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Tmura addresses these issues by working with different NGO's and grassroots organizations which represent different minorities such as Achoti (a women-Mizrahi NGO) and Kian (a women-Palestinian NGO). Some Ngo's have already started referring clients to Tmura, however, budgeting is needed in order to pursue these cases. Tmura, therefore, intends to challenge questions of discrimination by seeking legal proceedings either by individuals, groups and NGO's.
The Legislative Sphere: Using The Parliamentary Domain - Amendment To The Act Of Business Licensing Imposing On Business Owners A Statutory Duty Not To Discriminate
One of the major problems that Israel faces is the problem of discrimination in public places on the ground of different collective based traits such as nationality in the case of Palestinians and ethnicity in the case of Mizrahis and Ethiopians. The Israeli Law strictly prohibits discrimination in Products, Services and Entry into Places of Entertainment and Public Places (The Prohibition of Discrimination in Products, Services and Entry into Places of Entertainment and Public Places Law of 2000). However, in practice many people face rejections in various places in Israel, and in most cases "the innocent/neutral" reason is based on problematic and manipulative grounds such as "private parties" or "the place is full". A bystander would immediately notice that other people do get into these places although they were never invited to such "a party". In some of the cases one would find that the place is not as crowded or full. The people that are rejected from entry are either Palestinians or non Ashkenazi Jews, i.e. Mizrahis or Ethiopians. Tmura was approached by either NGO's and individuals concerned with this disturbing phenomenon and decided to initiate either legal proceedings and community Organizing all aimed at advancing and promoting the public awareness including that of discriminated people that are unaware of their rights to pursue legal proceedings against the discriminators. Additionally and because of Tmura's centrality in the legal sphere, the Legal Department of the city municipality of Tel – Aviv has approached Tmura in order to discuss this problem and conceptualize strategies for addressing the issues raised. The city of Tel – Aviv is in charge of issuing working licenses to the businesses in its municipal territory and therefore receives hundreds of phone calls and letters complaining against events of discrimination in public places within its domain.
The Methods For Addressing These Issues:
A. Establishing A "Hot – Line" Together With The City Municipality Of Tel - Aviv
After several meetings it has been agreed that Tmura will establish a community based model offering legal assistance, advice and even representation to discriminated people. This Hot – Line will be run by volunteers that will have to go through thorough legal courses relating to issues of equality and discrimination.
The Hot – Line will be operated by a supervising Attorney that will be in charge of consulting, legally advising and in the appropriate cases also offering legal representation in legal proceedings.
Moreover, having in mind the importance of pursuing legal proceedings, Tmura appreciate the importance of reeducating businesses owners suspected with discrimination. Therefore, Tmura will be engaged in forming a forum in the city of Tel – Aviv issuing warnings to discriminating places to correct their ways before initiating legal proceedings. The forum will invite the discriminator to a meeting informing her/him of the complaints against them leaving them with an option to rectify their ways by innovative and creative ways such as by contributing to the community to which the discriminated complainer belongs.
Had they not operated to immediately correct their ways or to qualify with the obligations imposed by the forum legal proceeding will be sought.
Amending The Existing Legislation Concerning Businesses Licensing
In order to receive a business licensing entitling businesses in Israel to lawfully operate, businesses' owners need to qualify different criteria listed in various Israeli Laws and by – laws. These usually include fire instructions requirements, construction certificates etc.
There is no single provision that prohibits businesses from discriminating neither any legal sanctions imposed on discriminators. It appears, therefore, that businesses need only qualify with technical bureaucratic requirements disregarding substantial issues of discrimination and equality. The only sanctions imposed on discriminating businesses such as issuing closing warrants are the ones listed in The Prohibition of Discrimination in Products, Services and Entry into Places of Entertainment and Public Places Law of 2000 which is more declarative in nature and in practice no such warrants are issued. Unless a discriminated person pursue legal proceedings, businesses are left to continue with discriminating.
Tmura has decided to innovatively act for amending the existing legislation to include a strict and self explicit requirement imposing a duty of not discriminating as major criterion for receiving a license alongside with the other bureaucratic requirements.
