RighteousJews.org was begun in 2003 as a way to commemorate the memory of those Palestinians who have been, and continue to be depopulated, dispossessed, humiliated, tortured, and murdered in the name of political Zionism and its quest to create a Jewish state in the lands between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River. From its founding in 1897 the Zionist endeavors to "pump in" Jews and "pump out" Palestinians from this land have been the root cause of bloodshed and conflict. These racist endeavors have also been deeply problematic for those who believe in the basic tenets of Judaism of the prophets, namely justice and a duty to heal the world. RighteousJews.org was created to honor those who consider themselves to be Jewish and who have worked for the human rights of non-Jewish Palestinians.

RighteousJews.org was inspired by the website of the most famous Holocaust museum at Yad Vashem, located on Mt. Herzl on the lands of the Palestinian village of Ein Karem 1,400 meters south of the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin. Yad Vashem lists the names of over 19,000 non-Jews who risked their "lives, freedom, and safety in order to rescue one or several Jews from the threat of death or deportation to death camps without exacting in advance monetary compensation." For many years this list was referred to as the list of "Righteous Gentiles." Today it is more politically correct to refer to those who have made the list as the Righteous Among the Nations." According to the Yad Vashem website, "A person recognized as a 'Righteous Among the Nations' is awarded a specially minted medal bearing his name, a certificate of honor, and the privilege of his (or her) name being added to those on the Wall of Honor in the Garden of the Righteous at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. (The last is in lieu of a tree planting, which was discontinued for lack of space.)"

Ahad Ha'am (Asher Ginsberg)

Akiva Orr

Alan Brownfeld

Alfred Lilienthal

Allegra Pacheco

Alta Schwartz

Amira Hass

Ari Packer

Avigail Abarbanel

Cheryl Rubenberg

Dovid Feldman (Rabbi)

Eldad Druks

Ella Habiba Shohat

Elmer Berger (Rabbi)

Felicia Langer

Gadi Gofbarg

Gilad Atzmon

Gisèle Halimi

Hannah Arendt

Henry Herskovitz

Howard Zinn

Ilan Pappe

Irena Klepfisz

Israel Shahak

Jennifer Lowenstein

Jo Tavener

Johannes Wahlstrom-Shamir

Judah Magnes

Jules Rabin

Ken Stone

Lea Tsemel

Lenni Brenner

Marc Ellis

Martin Buber

Meir Gal

Michael Rosen

Miriam Reik

Mordechi Weberman (Rabbi)

Moshe Machover

Moshe Menuhin

Naomi Klein

Neta Golan

Nina Parris

Noam Chomsky

Norman Finkelstein

Ora Wise

Paul Eisen

Phyllis Bennis

Rabkin Yakov

Rachell Marshall

Robert Green

Roni Ben Efrat

Ruchama Marton

Sara Roy

Sherna Berger Gluck

Shimon Tzabar

Tanya Reinhart

Tzvi Havkin

Udi Adiv

Uri Davis

Yehudi Menuhin

Yigal Arens

Yisroel Dovid Weiss (Rabbi)