The Knesset’s summer session commenced on 24 May 2016 and will continue until early August. Various legislative initiatives are on the agenda including the “Transparency” Bill/NGO Bill, the MK Suspension Bill, the Insolvency Law and the Youth Bill – which provides for stricter punishment against juveniles. Also on the agenda are changes in urban renewal and the introduction of medicines to the basic ‘basket‘ of health services.
During this Knesset session ACRI will advocate for legislative initiatives that safeguard human rights, including the promotion of a new Basic Law on Social Rights, reforms relating to nursing and caregiving, direct employment of contract workers, and other changes that would help protect vulnerable communities.
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NGO Bill
Constitution, Law and Justice Committee | 7/06/2016 | Preparation for second and third readings
ACRI’s position: The alleged objective of the bill is to increase transparency with regards to funding sources from foreign political entities, due to concerns that foreign governments will intervene in the country’s internal affairs. In fact all NGOs that receive donations and contributions from foreign entities are already subject to strict disclosure requirements. The bill ignores private donations, which are much larger in scope and are equally important to disclose. Therefore, we believe that this bill is a politically-motivated attempt to weaken and de-legitimize certain organizations in Israel, who are not aligned with the views of the current political majority. ACRI believes that the bill is improper and anti-democratic. It violates basic human rights and freedoms including the freedom to criticize and to monitor government activity.
The Committee discussed the bill on 7 June 2016. The Committee is scheduled to continue discussing the bill on 15 June 2016, in preparation for second and third readings in the Committee, after which the bill will be brought to the plenary.
Constitution, Law and Justice Committee | 7/06/2016 | Preparation for second and third readings
ACRI’s position: ACRI opposes the initiative to enshrine in law the power to suspend members of Knesset on the basis of political considerations. Giving MKs authority to suspend other members of the Knesset would limit the range of political views in the Knesset (from the left and the right). The bill has the potential to exclude entire groups from presenting their world view and to limit their participation in the democratic process. The proposal in the bill to replace suspended MKs with the next person in the Knesset list is not a solution, as the right to vote includes the right to choose specific representatives in the Knesset.
This is a clear case of tyranny of the majority, when the political majority is abusing its power against a political or other minority. The bill must be considered with the understanding that Israel has a permanent Arab political minority and many divisions, and the bill presents a risk that entire population groups will be excluded from the political system on a permanent basis and will not be represented. ACRI calls on the Knesset to defend democracy and protect one of the most fundamental rights of individuals in Israel – the right to vote and win by political representation, even in the face of ideological disagreements.
The Committee discussed the bill on 7 June 2016. The Committee is scheduled to continue its discussion of the bill on 20 June 2016 in preparation for second and third readings in the committee, after which the bill will be brought to the plenary.
Education, Culture and Sports Committee | 06/06/2016 | Discussion
In February 2011, the High Court accepted a petition submitted by ACRI and ruled that the Ministry of Education and the Jerusalem Municipality must solve the problem of the shortage of classrooms in East Jerusalem within five years. The period allocated by the Court has now ended, and there is still a severe shortage of classrooms. The Knesset’s Education Committee has been holding periodic discussions on this matter to monitor the implementation of the Court’s ruling. Ahead of the discussion, ACRI sent an update letter to the Committee:
- Only 40% of students in East Jerusalem currently attend official municipal schools. This percentage has remained the same in the last five years. All other students attend schools that are not officially recognized or subsidized by the Ministry of Education, and therefore pay thousands of shekels per year from their own pockets.
- In the last five years only 200 new classrooms were built in East Jerusalem. An additional150 classrooms were rented.
- Only half of the classrooms in the official municipal school system are up to standard (820 out of 1700 classrooms are not up to standard).
The handling of complaints about police violence
Special Committee for the Transparency and Accessibility of Government Information | 30/05/2016 | Discussion
ACRI’s position: Police forces are given extensive powers and responsibility. Complaints made against police personnel who had abused their powers do not always receive appropriate responses or attention. The Investigation Department of the Police Force, “Mahash”, publishes a short annual report, which includes a review of the number of complaints about police misconduct, conclusions of investigations, a summary of decisions made etc. However, the department’s website does not refer to the information in these annual reports. Moreover, the reports do not include important data on categories such as: the type of violence (for example the use of firearms, tasers, the use of firearms to disperse demonstrations and incidents when violence was combined with sexual harassment); the population groups affected (broken down by gender, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, age, etc.); or details of complaints sorted by unit or police station. This data would make it possible to more accurately understand the characteristics of police violence, recognize biases, discrimination, and the different aspects of the problem in order to help eliminate the phenomenon.
