Public trust in legal system result of inefficiency, not 'legal activism'
Yossi Tamar
Published in Ynet on September 14, 2006
The endless words, reports, and interpretations regarding the change at the Supreme Court's helm made us forget that public trust in the Israeli legal system is at an all-time low. The new chief justice, Dorit Beinisch, would do well if. along with working to protect the rule of law, she will also look into what's really going on at lower courts and execution offices responsible for implementing verdicts.
The wheels of justice turn slowly, but in Israel they're having a hard time turning at all. It's no secret courts are finding it difficult to serve their function. Citizens who seek to bring matters for legal debate discover that, even when they're dealing with minor issues, years will pass before a decision is made.
On the tortuous road to justice, the parties get to enjoy the best of Israeli bureaucracy, including extended waiting periods, useless sessions, needless forms, wasted money, and of course, endless lines. Even when a legal matter is decided, it turns out the State does not possess enough tools or power to enforce the decision.
More judges needed
Ordinary citizens who require mediation or legal defense and experience the Israeli legal system view the legal approach as an expensive, ineffective privilege. The sense that the system is not working as it should grows when one becomes familiar with the enforcement mechanisms, such as execution offices.
The same system, which shows apathy in the face of money owed to citizens, turns out to be a wonderfully effective well-oiled machine when it comes to banks seeking to collect debts.
Seemingly, the legal system possesses the basic condition needed for it to be effective and credible: The ratio of lawyers per population in Israel is among the highest in the world, and every year thousands more join the system and produce much work, and also great income, for the system.
However, it appears that while the whole world has moved forward and internalized the significance of service to citizens, the legal system has frozen in place and remained an island of bureaucracy, slowness, and ineffectiveness.
The legal system needs more judges. Currently, judges are sustaining an inhumane burden and are forced to hear dozens of cases and read hundreds of pages every day. The strict work procedures, which include a huge variety of forms, are incommensurate with our current age, while the manpower mechanism is tired, slow, and awkward.
Real problem ignored
The claim that the drastic decline in the public's trust in the courts is a result of controversial verdicts and doctrines on the part of the Supreme Court, in the wake of Israel's "constitutional revolution," is convenient for some elements.
This way, both those who back the "rule of law" displayed by Supreme Court justices and those who criticize them for interfering in government decisions sanctify the eternal argument and consistently ignore the genuine problem, which is the inefficient bureaucratic mechanism of the courts.
In my view, citizens who want the courts to hear their cases and discover the foot-dragging and system weakness lose their trust as a result of this state of affairs, and not because of the "legal activism" and the justice system's interference in Knesset decisions.
The system needs to be shaken up, and now. The number of judges must be boosted significantly, indicators that will determine their quality should be established, and judges who take too long in handing down verdicts should be made to retire.
It would be proper to add recognized and supervised mediation mechanisms that will lead to a decrease in the number of matters submitted to the courts by the public.
In addition, execution offices must be given real powers and the service offered to citizens must be significantly improved.
Previous Supreme Court presidents preferred to ignore the erosion of public trust in the legal system. Regrettably, the lack of faith in the system is so serious at this time that new Chief Justice Beinisch will have to consider the matter. Let's hope she deviates from the path of her predecessors and leads genuine reform in the justice system where ordinary citizens also have their place.
Yossi Tamar is an attorney and economist and managed the constitution project at the Shalem Center
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Monday, September 11, 2006
And now for something completely different!
An (unshaggy) dog story
When David and Daisy and I were on our way home this afternoon from Rehavia, our irresistible doggie attracted a lovely female white puppy with black spots who started by sniffing at the normal place and then decided this was the playmate for her - now. Since this part of Rehov Usshishkin is busy and the pavements narrow, it was not a good idea for them to play there: apart from the fact that David was desperate to get home because he was shlepping a not-light elderly printer to be passed on to one of his creative-writing group students.
We were just outside a courier business, where three men were sitting outside on a bench, so I asked whose dog it was. Typically, they were very unhelpful. I picked the puppy up and put her on the bench (by this time the men had stalked off), where she suddenly seemed very scared. She had a collar but no “dog tag” (in both senses), as we have done for Daisy, with her name in English and Hebrew and “her” mobile phone number on the other side. So what do we do?
