Title: Israel Human Rights Practices, 1995
Author: U.S. Department of State
Date: March 1996
ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES*
*The human rights situation in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem
is discussed in the annex appended to this report.
Israel is a parliamentary democracy with a multiparty system and free
elections. There is no constitution; a series of "basic laws" provide
for fundamental rights. The legislature, or Knesset, has the power to
dissolve the Government and limit the authority of the executive branch.
The judiciary is independent. In a landmark decision in November, the
Supreme Court established the principle of judicial review of
legislation in cases that are appealed to the court. Public debate is
open and lively, and a free press scrutinizes all aspects of society and
politics.
Since its founding in 1948, Israel has been in a state of war with most
of its Arab neighbors. It concluded a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979
and with Jordan in 1994. As a result of the 1967 war, Israel occupied
the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the eastern sector of Jerusalem, and the
Golan Heights. Throughout its existence, Israel has experienced
numerous terrorist attacks. It relies heavily on its military and
security services and retains many security-related regulations from the
period of the British Mandate.
The historic process of reconciliation between Israel and its neighbors
that began with the Madrid Conference in 1991 continued in 1995. On
September 28, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
signed an agreement that provided for Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to
redeploy from Palestinian areas in the West Bank, the further transfer
of certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinians, and for
Palestinian elections. The agreement also calls for the release of
certain Palestinian prisoners. Separate agreements earlier in the year
transferred a variety of civil powers and responsibilities to the
Palestinian Authority (PA). (See the annex to this report.)
Internal security is the responsibility of the General Security Service
(GSS)--(Shin Bet, or Shabak), which is under the authority of the Prime
Minister's office. The police are under the authority of a different
minister. The IDF is under the authority of a civilian Minister of
Defense. The IDF includes a significant portion of the adult population
on active duty or reserve status and plays a role in maintaining
internal security. The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in the
Knesset reviews the activities of the IDF and Shin Bet.
Israel has an advanced economy, and citizens enjoy a high standard of
living. The economy has grown by an average of 6 percent a year in the
past several years. Unemployment in 1995 averaged about 6.3 percent,
the lowest since 1987, and inflation was about 8.1 percent, the lowest
since 1969. Since implementation of an economic stabilization plan in
1985, the Government has moved gradually to reduce state intervention in
the economy. Much progress has been made in liberalizing capital
markets, but privatization and labor market reform have progressed more
slowly. Despite the continued dominant role of the Government in the
economy, individuals are generally free to invest in private interests
and own property.
The Government generally respects human rights, and citizens enjoy a
wide range of civil and other rights. Positive human rights
developments flowed naturally as peace agreements were implemented.
During the year, the Government released about 1,100 Palestinian
detainees and prisoners; another 1,200 detainees were scheduled to be
released in January 1996. In other developments, the Government passed
legislation banning discrimination in employment, as well as legislation
mandating affirmative action for women and Israeli Arabs.
The assassination of Prime Minister Rabin in November horrified the
nation and prompted calls for a lowering of the national rhetoric in
political discourse. There was also renewed debate over the limits of
free speech as the Government sought to discourage political language
that would incite further violence.
Israel's main human rights problems have arisen from its policies and
practices in the occupied territories. The redeployment of the IDF from
most major Palestinian population areas in the West Bank during the
year, and its previous withdrawal from Gaza, are significantly reducing
these problems. In addition, while the Government has worked to close
the social and economic gap between Israel's Arab and Jewish citizens,
the Arab minority still does not share fully in the rights granted to,
and the obligations imposed on, Jewish citizens.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
Political killings in Israel are neither practiced nor condoned by
Israeli authorities. At least six Palestinians died while in the
custody of Israeli authorities (see Section 1.c. and the annex to this
report).
Politically motivated intercommunal killings continued to take place, as
extremists on both sides sought to disrupt the Israel-Palestinian peace
process. On January 22, 2 Palestinian suicide bombers at the Beit Lid
junction near the coastal city of Netanya killed 21 Israelis and injured
60. On April 9, two suicide bombers in Gaza killed seven Israelis and a
U.S. student, and injured 57. Lone suicide bombers killed 6 and injured
34 in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan on July 24, and killed 5,
including a U.S. citizen, with 100 others injured in the Ramot Eshkol
neighborhood of Jerusalem on August 21. There were also other incidents
in the Gaza Strip.
