Jessica Montell has served as B'Tselem's Executive Director since 2001. She first joined B'Tselem in 1995 as Resource Director. Prior to joining B'Tselem, Ms. Montell worked at various Israeli social justice organizations, including the Israel Women's Network, Shatil and HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual. She has also served as a consultant to the US-based Lawyers Committee for Human (now Human Rights First). In 2011, Ms. Montell was selected by Ha'aretz as one of "the year's 10 most influential Anglo immigrants."

Ms. Montell has a Masters degree from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. She is the author of B’Tselem’s comprehensive report Prisoners of Peace: Administrative Detention in the Oslo Process. She writes regularly in the Jerusalem Post and is a frequent speaker and commentator on human rights, international humanitarian law and counter-terror policies. Some of her op-eds include the following:

Beyond Goldstone: A truer discussion about Israel, Hamas and the Gaza conflict, Washington Post

Bibi's Shell Game in the West Bank, Foreign Policy

Time for a new deal for administrative detainees, Jerusalem Post

Both sides must address their war crimes in Gaza, Lebanon Daily Star

Demagoguery vs. Human Rights, The Jewish Daily Forward

To contact Jessica Montell please write to: jmontell@btselem.org