David suggested putting her in the garden of the house opposite, which I did, not managing to close the gate properly. After we got home, David immediately went out shopping. I settled myself down to carry on reading a student’s thesis, and then decided to go to town to change a dollar cheque because finally the shekel is weakening so I’ll get more shekels. (If anyone can explain to me how we can fight a war and have our local currency strengthen, I’ll be grateful….)
Anyway, Daisy decided that she absolutely had to go out again, so I said fine, I’ll take you with me.
The moment we came out of the house, a youngish man asked me if I’d seen a dog – his had gone missing. Small, I said, a puppy? White? Yes, yes. With black spots? Yes! I told him where I’d left her, but he looked a bit unclear, so I said, fine, we’ll walk with you. When we got to the garden, the gate was wide open, and my heart fell into my boots. No signs of puppy.
Daisy insisted on going upstairs inside the building. I had a faint hope that the puppy might be hiding inside, but no luck. By the time we emerged, there was no sign of the owner. However, I’d taken the trouble to ask him his name, so I continued up the street calling his name. He came back looking crestfallen – no puppy. We all went into the house next door and walked round in the garden, but again no joy.
I insisted that he give me his mobile phone number, and gave him mine, in case one of us found her. And then suddenly, behind him, outside the gate, I saw something white, with a tail. “There,” I said – “there’s a doggie there. Is that her?” He turned round and saw her, and in a very matter-of-fact fashion said, “Michelle!” (a very unusual name for a dog in Israel).
We all emerged into the street and the puppy instantly started playing with Daisy again, just as she had an hour earlier… She was so oblivious of the cars, and the owner didn’t have a lead with him, that I begged him to pick her up. I couldn’t bear the thought that moments after I had managed to reunite dog and owner, something awful might happen to her.
The owner, Micha, said that he’d not long been back from Lebanon: gesturing at his short hair, he said, “I went there with a pony tail, and this is how I came back.”
So in the puppy’s short life - she's four months old - she’d been separated from her owner for over a month. But she was one of the lucky ones: his parents looked after her while he was in the army. Many of the dogs who were abandoned by their owners when they fled the North during the shelling have not been reclaimed and are in danger of being put down.
Israelis are not on the whole a dog-friendly population….
When David and Daisy and I were on our way home this afternoon from Rehavia, our irresistible doggie attracted a lovely female white puppy with black spots who started by sniffing at the normal place and then decided this was the playmate for her - now. Since this part of Rehov Usshishkin is busy and the pavements narrow, it was not a good idea for them to play there: apart from the fact that David was desperate to get home because he was shlepping a not-light elderly printer to be passed on to one of his creative-writing group students.
We were just outside a courier business, where three men were sitting outside on a bench, so I asked whose dog it was. Typically, they were very unhelpful. I picked the puppy up and put her on the bench (by this time the men had stalked off), where she suddenly seemed very scared. She had a collar but no “dog tag” (in both senses), as we have done for Daisy, with her name in English and Hebrew and “her” mobile phone number on the other side. So what do we do?
David suggested putting her in the garden of the house opposite, which I did, not managing to close the gate properly. After we got home, David immediately went out shopping. I settled myself down to carry on reading a student’s thesis, and then decided to go to town to change a dollar cheque because finally the shekel is weakening so I’ll get more shekels. (If anyone can explain to me how we can fight a war and have our local currency strengthen, I’ll be grateful….)
Anyway, Daisy decided that she absolutely had to go out again, so I said fine, I’ll take you with me.
The moment we came out of the house, a youngish man asked me if I’d seen a dog – his had gone missing. Small, I said, a puppy? White? Yes, yes. With black spots? Yes! I told him where I’d left her, but he looked a bit unclear, so I said, fine, we’ll walk with you. When we got to the garden, the gate was wide open, and my heart fell into my boots. No signs of puppy.
Daisy insisted on going upstairs inside the building. I had a faint hope that the puppy might be hiding inside, but no luck. By the time we emerged, there was no sign of the owner. However, I’d taken the trouble to ask him his name, so I continued up the street calling his name. He came back looking crestfallen – no puppy. We all went into the house next door and walked round in the garden, but again no joy.