On November 4, after several months of escalating rhetoric against the
Government's peace policies, a right-wing extremist shot and killed
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. In the days that followed this national
tragedy, there were appeals from all parts of the political spectrum for
restraint in the public debate over the crucial issues of Israel's
future.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
Although Israeli laws and administrative regulations prohibit the
physical abuse of detainees, the head of Shin Bet is empowered to
authorize security officers to use interrogation measures with
Palestinian detainees that human rights groups consider abusive. These
measures have been applied against Palestinians suspected of involvement
in planning terrorist acts, and include the practice of violent shaking,
which in April led to the death of a prisoner in custody. (See annex
for a discussion of mistreatment of prisoners from the occupied
territories incarcerated in detention facilities located in Israel.)
The practice of shaking has been challenged before the Israeli Supreme
Court. In late December, in response to a detainee's petition, the
Supreme Court issued an injunction against the use of physical force in
interrogation. This case was still before the courts at year's end.
The head of the GSS argued that the use of "special interrogation
methods" had forestalled many terrorist attacks, and might have been
able to yield information from a suspect then in custody to prevent the
August 21 Ramot Eshkol bombing.
Incarceration facilities in Israel and the occupied territories are
administered by the Israeli Prison Service (IPS), the national police,
or the Israel Defense Forces. Although conditions vary, all facilities
are monitored by various branches of the Government, by members of the
Knesset, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and many
human rights organizations, which have access to the prisons, police
jails, and IDF camps.
Generally, IPS inmates are not subject to physical abuse by guards, food
is adequate, and prisoners receive basic necessities. However,
prisoners incarcerated for security reasons are subject to a different
regime, even in IPS facilities. They are often denied certain
privileges given to prisoners convicted on criminal charges. Security
prisoners include some minors.
IPS prisons for the most part meet minimum international standards, and
the Government permits visits by human rights monitors. Inmates receive
mail, have televisions in their cells, and receive regular visits.
Prisoners receive wages for prison work and benefits for good behavior.
Many IPS prisons have drug treatment, educational, and recreational
programs.
Overcrowding is a problem in some holding facilities. The Association
for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) presented a report to the Israeli
Government's Police Minister criticizing conditions at Jerusalem's
Russian Compound holding facility. The report cited dilapidation and
overcrowding, with up to 50 Palestinian detainees in a 4-bed cell, and
demanded that the facility be transferred to a more appropriate
building. A police spokesman said that several of the suggested changes
have been made, but noted that historic preservation codes prevent major
structural changes to the building.
In addition, some national police detention facilities can fall below
generally accepted minimum international standards. Such facilities are
intended to hold common law detainees prior to trial, but often become
de facto jails, in which some persons have been held for as long as a
year because of lack of space in IPS facilities. Those held include
some security detainees and some persons who have been convicted and
sentenced. Inmates in the national police detention facilities are
often not accorded the same rights as prisoners in the IPS. After sharp
criticism of the Abu Kabir facility in the Tel Aviv area by human rights
groups, the Government announced a plan to renovate the facility and
improve living conditions there. Civil rights groups have expressed
concern over the conditions in which minors are held in several regional
detention facilities, and have recommended the construction of a
separate detention facility for children. Although children are not
housed in the same cells as adults, there have been cases of sexual
molestation of children.
Detention camps administered by the IDF are limited to male Palestinian
security prisoners and are guarded by armed soldiers. The number of
security prisoners remained at about 6,000 through most of the year, but
dropped to about 4,900 by the end of the year. In many cases,
conditions in the camps do not meet minimum international standards and
can threaten the health of the inmates. Many camps house inmates in
unheated tents in severe weather conditions, or in overcrowded and
poorly ventilated buildings. New restrictions limit the age and
relationship of those allowed to pay family visits, and visits have been
prevented altogether for long periods during closures of the borders
with Gaza and the West Bank. Recreational facilities are minimal.
