Dan Yakir (left) and Hassan Jabareen, photo by Anner GreenACRI Receives the Gorny Prize
On 1 December 2011, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) has been awarded the Gorny Prize for a human rights organization from the Israeli Association of Public Law.
In its statement, the Awards Committee has mentioned some of ACRI’s noteworthy achievements from the past year – among them: the court ruling that instructed the state to revoke its policy regarding the deportation of pregnant migrant workers; the High Court of Justice ruling that the constitutional right to equality in education had been denied to tens of thousands of children from East Jerusalem for many years, owing to the lack of free formal education available to all students; and the petition to the High Court regarding the special security checks conducted on Israel’s Arab citizens in the country’s airports, a petition following which the court issued an order nisi instructing the respondents to provide a reason why these security checks are not conducted on all Israeli citizens on the basis of objective and equal criteria.
The Awards Committee further noted that “The importance of ACRI’s activities and its contribution to Israel’s human rights discourse cannot be underestimated, especially in light of the voices that are heard most loudly today in Israeli politics. These voices seek to limit and restrict civil activity and the activity of human rights groups through various means, some of which could be considered contrary to Israel’s democratic character […] ACRI has both a discerning ear and an understanding heart to the plight of the needy individual, the minority group facing discrimination, and to the weaker populations who lack strength on their own to stand up against the power of the government.”
To download the full statement written by the Gorny Prize Awards Committee, click here.
Guardian of Human Rights Prize to ACRI’s Chief Legal Counsel, Att. Dan Yakir
Two weeks after the Gorny Prize was awarded to ACRI, on 13 December 2011, a moving ceremony took place in Jerusalem, in which ACRI’s Chief Legal Counsel, Attorney Dan Yakir, received the New Israel Fund’s Guardian of Human Rights Prize. In the same ceremony, the Herman Schwartz Award for Law and Social Justice was awarded to Attorney Hassan Jabareen, founder and executive director of Adalah – the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel.
The Awards Committee wrote: “The committee has chosen to award the Human Rights Defender Prize to Dan: for his professional leadership of the highest standard; for his relentless commitment to the struggle for human and civil rights; for his impeccable integrity; and because he is a role model and a leading figure within the human rights lawyers community in particular and to all those who are struggling for human rights and social justice in Israel.”
Former Supreme Court Justice, Ayala Procaccia, spoke at the ceremony and criticized attempts to restrict human rights: “Human rights are the very heart and soul of Israeli democracy. It is not enough for them to be written in law books and the verdicts of the courts. In order to give them life, a motivating force is necessary to translate these abstract principles to the everyday reality in the field. The human rights organizations are the connecting link between the principles of human rights and their implementation on the ground of reality. They are the seeing eye, the listening ear, and the attentive heart to what goes on in the field. They are what bring the distress of the individual and the community to the public consciousness and to the test of the ruling authorities. Without them, where would the individuals and communities go that lack the strength to conduct their struggles by themselves?”
To download former Justice Procaccia’s full address at the ceremony, click here.
ACRI congratulates Attorney Dan Yakir for his remarkable achievements and is also proud of the recognition and honor it has received from the Israeli Association of Public Law.
