Summer 2026 Applications Open Now
Are you seeking to gain experience in field work and human rights advocacy under the guidance of one of the world's leading voices on human rights?
The Hebron Changemakers Summer Internship is an immersive, field-based program for young adults dedicated to human rights work and grassroots activism in Palestine. Participants will travel to Hebron to learn and practice nonviolent resistance, participate in community projects and research, and serve as a protective presence for the local Palestinian community. Interns will be led and mentored by Issa Amro, a UN-recognized Palestinian Human Rights Defender and Nobel Peace Prize nominee. This program provides a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in project management, research and advocacy under the guidance of one of the leading voices on human rights in the world.
The Hebron Changemakers Summer Internship is sponsored by Working for Peace and Justice, Inc. (Friends of Hebron), a 501(c)3-registered charity in the U.S. dedicated to advancing nonviolent approaches to justice and dignity in the Middle East with focus on Hebron. The Internship is conducted in partnership with the local grassroots initiative Youth Against Settlements (YAS), laureate of the Right Livelihood Award of 2024.
2026 Program Sessions
Applicants must apply before the deadline: Mar 31st, 2026. Applicants will be notified if they have been selected for interview and accepted on a rolling basis.
Session A: June 1 – July 8, 2026
Session B: July 9 – August 19, 2026
Each session offers a complete program experience, including orientation, field engagement, mentorship, and structured reflection. Participants who attend both sessions will have the opportunity to deepen their involvement and take on additional responsibilities as appropriate.
Program Cost
The cost of participation is $600 USD per session, which includes housing in Hebron, daily meals, transportation within the city, and full program coordination. We are committed to ensuring that financial limitations do not prevent dedicated young leaders from participating. The Ahmad Amro Memorial Scholarship offers need-based full or partial scholarships to selected applicants. We strongly encourage individuals requiring financial assistance to apply.
What You Will Do
✔ Documentation, Media, and Reporting: You will help document the human rights situation in Hebron and write reports, such as press releases, shadow reports to the UN, Congressional briefs and legal documentation. This includes filming and editing videos, conducting interviews and creating posts for social media.
✔ International Advocacy: You will focus on channeling our local work to an international audience by writing policy briefs, preparing international campaigns and speaking tours. Experienced volunteers may be asked to co-lead tours and welcome international delegations.
✔ Protective Presence: Volunteers will provide protective presence to schools, families and Palestinian volunteers in the most vulnerable parts of Hebron. Thanks to your presence and protection, you will help strengthen Palestinian resilience and safety. Protective presence may include touring the area, spending time in family homes, night shifts, and more.
✔ Academic Research: Volunteers will assist with academic research on automated surveillance systems, settlements and military occupation and their impacts on human rights and community resilience. Research may include writing literature reviews, conducting interviews, cataloging information, and investigative research.
✔ Community Projects: You will help continue our social and creative community projects and events at the YAS community center and Ahmad Film House, and help support the Karamti Women's Center. You will take part in project management, event organizing, and general assistance.
Please indicate your preferred areas work and relevant skills in the application form, and we will review and assign responsibilities accordingly. We try to accommodate preferences but cannot guarantee placement within any specific category.
Our Vision
We believe that change must be community-led, and our work is grounded in partnership with local civil society. Through the Changemakers Internship, we aim to cultivate a new generation of leaders who understand the principles and practical realities of nonviolent resistance. Participants come to learn and observe, to support and protect, and to stand in active solidarity with the Palestinian community.
The work is rigorous and requires emotional resilience, teamwork, and adaptability. In return, participants gain practical skills in project management, research, advocacy, cross-cultural collaboration, and intensive knowledge of human rights in action.
In the Changemakers program, we are committed to supporting grassroots, nonviolent movements for human rights in Palestine by building a movement of international volunteers. Meaningful solidarity requires presence, partnership, and continued engagement rooted in respect for local leadership and culture. Being a Changemaker starts in Hebron and continues through a longer partnership rooted in commitment to human rights.
Partnership, Mentorship and Local Leadership
The internship is conducted in close partnership with Youth Against Settlements (YAS), a grassroots Palestinian initiative based in Hebron and laureate of the 2024 Right Livelihood Award. This partnership ensures that all activities remain locally grounded and aligned with community priorities.
Participants are mentored by the founder of YAS, Issa Amro, a UN-recognized Palestinian Human Rights Defender and Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Amro is also formally recognized as a Human Rights Defender by the European Union and was a guest of the US State Department as part of its International Visitor Leadership Program. Amro has won the One World Media Award (2009) for his role in coordinating B'Tselem's video camera distribution project in Hebron to document human rights violations by Israeli soldiers and settlers. In 2023, Amro received the Global Advocacy Award from the Harvard Law School Advocates for Human Rights and the Harvard Human Rights Journal. He was featured as part of Amnesty International's Write for Rights campaign of 2017 due to his years-long trial in Israeli military court on "baseless" and "politically-motivated" charges for his nonviolent community organizing. In 2025, Amro was listed among TIME Magazine's 100 Next list.
