I had the privilege of interning for Adalah (truly full-time) in the summer of 1998, when Adalah was a much smaller place than it is today. My connection to Adalah continued for some time after my experiences in Israel, as I was able to do some work for Adalah on various cases as pro bono work at the law firm I started working for after law school. I now work in the Office of Chief Counsel (Foreign Assets Control) at the US Treasury Department, advising the Office of Foreign Assets Control on economic sanctions related to Sudan, the Dem. Rep. of Congo, Liberia, and Conflict Diamonds. I have also volunteered for several years as an activist and organizer supporting the Israeli refuser movement. Though short, my experience with Adalah was a critical piece of my development as a lawyer. Perhaps more than any other experience, Adalah taught me to believe in the power of the law, and lawyers, to achieve what politics and other forms of activism often cannot. Hassan often talked about the many people who told him that Adalah, or any number of individual cases brought by Adalah, would fail, for one reason or another. It is a testament to Hassan, Rina, Marwan and everyone else who has worked so hard for so long, on so many important issues, that they have understood the pursuit and achievement of justice can -- indeed, must -- overcome short-sightedness, rationalizations, and inequality.

Brad Brooks-Rubin, Legal Intern, Summer 1998
Attorney, US Treasury Department

In many senses, one could say that I "married" Adalah, both professionally and personally. Professionally, my adventure as a legal intern was among the most profound and formative experiences of my legal career. Indeed, Adalah's dedication in the face of seemingly insurmountable hurdles quickly inspired my belief that skillful and determined legal advocacy has the power to overcome even the most deeply entrenched social and political inequalities. That said, when I walked in the door as a young and naïve law student, I quickly learned that Adalah's lawyers were about a lot more than pie-in-the-sky idealism and philosophical ranting. There was hard work to be done, and Adalah's lawyers, like a family, rolled up their sleeves each day and fought in the trenches. As an intern, I was never relegated to a back room to perform some trivial task. Instead, I was immediately welcomed as an integral member of the Adalah family, which meant working on Supreme Court petitions, participating vocally in discussions, debates and staff meetings, and attending conferences and client meetings. In short, I felt like I belonged. In three fleeting months, I grew as both a lawyer and a person, and came to understand the very real way in which lawyers can be the beacons for change and hope in society. The lessons I learned at Adalah are, in one way or another, infused into the way I practice law every day. As if that was not enough, Adalah kept on giving. During my stint as an intern, I met Farida Deif, the woman of my dreams! She too quickly recognized that there was something special about this organization, and joined them for a year. Today, as a married couple building a life together and finding our bearings in the world, Adalah will always be a fundamental part of who we are.

Tawfiq Rangwala, Legal Intern, Summer 2000
Attorney, New York City

Adalah was and remains one of the human rights NGOs whose work I most respect. It combines strategic domestic legal advocacy with strong international advocacy - its staff thinking about both levels at once. My years at the organisation included some of the most interesting experiences I have had professionally, and I deeply value the opportunity to have worked with such an extraordinary team. Even now, people who work with me will testify that I have a special place for Adalah, and I still help out my former colleagues there. I really look forward to watching the organisation continue to grow and take on new challenges. Given the situation on the ground, now more than ever there is a real need for strategic organisations that can raise Palestinian human rights at the local and international levels. I have no doubt that Adalah will meet these challenges, and will continue its groundbreaking work for years to come.

Anne Massagee, Human Rights Advocacy Fellow/Coordinator, 2001-2002
International Center for Transitional Justice (New York)

Rina and I had pulled another all-nighter trying to finish some epic grant proposal. Exhausted, I tried to walk straight through a glass door without opening it. I rebounded abruptly from what moments earlier had appeared to be empty space. Intessar came over, shook her head, and called for a repairman. I waited for the stars to clear from my vision before going back to finish the proposal. So Adalah taught me that crashing into walls (or doors), visible or invisible, should never distract you from your work. Among other important things. Before I came to Adalah, to say that I knew the meaning of hard work and dedication would be like someone telling me they knew the taste of good falafel without ever having been to Shafa'amr. You may have had falafel, but you haven't had Jahlash. It's across from the post office. Get there early, they usually sell out by 2. Take your sandwich outside into the scorching afternoon, and tilt your ear towards yonder mountain. You may hear a distant bellowing. It's Hassan Jabareen. Deep in the bowels of Adalah, a stagiaire is cringing. A Supreme Court petition is bubbling. Change is coming.