In order to achieve this important goal, Tmura will need to conduct a thorough research including a comparative research reviewing different legal systems that enable women, victims of violence, including sexual abuse, to seek for legal remedies obtained in civil proceedings. As such, Tmura will need to use the services of a legal researcher.
Similarly, Tmura will also need to finance the activities of an Attorney who will eventually draft the Bill.
Tmura will also need to conduct a serious Parliamentary Lobby in order to gain support from different MP's which will pass this Bill in the various Parliamentary Committees.
The estimated budget needed for this project:
We need two full-time working lawyers to represent in the case-laws and to work on the legislative initiatives (2,500$ per month * 2 lawyers * 12 months) a sub-total of 60,000$. Office Expenses (such as rent, telephones, faxes, etc.: 5,000$*12 months) a sub-total of 60,000$. The total amount of money needed for the Project: 120,000$ The expected income from other foundations (pending): 60,000$ The amount asked for: 60,000$
Representing Victims of Violence
The Underlying Problem:
In Israel of 2007 there is a large increase in cases of violence especially violence inflicted on women and children. Women are raped, sexually harassed, bitten, mutilated and maimed and children are subject to rape, incest, pedophilia and many other forms of violence and abuse. The news often report on women murdered by their husbands and on child molestation.
Indeed, victims of violence can redress their claims by using the penal/criminal system. However, this legal path does not ensure convictions of the violators and even in cases involving conviction, the sentencing of the attackers does not reflect the gravity of the hard circumstances and in many cases is the result of a plea bargaining ignoring the victim, her narrative, her story and the damages caused by the harsh violence to which she was subject. The victim is not relevant in the criminal proceedings but for her testimony.
Moreover, the penal system is limited by the punitive damages that it can impose upon the accused. Victims of violence rarely receive any punitive damages and in effect, in many cases these damages are a component to be dismissed by a plea bargaining.
Women, therefore, feel that they do not receive an adequate medium for reclaiming the power that was brutally disposed from them by the men that have abused them.
A.The Legal Sphere – Using The Courts - The Purposes of this Project and the Legal Methods
Tmura has identified this need and now wishes to help these women in addressing their claims by using the civil legal system.
The Israeli Legal system is based on liberal notions and is focused on individual rights not always acknowledging the fact that "individual" legal problems lay within a larger collective context. There are no legal organizations that offer a legal aid in pursuing legal proceedings on behalf of victims of violence. Even in cases where women receive legal representation, mostly by lawyers from the private sector, representation is limited in its scope not seeing the single woman in a larger context. Therefore, Tmura offers a unique and innovative legal analysis broadening in a radical manner the scope of the traditional boundaries of the Israeli Law offering a challenging legal perspective: Tmura holds a contextual legal perspective seeing the "sole" individual legal problem, from which one woman suffer, as part of a larger and collective context. Moreover, Tmura aims at producing and introducing a new legal language from which the court will be able to derive the imposition of civil liability on the men who victimized these women and on the institutions which enable this violence to materialize.
For example, rape and sexual assault or harassment cases are viewed by Tmura in wider lenses seeing the rape as a result of a dominating society, and the one raped women as part of a hierarchical and patriarchic society which enables men to dominant, subordinate and submit women on the basis of their gender.
Tmura initiates innovative civil legal proceedings on behalf of abused women using in an innovative manner the tool of Tort Law and creating a new legal language in a reality where civil law suits against rapists are very rare.
Tmura is a pioneer in this field. So far, Tmura is already considered to be the most dominant organization that specializes in pursuing civil proceedings using Tort Law advancing the rights of victims of violence.
For example, Tmura has initiated legal proceedings against "Beti Li", one of Israel largest home furniture warehouse, on behalf of T.B. who was murdered and raped by one of its employees. This law suit is innovative as it broadens and challenges the scope of "premises liability" (similar to the American precedents concerning Wal-Mart) concerning the well being and personal safety of women.
