Ruti Rosenfeld was a founding member of the Jerusalem group of MachsomWatch. She was a political activist since the early days of occupation following the Six Day War, and joined MachsomWatch shortly after 2001. As a member, she monitored, reported and helped solve human rights issues in all the checkpoints in the Jerusalem area.
Ruti was a warm and strong person and this characterized her activism. She was loved by the Palestinian workers we met regularly at the Qalandyia checkpoint and she managed to maintain a good relationship with the soldiers in charge and with the DCO delegates we contacted. This often enabled her to help Palestinians who encountered problems with their permits as well as with personal problems.
Ruti was born in the Netherlands and spent her infancy in a DP camp in Switzerland. She was married to Prof Jonah Rosenfeld, Israel Prize laureate, founder of social work studies at Hebrew University and a fighter for social reforms in Israel. She was the mother of two daughters and grandmother to six.
All of us in MachsomWatch miss Ruti and appreciate the time we spent together. Her memory remains a blessing.
Ronny Perlman