An initiative by the Jerusalem Institute of Justice hosts dozens of foreign legal interns a year as part of Israel's international public diplomacy efforts.
The program was launched in 2010 as part of the JIJ's vision to promote human rights, the rule of law, and the freedom of thought, conscience and democracy.
Since then, the institute has been hosting interns from around the world who have an academic background in international law, administration and politics, and who are actively involved in research projects focusing on human rights in the Middle East from an Israeli perspective.
CEO of the Jerusalem Institute of Justice Flavia Sevald said one of the activities the interns recently pursued was "filing a motion for an International Criminal Court investigation against Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh for crimes against humanity and human rights violations.
"We are currently preparing to file for ICC action against Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Without the interns gathering testimonies we wouldn't be able to promote such initiatives," she said.
Alexandra Mogrin, 24, a volunteer from Brussels who is involved in the emerging case against Abbas, said she chose the program because she "wanted a background in human rights, and just reading the news in Belgium offered me no understanding of what is really happening here."
She said most people have a skewed view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is why they find it easier to pick sides.
"We in Europe don't have a very positive view of Israel, and it [Israel] is constantly being condemned, by bodies like the United Nations, which the media underscores. It was important for me to formulate my own opinion and not simply believe what I was told," she said.