Member of the Knesset Dedi Zucker, who chairs the Knesset's
Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, called for closure of the
Ketziot Detention Camp in the Negev, which has been regarded as having
the harshest conditions. Ketziot held about 1,200 inmates at the end of
1995. This increase over 1994 is due to the transfer of detainees from
closing West Bank detention facilities.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The law prohibits arbitrary arrest or exile of Israeli citizens, and the
Government observes this prohibition. Defendants are considered
innocent until proven guilty, and have the right to writs of habeas
corpus and other procedural safeguards. However, a 1979 law permits
administrative detention without charge or trial. The Minister of
Defense may issue a detention order for a maximum of a year. Within
48 hours of issuance, detainees must appear before a district judge who
may confirm, shorten, or overturn the order. If the order is confirmed,
an automatic review takes place after
3 months. Detainees may be represented by counsel and appeal detention
orders to the Supreme Court. At detention hearings, the Government may
withhold evidence from defense lawyers on security grounds. It may also
seek to renew administrative detention orders.
In felony cases, a district court judge may postpone for
48 hours the notification of arrest to the detainee's attorney. The
postponement may be extended to 7 days by the Minister of Defense on
national security grounds or by the Police Inspector General to conduct
an investigation. Moreover, a judge may postpone notification up to 15
days in national security cases.
Administrative orders issued by the IDF central command continued to
restrict the movements of some members of the Jewish ultranationalist
Kach and Kahane Chai organizations who live in the occupied territories.
In addition, in December the Home Front Command issued orders
restricting the movements of several rightwing activists living in
Israel.
Most of the legal protections afforded by Israeli law are not extended
to Palestinian detainees, who fall under the jurisdiction of military
law even when held in Israel. For most of the year, the Government held
about half of the Palestinian detainees from the occupied territories in
detention centers in Israel. With IDF redeployment on the West Bank,
however, detention centers there were closed, and by the end of the
year, all Palestinian detainees were being held in Israel. Eleven
hundred of these prisoners were released in accordance with the Interim
Agreement signed by the Government and the PLO on September 28.
The Government detains some 70 Lebanese citizens, who comprise a mixture
of common prisoners, administrative detainees, and security detainees.
It has yet to provide information on the whereabouts of two of them,
Sheikh Mustafa Dirani and Sheikh Obeid. The disposition of these two
cases appears linked to government efforts to obtain information on
Israeli military personnel believed to be prisoners of war or missing in
Lebanon.
In April the Government expelled a Jordanian citizen and a West Bank
Palestinian into the security zone in southern Lebanon, where they have
been given shelter by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
forces. The ICRC has taken up these cases with the Government.
Forced exile (i.e., the expulsion of Israeli citizens) is illegal and is
not used.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The law provides for an independent judiciary, and the Government
respects this provision in practice. The judiciary provides citizens
with a fair and efficient judicial process.
The judicial system is composed of civil, military, religious, labor
relations, and administrative courts. The law provides for the right to
a hearing with representation by counsel, and this right is observed in
practice. In November a regional and national system of public
defenders was established to provide legal defense for those unable to
afford a lawyer. All nonsecurity trials are public except those in
which the interests of parties are deemed best served by privacy.
Cases involving national security may be tried in either military or
civil courts and may be partly or wholly closed to the public. The
Attorney General determines the venue in such cases. The prosecution
must justify closing the proceedings to the public. Defendants have the
right to be represented by counsel even in closed proceedings but may be
denied access to some evidence on security grounds. Convictions may not
be based on any evidence denied to the defense.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
Although privacy of the individual and the home are generally protected
by law, authorities sometimes interfere with mail and monitor telephone
conversations. In criminal cases, the law permits wiretapping by court
order; in security cases, the order must be issued by the Ministry of
Defense. Under emergency regulations, authorities may open and destroy
mail on security grounds.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Violations of Humanitarian Law in
Internal Conflicts
See Section l.g. of the annex.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The law provides for freedom of the press, and the Government generally
respects this right in practice. The law authorizes the Government to
censor any material reported from Israel or the occupied territories
regarded as sensitive on national security grounds. However, news
printed or broadcast abroad may be reported in Israel without
censorship.
Emergency regulations prohibit anyone from expressing support for
illegal organizations. The Government occasionally prosecutes persons
for speaking or writing on behalf of terrorist groups. No such cases
were filed in 1995.