Tmura has also initiated civil legal proceedings on behalf of a young woman who was brutally and viciously raped by 7 men during three disastrous days. The District Court eventually ruled against the rapists. Indeed, from first glimpse, the District Court has ruled on our client's favor. However reading the decision in a critical manner discovered a different narrative: the court wrote a very short decision ignoring the story of our client and her brutal rape. Our client's story on which behalf the law suit was initiated in the first place was mute and invisible. Moreover, the court has ignored the tortuous aspects of our law suit and imposed only a small portion of the damages sought by us on the rapists. Tmura, based on notions of critical lawyering, appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court arguing that rape cases must be viewed in a contextual manner seeing the one victim as part of a larger collective disempowered community exploited on the basis of gender. As such it was argued that the court has ruled using a gender blindness rhetoric and ignored the terrible story of our client not bringing to the fore the importance of revealing her story. We have argued that this ruling left our client invisible and transparent. This is an innovative legal approach which challenges the core pillars of our law, even in cases that the courts rule in our clients' favor.
Another example is a case concerning a young woman who was subject to incest. She was raped for years by her father, from very young age until the age of 16. Tmura has filed a precedent civil law suit against the rapist. Tmura has also decided after gathering important evidence to sue also the Ministry of welfare, the local municipality and the police for acting negligently by failing to fulfill their duty of care towards our client. Our main argument was that the welfare authorities were aware of the rapes from early years but refrained from acting responsibly and failed in saving our client from further years of abuse.
Tmura wishes to promote the public awareness towards these issues allowing women a media by which they could address their legal claims against their attackers. Tmura wishes to become a central NGO for these women offering them information on their rights, legal advice and representation.
Tmura's advocacy is based on communitarian methodologies seeing the one single client as part of a larger collective community. Tmura is already nation widely involved any wishes to further expand in various community activities both with different NGO's and grassroots organizations (which also refer clients to Tmura) and also with different groups and communities.
1. The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel.
2. Tel – Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center.
3. Haifa Rape Crisis Center.
4. Naamat.
5. Achoti (Sister): a Mizrahi feminist organization for underprivileged women in Israel.
6. The Democratic Mizrahi Rainbow.
7. Adva Center.
8. Itach – Women Lawyers for Social Justice.
B. The Legislative Sphere: Using The Parliamentary Domain -Abolishing The Mandatory Obligation In Civil Legal Proceedings To Submit Medical Opinions On Behalf Of Victims Of Violence
One of the major obstacles in accessing the legal system and obtaining legal remedies that became apparent to Tmura during representing in individual cases concerning abused and molested women, concerns Medical Opinions.
Whilst men who were found guilty for abusing women in criminal proceedings are entitled to Governmental Legal Aid, women who initiate civil proceedings against these men are obliged to finance by themselves expensive medical opinions.
In civil proceedings sought by victims of violence, mostly women and in particular underprivileged women with poor financial means, the Israeli Law imposes upon them a preliminary mandatory obligation to submit medical opinions on their behalf attesting on their medical conditions.
These women cannot file their law suits without submitting medical opinions.
These medical opinions are naturally very expensive and are therefore almost unobtainable for poor women who usually suffer from other forms of distress and poverty and who cannot even finance an adequate housing.
This demand forms, therefore, a major obstacle in the right of these women to address their claims against their attackers, and consequently and eventually, in pursuing justice.
Tmura has detected this crucial problem and wishes to initiate a Bill on the matter proposing to the legislator that this demand should not be mandatory and in any case should be burdened on the attacker himself and not on a woman who strives to regain some dignity back after being violated, and to reclaim and achieve some justice.
Drafting this innovative Bill is not an easy task, considering the fact that it imposes on the Israeli Parliament a consideration of feminist agenda. In order to achieve this important goal, Tmura will need to conduct a thorough research including a comparative research reviewing different legal systems that enable women, victims of violence, including sexual abuse, to seek for legal remedies obtained in civil proceedings. As such, Tmura will need to use the services of a legal researcher.
Similarly, Tmura will also need to finance the activities of an Attorney who will eventually draft the Bill.
Tmura will also need to conduct a serious Parliamentary Lobby in order to gain support from different MP's which will pass this Bill in the various Parliamentary Committees. |
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