I insisted that he give me his mobile phone number, and gave him mine, in case one of us found her. And then suddenly, behind him, outside the gate, I saw something white, with a tail. “There,” I said – “there’s a doggie there. Is that her?” He turned round and saw her, and in a very matter-of-fact fashion said, “Michelle!” (a very unusual name for a dog in Israel).
We all emerged into the street and the puppy instantly started playing with Daisy again, just as she had an hour earlier… She was so oblivious of the cars, and the owner didn’t have a lead with him, that I begged him to pick her up. I couldn’t bear the thought that moments after I had managed to reunite dog and owner, something awful might happen to her.
The owner, Micha, said that he’d not long been back from Lebanon: gesturing at his short hair, he said, “I went there with a pony tail, and this is how I came back.”
So in the puppy’s short life - she's four months old - she’d been separated from her owner for over a month. But she was one of the lucky ones: his parents looked after her while he was in the army. Many of the dogs who were abandoned by their owners when they fled the North during the shelling have not been reclaimed and are in danger of being put down.
Israelis are not on the whole a dog-friendly population….
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Jerusalem: A wheelchair view of Nachlaot
Good news to travelers in wheelchair: Nachlaot neighborhood in Jerusalem is very accessible
Jenny Ki Tov, Published on Ynet: 09.07.06, 12:45
Let’s start from the end: To my surprise, the Jerusalem neighborhood of Nachlaot, one of the Israeli’s most picturesque areas, can be enjoyed from a wheelchair. The beauty and character I remember from my two-legged days can still be appreciated now that I sit in a wheel chair.
I was surprised to discover that the route of the tour which took about two hours of constant movement was totally navigational for me, except for one stair at the beginning and three stairs which were low but fairly wide in the middle.
Now come the drawbacks as I prepare a second guide for wheelchair-bound tourists where I team up with Arnon Brokstein, a friend who is also a tour guide. We limited our tour to the neighborhoods between Agrippas and Bezalel Streets during which I used a light wheelchair easily maneuverable by a healthy person.
This kind of tour requires cooperation of everyone involved: The person in the wheelchair willing to deal with sudden twists and turns in the narrow alleyways, roads that are far from paved and the accompanying person not to deviate from the predetermined route.
'Heart of the City’
Nachlaot is part of the greater community called ‘Heart of the City’ comprising 32 individual neighborhoods that adjoin one another. Some of them consist of only a few homes or buildings. The entire area is undergoing extensive renovations and preservation, which emphasize the beauty and unique character. Thus anyone whose last visit to the area was a few years ago is in for some surprises.
The 2-2.5 hour walk through the area was conducted on a typical Jerusalem day. It is preferable to begin in the late afternoon when traffic is light and there is parking near the Davidka Square or Clal Center.
The winding route requires strict adherence to the directions laid out where easy wheelchair access to the various sites is assured. Arnon and I did the entire route three times in order to check and double check this.
Yet despite the favorable conditions, I cannot resist asking one naive question: Why are so many of the neighborhood synagogues inaccessible to wheelchair visitors? Why is there no ramp for the disabled to enter more easily? The Jewish religious sites are no different than Christian ones in that regard as described in our first guidebook.
One other thing before we begin: There are no bathrooms in the entire area for the disabled and any potential visitor needs to take that into account.
Note by Daisyima: I live in the neighborhood and don't know of any public bathrooms (toilets) other than those in the shuk (Mahane Yehuda).
The route
Let’s start opposite the Gindy paper store on Agrippas St. Cross the street to the arched entrance at number 21 and enter the neighborhood of Sukkat Shalom
Continue straight until you see number 14 where you turn right and find yourself on Mishkanot Street. Look for the lane named for Rabbi Arye Levine. He was a legend of the city; counseled the underground fighters who were imprisoned by the British and was known to all as a righteous man. A long narrow alley traverses a number of the smaller neighborhoods.
Cross Shomron Street to the neighborhood of Mazkeret Moshe. At number 21 turn right to Einayim Lmishpat Street and stop at the beautifully designed gates of the Moroccan synagogue Hesed and Rachamim. Turn left and continue to the Ohel Moshe neighborhood named for philanthropist Moshe Montifiore.