Amro has been featured on CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, NPR, and in New York Times, The Nation, The New Yorker, The Guardian, and more. Mr. Amro has given testimony to the UN Human Rights Council on several occasions, and he testified about his mistreatment to the UN Commission of Inquiry on the OPT in 2023. Amro has founded numerous nonviolent human rights organizations in Hebron, including Youth Against Settlements (YAS), the Hebron branch of the International Solidarity Movement, the Arab Non-Violence Network, and the Hebron Defenders.
Through direct engagement and mentorship, interns gain insight into the strategy, discipline, and courage required to sustain nonviolent civic resistance under occupation. Learning takes place through workshops and discussions as well as through the lived reality of community organizing and daily civic engagement. During the internship, you will be assigned a point person from Youth Against Settlements who will assist you in your stay and be assigned a team.
Who We Seek
We welcome applications from young adults who are genuinely committed to human rights and who approach solidarity work with humility and responsibility. For this internship, our target demographic is 20-35 olds but we welcome volunteers of any age above 18. Ideal candidates demonstrate emotional maturity, cultural sensitivity, and a willingness to learn from community leadership. We welcome volunteers from a variety of backgrounds but may prioritize candidates with prior organizing experience, demonstrated commitment to Palestinian rights, or a relevant academic background.
While prior experience in activism, research, or international work can be valuable, it is not required. What matters most is readiness for immersive engagement and a clear commitment to nonviolent principles.
This program is best suited for individuals who are prepared for a structured, intensive experience and who understand the importance of accountability when engaging in human rights work.
Here is what is included in your stay!
✔ Accommodation: you will be hosted by a Palestinian family or community house in Hebron.
✔ Meals: we will provide group meals and Palestinian home cooked meals. Vegans and vegetarians are welcome.
✔ Transportation: we will provide transportation within the city of Hebron during your stay. Transportation costs of initial travel to and from Palestine is not included.
✔ Events, Trainings & Walking tours: you will be trained in human rights through training sessions and workshops, and learn about Hebron's unique political and humanitarian situation through walking tours and event attendance.
✔ Arabic Language and Cultural Exchange: you will learn and practice Palestinian Arabic with our team and local residents through immersion and language exchanges. You will learn about Palestinian life, culture and traditions through actively taking part in local life and resilience.
✔ Certificate of Volunteering: at the end of your stay, you will be provided with a certificate of completion of the internship provided by Working for Peace and Justice, Inc.
✔ A Future in Human Rights: You will build crucial skills in community-led fieldwork that will inform your future career in human rights. Committed volunteers will be notified of new internship opportunities in the United States and Palestine to build a future in human rights advocacy.
Ahmad Amro Memorial Scholarship
We are committed to ensuring that financial limitations do not prevent dedicated young leaders from participating. The Ahmad Amro Memorial Scholarship offers need-based full or partial scholarships to selected applicants. We strongly encourage individuals requiring financial assistance to apply. The full Scholarship covers the full program costs ($600 per session), excluding flight tickets. This scholarship is named in memory of human rights defender Ahmad Amro who humbly dedicated his life to the community in Hebron and worked tirelessly for human rights.
Application Process and Next Steps
Step 1: All applications for Summer 2026 must be submitted by March 31st, 2026 through the following form: Click here to apply. Applicants are reviewed on a rolling basis. We encourage applicants to apply early and to ensure that all contact information is accurate, as all communications will be sent electronically.
Step 2: Selected applicants will be invited for an interview and subsequently notified of final decisions via email and asked to confirm their participation.
Step 3: Upon confirmation, applicants will be provided with information on logistics information in preparation of their stay.
Step 4: Upon arrival in Hebron, Volunteers will be asked to sign the volunteer code of conduct and waiver prior to their participation in activities. The waiver ensures that the participant understands the challenges of volunteering in occupied Palestinian territories.
Step 5: Volunteers will undergo orientation with mandatory training sessions and be assigned a team and point person.
Join Us
The Hebron Changemakers Summer Internship reflects our belief that peace and justice are built through principled action, community partnership, and sustained commitment. At Working for Peace and Justice (Friends of Hebron), we are proud to support a program that equips emerging leaders with the tools, relationships, and lived understanding necessary to stand for human dignity through nonviolent means.
We invite you to apply and to become part of a growing network of Changemakers dedicated to justice, accountability, and solidarity!