Individuals, organizations, the press, and the electronic media freely
debate public issues and criticize government officials and policies.
During the year, protests by groups opposed to the Government's policies
in the peace process escalated from demonstrations to acts of civil
disobedience, including the blocking of roads.
These acts, and claims of police violence in dealing with them, prompted
a public debate on the legitimate exercise of the rights of freedom of
speech and assembly. The debate widened after the assassination of
Prime Minister Rabin. Some Israelis called for stricter measures to ban
hate speech that could incite others to violent acts, while rightwing
groups claimed that the Government was using Rabin's murder to limit
their right to oppose government policies. In the weeks after the
assassination, several persons were arrested for celebrating his death,
and in December the State Attorney's office charged three members of the
Zo Artzenu group with sedition.
The Government sought to block repairs to a pirate radio ship that
broadcasts programming critical of the Government, when it entered port.
Civil rights activists charged that this constituted censorship,
although the Government argued that the issue was only one of proper
licensing.
All newspapers are privately owned and managed. Newspaper licenses are
valid only for Israel; separate licenses are required to distribute
publications in the occupied territories. Directed by a government
appointee, the quasi-independent Israel Broadcast Authority controls
television channel 1 and Kol Israel radio, both major sources of news
and information. Six cable companies operate under franchises granted
by councils appointed by the Government. Privately owned channel 2
television, the first commercial television channel in Israel, is
operated by three franchise companies. Six of the first seven regional
radio franchises began broadcasting by the end of the year. The Second
Television and Radio Authority, a public body, supervises both channel 2
and the new regional radio stations.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The law provides for these rights, and the Government generally respects
them in practice. After the Hebron massacre in 1994, the Cabinet
invoked the 1948 Ordinance for the Prevention of Terror to ban the
ultranationalist Kach and Kahane Chai organizations, a ban that remains
in effect. The decision stipulates imprisonment for anyone belonging
to, or expressing support for, either organization.
c. Freedom of Religion
The law provides for freedom of religion, and the Government respects
this right. Approximately 81 percent of Israeli citizens are Jewish.
Muslims, Christians, Druze, and members of other minority religions make
up the remaining 19 percent. Each recognized religious community has
legal authority over its members in matters of marriage and divorce.
Secular courts have primacy over questions of inheritance, but parties,
by mutual agreement, may bring the case to religious courts. Jewish and
Christian families may ask for some family status matters, such as
alimony and child custody in divorces, to be adjudicated in civil courts
as well.
Many Israelis object to the Orthodox religious authorities' exclusive
control over marriage and divorce, and burial, whether the subjects are
Jews or not. These authorities do not recognize marriages or
conversions to Judaism performed by Conservative or Reform rabbis.
These issues have been a source of sharp division within Israeli
society, particularly in recent years, as thousands of Jewish immigrants
from the former Soviet Union have brought with them family members not
recognized as Jewish by these authorities. A large number of Jews who
wish to be married in secular or non-orthodox religious ceremonies do so
abroad. The Ministry of Interior recognizes such marriages. During the
year, there was a controversy over a Ministry of Religious Affairs list
of citizens who are not Jewish under Orthodox rules, and who
therefore may not marry those who are regarded as Jewish by those rules.
A growing reform movement led to plans to acquire land for the first
secular cemeteries this year. A Supreme Court decision also directed
that Conservative and Reform rabbis be allowed inclusion on local
religious councils. In November the court decreed that in registering
conversions to Judaism, the Ministry of the Interior may not reject
conversions as invalid on the grounds that they were performed by non-
Orthodox rabbis. The issue will be considered by the Knesset, where
draft legislation aimed at overruling the court has been introduced. A
coalition of human rights and religious groups has been formed to oppose
that legislation.
Missionaries are allowed to proselytize in Israel. A 1977
antiproselytizing law prohibits anyone from offering or receiving
material benefits as an inducement to conversion, but the law has not
been applied for several years.
