Adalah

Adalah proposes draft democratic constitution for a multicultural state of Israel



On the tenth anniversary of its founding, Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel issues “The Democratic Constitution,” as a constitutional proposal for the state of Israel based on the concept of a democratic, bilingual, multicultural state. This proposed constitution draws on universal principles and international conventions on human rights, the experiences of nations and the constitutions of various democratic states. 

Warning notices affixed to 100 homes in unrecognized Bedouin village



On 13 February 2007, Adalah sent an urgent letter to Interior Minister Roni Bar-On and Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, demanding the cancellation of warning notices issued against approximately 100 homes in the unrecognized village of al-Nasasara in the Naqab (Negev) (located to the South-West of Kesseife). These notices, which were affixed to homes on 19 January 2007 demand that the homeowners appear before the Building Monitoring Unit in order to present explanations for “unlicensed building.” However, based on past experience, the sending of such warning notices constitutes the first step towards the issuing of orders to demolish homes and evacuate the village of its inhabitants. 

Arab couple refused residency in exclusively Jewish town



The application of an Arab couple, Fatina Ebriq and Ahmed Zubeidat, to live in the community town of Rakefet in the Misgav area of the Galilee was refused in March 2006 by the regional selection committee. Selection committees monitor, accept and reject applications for housing units in community towns, and often operate according to vague and arbitrary criteria. On 11 April 2006, Adalah Attorney Suhad Bishara filed an appeal on behalf of the couple to the Israel Land Administration (ILA) against the decision to refuse their application to live in Rakefet. 

Adalah: Arab villages granted "border town" status



On 31 January 2007, the Ministry of Finance announced its agreement to include four Arab villages in the north of Israel in the list of ‘border towns’ for the purposes of compensation for indirect damages incurred during the Second Lebanon War. The Ministry submitted this agreement in response to a petition filed by Adalah demanding that it grant these four villages ‘border town’ status. It is Adalah’s position that this change of status should have been made many years ago, and that there was no justification for the prior discrimination against the Arab towns. Unfortunately, the filing of the petition was what led to this change. 

Adalah: Cancel Government's Plan for Naqab



On 28 January 2007, Adalah sent a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres, demanding the cancellation of “Negev 2015: The National Strategic Plan for the Development of the Negev (Naqab)” on the grounds that it discriminates against Arab Bedouin citizens of Israel and is based on illegal and invalid governmental decisions. Adalah also demanded that a new development plan be prepared that sets as one of its main goals the development of the Arab Bedouin community in the Naqab, based on the principles of equality and justice in resource allocation, and fulfills the needs of this community in all fields. 

Adalah: First High School to open in Unrecognized Villages



On 23 January 2007, the Supreme Court of Israel approved a settlement reached between the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Adalah, according to which the MOE will establish a high school in the unrecognized Arab Bedouin village of Abu-Tulul - El-Shihabi in the Naqab (Negev). This will be the first high school to be established: to date, no high schools exist in any of the unrecognized villages in the Naqab. Under the settlement, the state is obliged to begin the school’s construction in 2008, and to open and operate it from 1 September 2009. It was also agreed that if the school is not opened for any reason, the petitioners retain the right to approach the Supreme Court again in order to secure its opening. 

Adalah: Mosque should be protected as place of worship, not a museum



On 21 January 2007, Adalah submitted a response to the Supreme Court stating that it rejects the government’s suggestion to convert the Big Mosque in Beer el-Sabe (Beer Sheva) into a “museum of Islamic culture and Eastern peoples, so as to ensure that an expression of the various aspects of the Islamic heritage is presented according to the professional considerations of the museum’s directors, and in a way which corresponds to the regulations which relate to museums in Israel.” Opening the mosque as a museum and preventing residents of and visitors to Beer el-Sabe from praying in it is abhorrent. 

Israeli Soldiers who Shot Unarmed Palestinian in Back not Indicted by Chief Military Prosecutor



On the night of 13-14 October 2003, a unit of Israeli army soldiers opened fire near the Jewish settlement of Negohot in the West Bank (Hebron Region), killing Mr. Meteb al-Nebari, a 31-year-old Palestinian Bedouin citizen of Israel from Tel el-Sabe (Tel Sheva). Mr. al-Nebari was unarmed and did not constitute any threat to the soldiers, and, according to the General Security Services (GSS), had no record of prior security offenses. 

Supreme Court compels finance ministry to explain exclusion of Arab villages



On 7 December 2006, the Supreme Court of Israel held a hearing on a petition filed by Adalah, which challenges the state’s compensation scheme for war damages incurred during the second Lebanon war. In the petition, Adalah challenged three designations and compensation formulas regulated by the Minister of Finance in July 2006 as they apply to: ‘border towns’; ‘restricted towns’; and ‘non-governmental organizations (NGOs)’. At the hearing, the Court specifically addressed the issue of the exclusion of four Arab villages (Arab al-Aramshe, Fasuta, Ma’alia and Jesh) from the list of ‘border towns’. 

Adalah: Rescind order declaring Ansar al-Sajeen illegal



On 13 November 2006, Adalah submitted a pre-petition to the Israeli Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, demanding the cancellation of his order declaring Ansar Al-Sajeen (The Prisoners’ Friends Association) to be an illegal organization. Adalah Attorney Abeer Baker filed the pre-petition on behalf of Ansar Al-Sajeen. On 13 November 2006, Adalah submitted a pre-petition to the Israeli Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, demanding the cancellation of his order declaring Ansar Al-Sajeen (The Prisoners’ Friends Association) to be an illegal organization. Adalah Attorney Abeer Baker filed the pre-petition on behalf of Ansar Al-Sajeen.