Then we entered the Sacred Sepulcher, divided between the Armenian, Greek Orthodox, and Catholic Churches. Then we took again the bus to the Spanish consulate, to thank them for the economic help to our trip.

We had the opportunity to speak with our ambassador. We put our cards on the table, because the consul spoke about the good relations between Spain and Israel. Some of us asked for Spain to press the Israeli government about the conflict. He answered that Spain alone is not able to decide about such a big issue, especially since it strongly depends on the EU. Apparently, they send regularly messages to Israel, alone or together with other countries, to give their opinion, which differs from EU’s. After that, someone suggested Spain cutting off its supply of weaponry to Israel, and he did not quite answer our question, speaking like a diplomat. After that, putting aside Spain, we asked about his opinion on the way to resolve the conflict, and proposed working with other countries on an agreement. He discussed his view on existing agreements, and how they could be translated into reality. After a positive meeting, we said goodbye and left the consul.