The Government permits citizens to visit religious sites or perform
religious obligations in Israel and abroad. However, on occasion it has
denied Muslim and Christian Palestinians from the occupied territories
access to holy places in East Jerusalem for security reasons (see annex,
Section 2.c.). Beginning in October, a Supreme Court decision allowed
small numbers of Jews under police escort to pray on the Temple Mount,
which is the site of two Muslim holy places.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel,
Emigration, and Repatriation
The law provides for these rights, and the Government respects them in
practice, except with regard to military or security zones or in
instances where citizens may be confined by administrative order to
their neighborhoods or villages. The Government continued to limit the
movements of some Jewish settlers living in the occupied territories who
belonged to extremist Kach or Kahane Chai groups (see Section 2.d. of
the annex).
Citizens are free to travel abroad and to emigrate, provided they have
no outstanding military obligations or are not restricted by
administrative order. In 1995 the Government again permitted Muslim
citizens over 30 years of age to perform the religious pilgrimage to
Mecca, but it denied permission to Muslim citizens under 30 years of
years of age on security grounds. The Government asserts that travel to
Saudi Arabia, which is still in a state of war with Israel, is a
privilege and not a right.
The Government welcomes Jewish immigrants, their families, and Jewish
refugees, on whom it confers automatic citizenship and residence rights
under the Law of Return. This law does not apply to non-Jews or to
persons of Jewish descent who have converted to another faith.
Under the principle of family reunification, successive governments have
allowed the return of some Arab refugees who fled Israel in 1948-49.
Other than the Law of Return, which applies only to Jews, and the family
reunification statutes, Israel has no immigration law that provides for
immigration to Israel, or for political asylum, but the law does allow
qualified individuals to live in Israel as permanent residents.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change peacefully their
government, and citizens exercise this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal
suffrage for adult citizens.
Israel is a parliamentary democracy, with an active multiparty system
representing a wide range of political views. Relatively small parties,
including those whose primary support is among Israeli Arabs, regularly
win seats in the Knesset. Elections are by secret ballot.
There are no legal impediments to the participation of women and
minorities in government, but they are underrepresented. Eleven women,
and 7 Arab and 2 Druze citizens serve in the 120-seat Knesset. Two
women are in the Cabinet, and two Israeli Arabs and an Israeli Druze are
deputy ministers.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
A wide variety of human rights groups operate without government
restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights
cases. Government officials are generally cooperative and responsive to
their views.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability,
Language, or Social Status
Local human rights groups believe that Israel has an advanced framework
of laws for protecting human rights, but are concerned that resources
for implementing those laws, or mechanisms for their enforcement, are
sometimes lacking. The Equal Opportunities in Employment Law prohibits
discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status, or sexual
orientation. The Labor Exchange Law prohibits discrimination by
nongovernmental entities on the basis of race, religion, political
beliefs, and age. Another law prohibits government bodies from
practicing discrimination on any of these grounds.
Women
There was continued concern over violence against women, in both
Israel's Jewish and Arab communities. Groups formed to combat domestic
violence include a parliamentary committee of inquiry, a committee
established by the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs that includes
Jewish and Arab nongovernmental organization (NGO) as well as government
representatives, and a coalition of human rights organizations. Women's
advocacy groups estimate that 16 women were killed by male relatives
during the year, and that some 200,000 women suffer from domestic
violence each year. Some 7 percent of these battered women are abused
on a regular basis.
Arab human rights advocates also have formed a coalition to raise public
awareness of so-called family honor killings, a term commonly used for
the murder of a female by a male relative for alleged misconduct.
The Government supports seven shelters for battered women, including one
exclusively for Arab women. There are plans for a total of 12 shelters,
including 2 for Arab women.
According to the 1991 Domestic Violence Law, a district or magistrate
court may prohibit access by violent family members to their property.
Women's groups cooperate with legal and social service institutions to
provide women's rights education. Sentences for many convicted of
domestic violence were significantly harsher--in some cases as a result
of prosecution appeal to the Supreme Court--than in past years.
The Equal Pay Law requires employers to pay male and female workers
equal wages for equal work. However, women's advocacy groups report
that women routinely receive lower wages for comparable work, are
promoted less often, and have fewer career opportunities than their male
counterparts.
Civil rights groups hailed two decisions regarding affirmative action as
landmarks in the campaign for equal opportunity. In July legislation
was passed that requires the civil service to give preference to women
when male and female candidates of similar qualifications compete for
the same positions. A November 1994 decision by the High Court of
Justice, which mandated that preference be given to women in
appointments to the boards of government-owned companies, has brought
about a sharp increase--from 2 percent to 15 percent--in women's
representation on such boards during the year.
