May 16 – May 24 2011
Recent Anti-Democratic Legislation
May 16 | “Slavery Law” Passes Final Vote
An amendment to the Israel Entry Law – infamously known as the “Slavery Law” – passed its final vote in the Knesset on Monday, 16 May 2011, in a 26-6 vote, despite wide opposition from human rights organizations and leading legal experts. The law was passed on the very first day of the Knesset’s Summer Session.
The new law severely harms fundamental human rights of approximately 55,000 migrant workers in the nursing professions in Israel, the majority of which are women. The law enables the Minister of Interior to restrict the number of times a migrant caregiver can change employers, to limit workers to specific geographical areas, and to confine them to specific subsections of the nursing services. The amendment constitutes an attempt to circumvent the High Court of Justice and to restore an earlier “binding arrangement” of migrant workers to their employers, which the High Court has already criticized in 2006 for “creating a modern form of slavery” following a petition by five human rights organizations.
During the Knesset recess in the past month, ACRI and other organizations have worked together and generated some public discussion regarding this pending bill – having initiated a powerful letter by Israeli jurists, followed by a support letter by American-Jewish counterparts (organized by the New Israel Fund) and a subsequent letter from Israeli public opinion leaders – all condemning the bill for severely violating basic human rights, and urging decision-makers to stop it.
English translation of the law
English translation of the Supreme Court ruling against the “binding arrangement” (2006)
English translation of the letter published by 53 Israeli legal experts condemning the “Slavery Law” (March 2011)
Letter signed by 91 prominent American-Jewish legal experts urging Prime Minister Netanyahu to prevent the “Slavery Law” from passing the final reading in the Knesset (May 2011)
May 17 | Preference in Civil Service for Those Who Served in the Military
Yesterday, the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice committee has approved for first reading a bill promoting discrimination against persons who did not serve in the military. According to this government supported bill, tabled by MK Hamad Amar (Yisreal Beitenu), Israeli citizens who have completed military or national service will be given preference when applying for positions in the civil service. The bill discriminates against ethnic minorities and other individuals exempt by law from military service (e.g. religious women, Arab citizens of Israel, handicapped people) and stands in contradiction to the value of equal access to employment.
This bill has garnered opposition from many human rights organizations, including ACRI and other organizations promoting equal rights for women, Ethiopian Jews, Arab citizens of Israel, and handicapped persons. The Ministry of Justice, the Equal Employment Opportunities commission, and even the legal advisers of the Knesset Constitution Committee – have all voiced their opposition to this bill.
Upcoming Anti-Democratic Legislation
May 24 | Tribunal on Immigration and Status Affairs
The Knesset Interior Affairs Committee will discuss a government supported bill that seeks to establish a tribunal for immigration and status matters within the Ministry of Justice – in preparation for its second-third (final) reading in the plenum. The judges of this court shall be employed by the executive branch, on a 3 year contract that may be extended at its discretion. The judges will be allowed to rule without any public debate; in fact, without holding an oral debate at all. The authorities will be exempt from presenting various documents to the court and will be allowed to demand ex-parte hearings.
Matters of immigration and the status of non-Jews are not currently regulated by a clear immigration policy. Therefore, once this tribunal is established, all the executive, legislative, and judicial powers pertaining to the immigration and status of non-Jews will be in the hands of the Ministries of Justice and Interior. Various countries have special immigration tribunals, some of those even within the executive branch, but they follow detailed immigration laws that were established by the legislative branch, not by the executive branch itself.
The Israeli judicial system is overburdened with status and immigration cases, due to arbitrary or illegal decisions made by the authorities, as well as to intolerable bureaucracy. The courts have repeatedly criticized the executive branch for its policies and violations, and thus the executive branch now wishes to establish its own tribunal and so to rid itself of the court’s criticism.
Success in the Spotlight
May 23 | Free Dental Care for Children
Today (May 23), The Knesset Labor, Welfare, and Health Committee will discuss the extension of free dental healthcare for children within the National Health Insurance Law. In July 2009, Deputy Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman announced a groundbreaking plan to include dental healthcare for children, and in the future for the elderly, within the National Health Insurance Law. The announcement came after extensive efforts by the Coalition for Public Dental Health, spearheaded by ACRI, to craft a bill that will ensure free public dental care for children and the elderly, as a first step in providing free dental care to the entire population. Since that announcement, the inclusion of dental care in the healthcare basket has been set for limited time periods, and is extended periodically.
Dental services were not included in the 1994 National Health Insurance Law, and have since been provided by the health funds only to those who pay for supplementary insurance plans, leaving those who cannot afford such plans uncared for. Data comparing dental health in Israel with other Western countries has shown Israelis and their children to be lagging far behind, and approximately 50% of the elderly in Israel are completely toothless – thus free dental care is particularly important for these two vulnerable age groups.
New Plan to Provide Dental Care for Children and the Elderly (July 2009)
