Right-wing cyber 'soldiers' take on Israeli human rights organization

It is doubtful that the Israeli public would have even been aware of the competition held by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its Human Rights Tulip award, if not for the right-wing Israeli activists who organized to keep the B’Tselem organization from winning the prize and 100,000 euros ($113,000). Thirty organizations and human rights activists from around the world have reached the competition's final stage, among them two Israeli organizations, Adalah and B’Tselem. But while the Adalah nomination was met with apathy among right-wing Israeli activists, the B’Tselem nomination was a red flag.

According to the Tulip statutes, voters around the world may vote online for one of the organizations or activists who reached the final stage of the competition. The three nominees who garner the most votes by Sept. 18 will enter the finals. Then the Dutch foreign affairs minister will add another three candidates to the three chosen nominees.