Jake Wadland, Human Rights Advocacy Intern, 2001-2003
International Center for Transitional Justice (Toronto) and Doctors without Borders

I came to Adalah for two reasons - I wanted to live abroad and I wanted to participate in legal advocacy for a good cause. While working at Adalah, I met some of the most electric and engaging personalities I would ever know. Their kindness was as genuine as their dedication. I have encouraged everyone I've met since then with a serious interest in Palestinian minority rights to apply. Since then, I've graduated from Columbia Law School and I'm now working at a corporate law firm in downtown Manhattan.

John Halski, Human Rights Advocacy Intern, 2001-2002
Attorney, New York City

As for my time in Adalah -- I loved working there, and just wish I'd stayed longer. That said, it was the perfect way to spend some time during my third year of law school, a reminder that the law exists outside of textbooks and well-appointed buildings in New York. Thinking about it now, my time in Shafa‘amr played a role in everything that came after. That said, the year after law school, working on IHL [international humanitarian law] in Israel and the OPT also convinced me that I couldn't continue to focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; it became too personal, too many issues that I could never resolve to my own satisfaction. On one, rational level, I understand that as long as Israel remains a state defined by religion, Palestinian citizens will always suffer from a species of apartheid, regardless of any rhetoric about equal rights; looking more broadly, part of me believes that the only solution to the conflict in the OPT is somehow to create a single state. And, as Jew, I find a surprisingly deep emotional attachment to Israel -- not Israel right or wrong, but at least a vision of what Israel could become. Yet that attachment is to a great extent to the idea of a Jewish state; this sense that it is important that there be such a state. During my year in Nazareth [with the Arab Association for Human Rights], and then the year after law school, I was never able to square that circle, to find a way to reconcile those two somewhat diametrically opposed views. Which I guess is why it became so personal, and so difficult -- difficult in a way that Afghanistan or Darfur or DRC [the Democratic Republic of Congo] can never be.

Michael Bear Kleinman, Legal Intern, Winter 2003
Regional Advocacy Advisor, CARE International, East and Central Africa

I came to Adalah towards the end of my legal training in early 2004. I had looked forward to working with Adalah lawyers and to seeing how they used law, and in particular how they used comparative international human rights law, to effect practical change for the Palestinian minority in Israel. While I did learn a lot about law and legal strategy, what I learned most about the benefits of collaborative lawyering. What I remember most was from my months at Adalah was the constant discussion in the office, lawyers "sitting with" one another to tease out the best approach, the meetings at which all members of the organisation contributed freely, often quite vociferously! While Adalah's lawyers are individually excellent, I think it is a tribute to all of them that the collective work of the organisation is greater than the sum of its individual parts. The sense of close collaboration amongst lawyers, the energy and ideas developed through that process, in order to achieve and develop the highest standard of legal representation for those on whose behalf we work is something I have tried to carry with me in my current post as a lawyer with the Refugee Legal Service in Dublin.

Jacki Kelly, Legal Fellow, Spring 2004
Refugee Legal Service (Dublin, Ireland)

At Adalah, I researched, drafted and edited materials for the Public Relations Department and undertook media initiatives in the local and international media. By liaising with Adalah's lawyers on a daily basis, I gained my initial experience of witnessing the application of public law and public international law, particularly with respect to the human rights of minority ethnic groups. The invaluable experience I received at Adalah certainly contributed to my subsequent acceptance as a communications advisor on a project in the occupied Palestinian territory, and shaped my decision to enroll in law school in London in 2006.

Sharif Hamadeh, Human Rights Advocacy Fellow, 2004-2005
Law Student, London

The most gratifying aspect of work for Adalah was to affect social progress not simply by granting a disenfranchised population a voice, but a means of affecting their own change in a society which has long since ignored their rights and needs. In the course of its litigation and advocacy, Adalah manages to accomplish something very few organization achieve: to simultaneously foster a sense of social progress for the local community it serves and to mentor and train young human rights advocates from across the world. I benefited greatly from my experience working with Adalah and expect to continue looking back at my internship as a formative time in my career.

Leila Hull, Human Rights Advocacy Intern, 2005-2006
Brooklyn Law School