The adjudication of personal status law in the areas of marriage and
divorce is left to religious courts, where Jewish and Muslim women are
subject to restrictive interpretations of their rights (see Section
2.c.). Women's advocacy groups report cases in which rabbinical courts
have failed to invoke the sanctions at their disposal in cases where a
wife has ample grounds for divorce--such as abuse--but the husband has
refused to agree. In some cases where a wife has failed to agree, a
husband has been allowed to remarry; this permission is not given to
wives. Such imbalances have been used by husbands to extort concessions
in return for agreeing to divorce.
Religious law can be even more restrictive for Muslims: some Islamic
law courts have held that Muslim women may not request a divorce, but
that women may be forced to consent if a divorce is granted to a man.
Jewish women are subject to the military draft but may not serve in
combat positions. This was successfully challenged in November, when
the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a woman officer who had applied for
IDF pilot training, which would qualify her for a combat aviation
position. The Israeli Air Force also agreed to search out other
qualified women candidates for training.
In December the Knesset's Ad Hoc Committee on the Status of Women was
granted permanent statutory standing equal to that of other Knesset
committees.
Children
The Government has a strong commitment to the rights and welfare of
children, including in the areas of education and health care.
Children's rights groups have expressed concern, however, that resources
are sometimes insufficient to put that commitment into practice,
particularly in the case of low-income families. Government ministries,
children's rights groups, and members of the legislature often cooperate
on children's rights issues.
The Government has legislated against sexual, physical, and
psychological abuse of children and has mandated comprehensive reporting
requirements. Although there has been a sharp increase in reported
cases of child abuse in recent years, activists believe this may reflect
increased awareness of the issue rather than a growing pattern of abuse.
Child prostitution has been reported in isolated cases and has been
dealt with promptly by appropriate authorities.
NGO's in the field of children's welfare concentrate their efforts on
public education, on promoting the concept of children's rights as
citizens, on improving legal representation for minors, and on combating
the problems of poverty, which are most notable for the Bedouin children
of the south. Children's rights groups express particular concern over
the lack of special education facilities for Bedouin children.
Privately funded children's rights information centers have been
established in some communities, and the Government is assisting in
funding additional centers in other cities.
People with Disabilities
The Government provides a range of benefits, including income
maintenance, housing subsidies, and transportation support for disabled
persons, who are about 10 percent of the population. Advocacy groups
observe that existing antidiscrimination laws do not prohibit
discrimination based on disability, and report that these citizens
continue to encounter difficulties in areas such as employment and
housing. A law requiring access by the disabled to public buildings is
not widely enforced. There is no law providing people with disabilities
with access to public transportation.
Religious Minorities
In civic areas where religion is a determinant criterion, such as the
religious courts and centers of education, non-Jewish institutions
routinely receive less state support than their Jewish counterparts.
In May there was a shooting attack against a Christian church in Jaffa,
near Tel Aviv, and in August an arsonist struck a church in the Galilee
region of the north. There is no evidence, however, that these
incidents represent a concerted anti-Christian campaign.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The Government does not provide Israeli Arabs, who constitute 18 percent
of the population, with the same quality of education, housing,
employment, and social services as Jews. Relative to their numbers,
Israeli Arabs are underrepresented in the student bodies and faculties
of most universities and in higher level professional and business
ranks. A small number of Israeli Arabs have risen to responsible
positions in the civil service, generally in the Arab departments of
government ministries. A 1994 Civil Service Commission 3-year
affirmative action program is expanding that number. In addition, in
June comprehensive legislation was passed that prohibits discrimination
in employment. Civil rights activists see it as a major precedent, but
note that it does not provide any enforcement mechanism. In September
Israeli Arabs welcomed the first appointment of an Arab as an Israeli
ambassador.
The Government's commitment to closing the gaps between Jews and Arabs
has resulted in a much greater allocation of resources to Arab
communities in recent years than in the past. A committee established
in 1994 to address the problem of fiscal deficits of the Arab local
authorities has not yet reported its findings.
