Issue No. 19, June 2010

In Brief

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ACRI Reacts to Flotilla Crisis

Following Israel's military takeover of the Gaza flotilla and the killing of nine participants, ACRI joined an urgent appeal to top Israel Defense Forces officials by the Public Committee against Torture in Israel and partner organizations, requesting detailed information about the arrests and killings of the flotilla participants. ACRI also issued a statement condemning the takeover and killings and demanded a thorough, independent investigation of the incident. Ahead of the planned protests following the killings, ACRI sent an urgent appeal to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the Ministers of Defense and Public Security, urging them to facilitate the planned demonstrations, and to refrain from using disproportionate force. We also set up a public hotline service and posted expansive legal information online to help citizens realize their right to free protest.

Education in Rahme

In a May 16 ruling, the Beersheba District Court ordered the Ministry of Education and the Yeruham Local Council to establish a kindergarten in the unrecognized Bedouin village of Rahme before the upcoming school year. The ruling comes in response to a petition submitted by ACRI's Yeruham civic action group and legal department, together with the head of the Rahme village committee. The petition was the culmination of a years-long struggle by Jewish residents of Yeruham and Bedouin residents of Rahme to provide a preschool for the children of Rahme, which lies within the jurisdiction of the Yeruham Local Council. Some 120 children in Rahme between the ages of 3-6 have no educational framework at present.

Dental Care for Children

The Coalition for Public Dental Health, of which ACRI is a key member, has achieved remarkable progress in advancing the inclusion of comprehensive dental care for all children in the universal health basket of services. Though Israel's cabinet voted unanimously on May 2 in favor of such a reform, we have faced several major setbacks since then. The High Court has since vetoed the bill, and prior to that, several key figures have attempted to make the plan conditional upon a fifth, for-profit health fund entering the market, to which we are opposed. ACRI, as part of the coalition, will work intensively to ensure that this reform is carried through, with the ultimate goal of making dental services available to all minors and seniors.

Right to Family Life

In May, intensive legal and public work by ACRI, Kav LaOved and the Hotline for Migrant Workers succeeded in halting the deportation of a migrant worker from the Philippines in her seventh month of pregnancy and releasing her from detention. The woman, who possesses a permit to work legally in Israel, was arrested and imprisoned after Interior Ministry officials discovered she was expecting a child with her partner, who is also a legal migrant worker from the Philippines. Officials justified the arrest based on a draconian Ministry regulation which states that migrant workers who engage in romantic relationships must be deported.

Wisconsin's Demise

In a major victory for human rights and social justice, the State announced that the "Wisconsin" welfare-to-work plan, which has severely violated the right to life and the right to work in dignity of tens of thousands of Israelis, would not to be renewed on April 29. The State's announcement was in response to ACRI's petition which claimed that privatizing services having such a direct and powerful impact on people's livelihood and dignity constitutes a major violation of human rights. The cancellation of the plan came following several years of massive public opposition to the plan, including intensive work in the Knesset, legal interventions, and numerous demonstrations against the program. Photo: Tami Gross

Freedom of Information and Due Process

On May 18, the prohibition of arrested political figure Amir Makhoul from meeting his attorney was lifted, following ACRI's appeal to Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein, after 13 days. Prior to that, there had been a publication ban on the arrest of Makhoul and another prominent leader of the Arab minority, Dr. Omar Saeed, which was lifted following several appeals including one by ACRI. The Makhoul and Saeed case came after an extended gag order on a security-related case involving former soldier Anat Kam leaking classified military information to a journalist; in that case, too, the publication ban was lifted following ACRI's appeal.

Internships at ACRI

ACRI is seeking motivated interns to work in its International Relations Department for 3-5 months in fall 2010 or for a one-year fellowship starting in September 2010. Candidates must be native English speakers with excellent writing skills; functional knowledge of Hebrew is an asset. Please send CVs and writing samples to melanie@acri.org.il.

ACRI's head office has moved to Tel Aviv. Please note our new contact information:

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel
Nahalat Binyamin 75
Tel Aviv 65154
Israel

Tel: +972-3-560-8185
Fax: +972-3-560-8165
E-mail:mail@acri.org.il
www.acri.org.il

ACRI's Public Hotline
ACRI operates a “Public Hotline” for consultation and information on rights entitlement: 02-6521218 (Jerusalem and the south), 03-5608185 (Tel Aviv, the Sharon area and the center of the country), and 04-8526333/4/5 (Haifa and the north of the country).

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© ACRI 2010

A letter from Hagai El-Ad, ACRI's Executive Director

Dear friends,

ACRI has been closely following the events surrounding the flotilla takeover earlier this week and the ensuing deaths - and we can only react with horror and dismay. Though I have much to report about our ongoing work, I felt it only appropriate to update you first on our response to these appalling events.

Immediately following confirmation of the deaths, ACRI strongly condemned Israel's takeover of the flotilla and the killing of nine civilians. It is simply unfathomable to us that a mission whose stated purpose was to protest the siege imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip, ended with nine dead and many more injured. We believe that the same unfortunate guiding principles of military force that have put one and a half million people under siege in Gaza for close to four years is what also led to this tragedy.

ACRI, as part of a coalition of human rights organizations, has requested detailed information from the IDF about the location and well-being of the flotilla detainees as well as the circumstances of the deaths. We sent the appeal with the intention of obtaining information to help us contact the detainees as well as to determine which steps – legal and other – the human rights community in Israel can take to respond to this appalling situation.

