Government Advances Takeover of Israel Bar Association Through Budget Control

>> Read the full position paper in pdf

In this position paper, Zulat expresses strong opposition to the proposed amendment of the Israel Bar Association Law (Membership Fees-2023) initiated by Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky. The bill grants the Minister of Justice, in lieu of the IBA National Council, the authority to set the IBA’s membership fees. According to this position paper, the bill seeks to undermine the IBA’s independence and its ability to function as an autonomous organization that upholds the rule of law, human rights, and Israel’s fundamental values.

The position paper elaborates on the dangers posed by the proposal, including concerns over government control of the IBA’s budget, a move that could lead to the politicization of the body overseeing and licensing attorneys, the loss of its independence, and its operation on the basis of political considerations. Additionally, budgetary control may lead to a policy of “loyalty in the practice of law,” which would harm professional freedom and attorneys’ ability to perform their duties.

The document emphasizes that the proposed bill contravenes the conclusion of the public committee established by former Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman that the independence of the IBA must not be infringed upon. Zulat also points out that restricting the IBA’s independence would weaken its ability to oppose injurious initiatives against the judicial system and human rights.

Furthermore, the position paper emphasizes that the use of private bills, in this case as well as in many other legislative initiatives by the current government, allows it to advance anti-democratic measures and avoid professional legal scrutiny.

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Dr. Maha Sabbah Karkabi

 

Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Tel Aviv University (2015), a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Gender Studies, SOAS, University of London (2015-2016), a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Sociology at Tel Aviv University (2016-2017), and a postdoctoral fellowship Ph.D. at the Humphrey Institute for Social Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (2018-2020).
Dr. Maha Karbahi’s areas of interest focus on the connection between social change, family behavior, and gender inequality in societies in the process of change and specifically in Palestinian Arab society in Israel. Her research draws attention to the study of family life and employment, using a combined “ethnic lens” and “gender lens” and paying attention to the perspective of Palestinian Arab women, a group characterized by intersections between multiple marginal locations, which over the years has remained hidden from the research eye. Dr. Karkabi-Sabah’s research is published in professional journals and chapters in scientific books that are considered pioneers in family research, work, and gender equality.

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Prof. Frances Raday

Professor Emeritus in the Lieberman Chair in Labor Law, in the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University and serves as a full professor in the College of Management’s academic track, where she also serves as chair of the graduate program and as honorary president of the Concord Center for International Law Absorption. Radai was a member of a working group of the UN Human Rights Council on discrimination against women. In addition, she is a prominent and feminist human rights activist.

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Dr. Rawia Aburabia 

Faculty member of Sapir Academic College’s School of Law, received her PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research deals with the interface between law, gender, minorities, and human rights. Has published in leading journals on the subject of the matrimonial laws pertaining to Muslim women in Israel. Her book Under the Law, Outside Justice: Polygamy, Gendered Citizenship, and Colonialism in Israeli Law is expected to be published as part of the Gender Series of Kibbutz Meuhad Publishing House.

Dr. Aburabia has extensive experience in international human rights and public law. She has worked as a jurist for the Association for Civil Right and has been invited as a specialist to address such international forums as the United Nations and the European Parliament on the subject of indigenous communities and minority rights. She has interned with Human Rights Watch in Washington DC, and has been a member of the executive board of Amnesty International. In 2018, she was selected by the magazine Globes as one of the 40 most promising young persons in Israel under the age of 40.

 

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Ron Kessler

With over two decades of experience in the field of digital content, Ron has participated in numerous political and social campaigns. He helped run the digital activity of senior public officials, and worked in various NGOs. Ron is a fundamentally optimistic man, who believes that Israel can be changed and so can people. Lives in Tel Aviv.