In practice, Israeli Arabs are not allowed to work in companies with
defense contracts or in security-related fields. The Israeli Druze and
Circassian communities are subject to the military draft--although some
have refused to serve--while some Bedouin and other Arab citizens serve
voluntarily. Those not subject to the draft have less access than other
Israelis to those social and economic benefits for which military
service is a prerequisite or an advantage, such as housing, new-
household subsidies, and government or security-related industrial
employment. Under a government policy whose implementation began in
1994, the social security child allowance for parents who have not
served in the military is being increased over a 3-year period to equal
the allowance of those who have served in the military.
The Government has yet to fulfill its commitment to resolve the legal
status of unrecognized Arab villages. Eight villages have been
recognized since late 1994, but human rights groups estimate that
several dozen more remain in limbo, without any of the infrastructure,
such as electricity, provided to recognized villages and towns. Private
efforts have supplied some with water. In the Negev, a government
program to provide housing for thousands of Bedouin in seven
concentrated settlements has been criticized as likely to aggravate the
severe poverty there.
Problems of many years' standing that remain unresolved also include
claims by Arab groups that land expropriation for public use has
affected the Arab community disproportionately; that Arabs have been
allowed too little input in planning decisions that affect their
municipalities; that mosques and cemeteries belonging to the Islamic
Waqf have been unjustly expropriated for public use; and that successive
governments have blocked the return of persons displaced in the early
years of Israel's history from returning to their homes. At the end of
the year, a special ministerial committee was negotiating with the pre-
1948 residents of the northern villages of Bir Am and Ikrit, and their
descendants, regarding their long-time demand to be allowed to rebuild
their houses.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
Workers may join and establish labor organizations freely. Unions are
free to affiliate with international organizations. Most unions belong
to Histadrut (the General Federation of Labor in Israel), or to a much
smaller rival federation. These organizations are independent of the
Government. Histadrut members democratically elect national and local
officers, and officials of its affiliated women's organization Na'amat,
from political party lists. Plant or enterprise committee members are
elected individually.
A new Histadrut administration moved to reshape the labor federation
drastically, reducing its staff and services, and concentrating its
focus on those areas directly related to employment. A new national
health insurance law severed the link between Histadrut and Kupat Holim
Clalit, the nation's largest health maintenance organization, in the
process ending Histadrut's chief source of income. Membership in
Histadrut dropped sharply once it was no longer necessary to join the
federation in order to have access to its health plan. Histadrut hopes
to expand its membership in areas not presently organized, such as small
businesses and factories, even where collective bargaining agreements do
not exist. At the end of the year, membership--which once reached 1.8
million people--had climbed back to about 700,000.
The right to strike is exercised regularly. Unions must provide 15
days' notice prior to a strike unless otherwise specified in the
collective bargaining agreement. However, unauthorized strikes occur.
Strike leaders--even those organizing illegal strikes--are protected by
law. If essential public services are affected, the Government may
appeal to labor courts for back-to-work orders while the parties
continue negotiations. There were a number of strikes in both public
and private sectors during the year by employees protesting the effects
of privatization. Worker dismissals and the terms of severance
arrangements were often the central issues of dispute.
Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip who work in Israel may
not join Israeli trade unions or organize their own unions in Israel.
Palestinian trade unions in the occupied territories are not permitted
to conduct activities in Israel (see Section 6.a. of the annex).
However, nonresident workers in the organized sector are entitled to the
protection of Histadrut work contracts and grievance procedures. They
may join, vote for, and be elected to shop-level workers' committees if
their numbers in individual establishments exceed a minimum threshold.
Palestinian participation in such committees is minimal.
Labor laws apply to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and to the Syrian
Druze living on the Golan Heights.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Israeli workers fully exercise their legal rights to organize and
bargain collectively. While there is no law specifically prohibiting
antiunion discrimination, the basic law against discrimination could be
cited to contest discrimination based on union membership. No antiunion
discrimination has been reported.
Nonresident workers may not organize their own unions or engage in
collective bargaining, but they are entitled to be represented by the
bargaining agent and protected by collective bargaining agreements.