Given Israel's experience with demonstrations at times of extreme tension, ACRI urged Israel's leaders to facilitate the planned demonstrations in Israel and the OPT according to the law, and to refrain from using disproportionate force. We did this especially in light of the events of October 2000, wherein 13 individuals, all except one Arab citizens of Israel, were killed by security forces during demonstrations in Israel's North. We also pointed to the illegal suppression of demonstrations and widespread arrest of protesters, most of them Arab, during Operation Cast Lead.

On a more optimistic note, I am pleased to announce that Libby Lenkinski Friedlander joined ACRI in March as Director of International Relations. Ms. Lenkinski brings to ACRI extensive experience in the fields of development and communications, having managed the international media department at Ben-Or Consulting, where she also served as the Director of International Outreach for Yesh Din. She holds a bachelor's degree in Cognitive Neuroscience and English literature from McGill University and a master's degree in Education from Bank Street College. Libby replaces Gila Orkin, who served as the Director of International Relations since 2004 and who contributed immensely to the expansion and development of this department and to our whole organization. I trust that we all join together in wishing Gila much success in her future endeavors, and promising Libby all our support for successfully leading ACRI's international and development work during these challenging times.

As always, you are welcome to send any feedback or questions you may have about our work to mail@acri.org.il.

With warm wishes,
Hagai El-Ad

Protecting Democracy

In order to safeguard democracy and human rights in the face of increasing threats, ACRI has launched a new and innovative "Safeguarding Democracy" project, funded generously by the European Commission, in cooperation with our partner organization, Agenda, the Israeli Center for Strategic Communication, as well as SHATIL and Sikkuy. In the context of this project, ACRI has played a leading role in responding proactively to several alarming trends, and specifically to a series of campaigns attempting to disempower - and ultimately shut down - vital civil society organizations such as ACRI. These took the form of ads and billboards, several draft bills aimed at limiting the funding of NGOs, and an ongoing and particularly vicious attack against our friends at the New Israel Fund (NIF). The unfortunate offensive has reinforced the mutual commitment of ACRI and the NIF to a just future in Israel and ACRI's pride in being the NIF's flagship grantee. ACRI will continue working through several key channels - public events, the media, and our ongoing work with Knesset members, decision-makers, and our friends abroad - to reinforce among the Israeli public the important role human rights organizations and the entire third sector play in strengthening Israeli society. ACRI's Human Rights March was proof that Israelis are facing these threats with renewed enthusiasm - 5,000 marchers demonstrated with their feet their refusal to surrender their rights and democratic values. Photo: Keren Manor, ActiveStills

Demanding Rule of Law on Route 443

May 28 was the High Court's deadline for the State to open Route 443, linking Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Modi'in through the West Bank, to Palestinian traffic, following a landmark High Court ruling in response to ACRI's petition against the closure. ACRI strongly condemned the Israel Defense Forces' implementation of the ruling in an appeal to the Deputy Attorney-General. We claimed the implementation defied the spirit of the ruling, giving Palestinians very limited access to the road and no access to Ramallah, despite the fact that the road was built for Palestinians, for the purpose of facilitating their access to Ramallah. The new arrangement creates the false impression of new regulations, genuine freedom of movement, and adherence to the rule of law, though in fact no real change will occur; the Palestinians' situation will actually only worsen. ACRI held both the IDF and the High Court responsible for this travesty in a statement released prior to the route's opening. In tandem with our legal work, ACRI launched an intensive public campaign in favor of the complete opening of Route 443 to Palestinians, including a dynamic video game and comic strip.

The Right to Protest in Sheikh Jarrah

For close to a year, Israelis and Palestinians have held weekly demonstrations in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah against the eviction of two Palestinian families from the homes they've lived in since 1948 so as to allow Jewish families to inhabit them. During this time, the police have repeatedly denied thousands of peaceful, legal demonstrators from realizing their right to protest in Sheikh Jarrah, despite numerous legal interventions and court rulings. ACRI's Executive Director Hagai El-Ad was among the dozens of individuals arrested over the past few months while he was observing a demonstration in Sheikh Jarrah. For this reason, in addition to sending a strong message against Israel's asymmetric laws and policies, these protests have become a symbol of the struggle for democracy and freedom expression in Israel. To ensure that demonstrators and counter-demonstrators at Sheikh Jarrah can realize their lawful rights, ACRI has regularly been sending observers to the protests. Photo: Emily Schneider

Campaign against House Demolitions

In March, ACRI launched a high-profile campaign in Arabic against the ongoing policy of house demolitions, a harsh and continued violation of the rights of Israel's Arab minority. Among the key activities were the publication of online adverts, the production of an educational kit on house demolitions, and a media tour. The campaign culminated in a conference on March 24 in the town of Majd al-Krum, located in Israel's North, which was attended by 140 participants. The conference featured several key speakers from the Arab community as well as Israel's human rights community, including ACRI Executive Director Hagai El-Ad. In addition, ACRI's Education Department launched its educational kit in Hebrew and Arabic at the event, entitled, "The Right to a Roof", designed to assist educators in teaching about the issue of housing rights. The kit includes dynamic presentations, lessons plans and background information about this ongoing human rights violation as well as a documentary film produced by ACRI entitled, "A License to Live in Dignity". Photo: Asala Igbariya