Bob Bernstein and Human Rights Watch: A Mixed Record

Washington DC, May 28 — Robert Bernstein, the founder of Human Rights Watch (HRW) and a pioneering leader of the publishing company Random House, died earlier this week, aged 96. His passing provides a good opportunity to examine the role that HRW and its sometimes outspoken founder have played regarding the Palestinians’ pursuit of their fundamental human rights-as well as other key issues in the Middle East.

From 1993 through 2019, I was a member of HRW’s “Middle East and North Africa Advisory Committee.” I got a fairly close-up look at…