They do not pay union membership fees, but are required to pay a 1-
percent agency fee which entitles them to union protection by
Histadrut's collective bargaining agreements. The Ministry of Labor may
extend collective bargaining agreements to nonunionized workplaces in
the same industrial sector. The Ministry of Labor also oversees
personal contracts in the nonorganized sectors of the economy.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor. Neither Israeli citizens
nor nonresident Palestinians working in Israel are subject to this
practice.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
Children who have attained the age of 14 years, and who are liable to
compulsory education under the Compulsory Education Law, may not be
employed unless they work as apprentices under the Apprenticeship Law.
Notwithstanding these provisions, children who are 14 may be employed
during official school holidays. Employment of those aged 16 to 18 is
restricted to ensure time for rest and education.
There are no reliable data on illegal child workers. They are
concentrated among Israel's Arab population and its newest Jewish
immigrants. Illegal employment is found primarily in urban, light-
industrial areas. Children's rights groups have called for more
vigorous enforcement of child labor laws, combined with a parallel
effort to deal with its causes.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
Legislation in 1987 established a minimum wage at 45 percent of the
average wage, calculated periodically and adjusted for cost of living
increases. At year's end, the monthly minimum wage stood at about $580
(1,785 new Israeli shekels). The minimum wage is often supplemented by
special allowances and is generally sufficient to provide workers and
their families with an acceptable standard of living. Union officials
have expressed concern over enforcement of minimum wage regulations,
particularly with respect to employers of illegal nonresident workers
who sometimes pay less than the minimum wage.
By law the maximum hours of work at regular pay are 47 hours a week, 8
hours per day, and 7 hours on the day before the weekly rest, which must
be at least 36 consecutive hours and include the Sabbath. By national
collective agreements, the private sector established a maximum 45-hour
workweek in 1988. The public sector moved to a 5-day, 42 1/2 hour
workweek in 1989, while the military adopted it in 1993.
Employers must receive a government permit to hire nonresident workers
from the occupied territories, certifying that no Israeli citizen is
available for the job. All Palestinians from the occupied territories
are employed on a daily basis and, unless they are employed on
shiftwork, are not authorized to spend the night in Israel.
Palestinians without valid work permits are subject to arrest.
Nonresident workers are paid through the Employment Service of the
Ministry of Labor which disburses wages and benefits collected from
employers. The Ministry deducts a 1 percent union fee and the workers'
contributions to the National Insurance Institute, the agency that
administers the Israeli social security system. Despite these
deductions, Palestinian workers do not have access to unemployment
insurance, general disability payments, low-income supplements, child
allotments, or maternity leave. By contrast Israeli settlers in the
occupied territories who work in Israel have the same benefits as other
Israeli workers. The International Labor Organization has long
criticized this inequality in entitlements. Histadrut and the
Palestinian trade unions of the West Bank and Gaza agreed on payment to
the new Palestinian Trade Union Federation of 4 million shekels deducted
from the wages of Palestinian workers.
Along with union representatives, the Labor Inspection Service enforces
labor, health, and safety standards in the workplace, although resource
constraints affect overall enforcement. Legislation protects the
employment rights of safety delegates elected or appointed by the
workers. In cooperation with management, these delegates are
responsible for the safety and health of the workplace. Workers do not
have the legal right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations
without jeopardy to continued employment. However, collective
bargaining agreements provide some workers with recourse through the
work site labor committee. Any worker may challenge unsafe work
practices through government oversight and legal agencies.
(###)
|  Shopping 
|
| | |
For more information send mail to webmaster@hsje.org with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright � 1999-2008. Historical Society of Jews From Egypt What is Copyright Protection? Stanford Copyright & Fair Use - Primary Materials |
| Shopping
|
| | |
For more information send mail to webmaster@hsje.org with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright � 1999-2008. Historical Society of Jews From Egypt What is Copyright Protection? Stanford Copyright & Fair Use - Primary Materials |
| Shopping
|
| | |
For more information send mail to webmaster@hsje.org with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright � 1999-2008. Historical Society of Jews From Egypt What is Copyright Protection? Stanford Copyright & Fair Use - Primary Materials |
| Shopping
|
| | |
For more information send mail to webmaster@hsje.org with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright � 1999-2008. Historical Society of Jews From Egypt What is Copyright Protection? Stanford Copyright & Fair Use - Primary Materials |
