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“If not you, then who? If not now, then when?” - Hillel, first-century Jewish scholar.

In an increasingly globalized world, it is easy to feel that one's actions have no weight. When we watch the news and see others acting in defense of human rights, it can feel like the situation must be handled solely by “the experts.” We as individuals make up every single movement in human history.

All of the famous and unspoken heroes of human rights were and are individuals who made a choice to join or start a movement. When an individual makes a choice to defend human rights, it can inspire others to join them, and this can lead to collective action. Collective action is when a group of people come together to work towards a common goal that could not be achieved alone. I believe that collective action can create real change in the world, as long as individuals realize that they have the power to create that change.

The Holocaust

The word “genocide” was used for the first time in 1944 by Jewish scholar Raphael Lemkin in his book, Axis Rule in Occupied Europe. It is described as a systemic destruction of national, ethnic, racial, or religious groups. Elie Wiesel wrote on the Holocaust, saying that it, “was a war against the Jews, in which not all victims were Jews, but all Jews were victims.” I cannot help but note the date on which I write this, March of 2026. It was last September, 2025, that we passed the 90th anniversary of the Nuremberg Race Laws that stripped Jews of their German citizenship and nationality.

Along with this was the Nuremberg Trials, the legal ramifications after WWII when Allied powers used tribunals to find justice, which we are currently in the 80th anniversary of in 2026. Both of these served as part of the foundation of modern international human rights law and development in humanitarian law.

The Holocaust is unique, as every mass atrocity or genocide is unique to itself and its narratives, and it is important to consider and recognize the individual circumstances, histories, and experiences that took place during the event and in its advocacy. There is no copy and paste equation for creating change in human rights. It would be wrong to assume that things just change with the snap of a finger, that governments are moved for change just because. What happened is that activists, advocates, and regular people like you and me, came together to promote what we now call human rights. Someone, somewhere in the world, asked themselves, “Me?” and said yes.

In Jewish scripture, a scholar named Hillel asked a series of questions that we now quote as, “If not me, then who? If not now, when?” but Hillel’s quote is really, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” My interpretation of this sentiment is that there is no “perfect” time, no “perfect” person for advocacy, and nothing stopping anyone from creating human rights advocacy.

Collective Action

Eric Alden Smith describes collective action as, “Any situation where several or many individuals must cooperate in order to produce some collective good.” Collective action, to me, is the act from an individual towards a collective good, or a collective towards a good.

I believe collective action begins with remembrance. Each narrative of survival, of strength, of loss, and of dignity has a place in our collective memory, and we must use lessons, advocates, narratives, and hope from the past to bring change in the future. In a way, we are each the key to our past and present victory, to each other’s shared destiny.

To have collective action, we must allow for it. State-sanctioned violence is not conducive to advancing human rights, both in the moment and in the future. Industrialized death, such was the case with the Holocaust, came from a “state-sanctioned ideology of hate.” The Holocaust, and possibly every other state-sanctioned act of violence, began with words, casual or heavy, meant to divide and spouted by the government.

Collective Human Rights Defenders

Sometimes, it only takes one to spark collective action or help a group of people. Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for female education, is a great example of one voice through the written word, her blog, inspiring thousands of people to become advocates for female educational efforts. Rigoberta Menchu Tum, an indigenous K’iche’Maya woman who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work defending indigenous rights during the Guatemalan Civil War from 1960 - 1996. Her work brought suffering to light and also inspired many people to learn and advocate about the struggles of Indigenous Guatemalans.

Anyone can create action in human rights. You could start a petition for change in your community, donate to local activism organizations, such as mutual aid or advocacy coalitions, or join activists in policy advocacy in your state government. You could reach out to international organizations and donate or help them with their cause. You could write and research about atrocities, hope, policy, etc.

Conclusion

Collective action in human rights work is something that should not be understood as guaranteed. It takes individuals from all over the world to make the choice to advocate for human rights. We have the power to create the change we want to see in the world, as individuals, and as a collective of actors. Collective action is one way to strive for that change, but when we look at movements of justice, peace, or hope, look beyond the group and see the individuals who have made a choice to act.