The street features a community water cistern which has since been covered up by the municipality but one can still see its elevated presence. Continue on Carmel Street, passing the park known as mulberry tree park because of the massive tree which lends its shade there as well as mentioned in, 'Me, and Simone and Little Moise', a song by Yossi Banai about his childhood in the neighborhood.
Further on is Shilo Street. Turn left into the Nachlat Zion and Nachlat Achim neighborhoods. Stop at the impressive synagogue of the Syrian Adas Jewish community at the corner of Shilo and Beersheva Streets. Its interior is magnificent but difficult for the wheelchair tourist to enter.
Our tour takes us down Beersheva Street, right to Lachish Street, thus avoiding many stairs from where we continue until it meets Geva Street. Turning left and left again, then right we arrive at Ovadia Somech Street. Although we have done some backtracking it is worth stopping at the Beit Yitzhak, the Persian synagogue built in 1894. We turn left and return to the corner where we once again meet Shilo Street. Continue straight until you see a right turn which brings you to the charming Zichron Tuvia neighborhood of one street leading you out to Agrippas and back to where the car is parked.
Jenny Ki Tov is an editor and translator. She is wheelchair bound since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
Jenny Ki Tov, Published on Ynet: 09.07.06, 12:45
Let’s start from the end: To my surprise, the Jerusalem neighborhood of Nachlaot, one of the Israeli’s most picturesque areas, can be enjoyed from a wheelchair. The beauty and character I remember from my two-legged days can still be appreciated now that I sit in a wheel chair.
I was surprised to discover that the route of the tour which took about two hours of constant movement was totally navigational for me, except for one stair at the beginning and three stairs which were low but fairly wide in the middle.
Now come the drawbacks as I prepare a second guide for wheelchair-bound tourists where I team up with Arnon Brokstein, a friend who is also a tour guide. We limited our tour to the neighborhoods between Agrippas and Bezalel Streets during which I used a light wheelchair easily maneuverable by a healthy person.
This kind of tour requires cooperation of everyone involved: The person in the wheelchair willing to deal with sudden twists and turns in the narrow alleyways, roads that are far from paved and the accompanying person not to deviate from the predetermined route.
'Heart of the City’
Nachlaot is part of the greater community called ‘Heart of the City’ comprising 32 individual neighborhoods that adjoin one another. Some of them consist of only a few homes or buildings. The entire area is undergoing extensive renovations and preservation, which emphasize the beauty and unique character. Thus anyone whose last visit to the area was a few years ago is in for some surprises.
The 2-2.5 hour walk through the area was conducted on a typical Jerusalem day. It is preferable to begin in the late afternoon when traffic is light and there is parking near the Davidka Square or Clal Center.
The winding route requires strict adherence to the directions laid out where easy wheelchair access to the various sites is assured. Arnon and I did the entire route three times in order to check and double check this.
Yet despite the favorable conditions, I cannot resist asking one naive question: Why are so many of the neighborhood synagogues inaccessible to wheelchair visitors? Why is there no ramp for the disabled to enter more easily? The Jewish religious sites are no different than Christian ones in that regard as described in our first guidebook.
One other thing before we begin: There are no bathrooms in the entire area for the disabled and any potential visitor needs to take that into account.
Note by Daisyima: I live in the neighborhood and don't know of any public bathrooms (toilets) other than those in the shuk (Mahane Yehuda).
The route
Let’s start opposite the Gindy paper store on Agrippas St. Cross the street to the arched entrance at number 21 and enter the neighborhood of Sukkat Shalom
Continue straight until you see number 14 where you turn right and find yourself on Mishkanot Street. Look for the lane named for Rabbi Arye Levine. He was a legend of the city; counseled the underground fighters who were imprisoned by the British and was known to all as a righteous man. A long narrow alley traverses a number of the smaller neighborhoods.
Cross Shomron Street to the neighborhood of Mazkeret Moshe. At number 21 turn right to Einayim Lmishpat Street and stop at the beautifully designed gates of the Moroccan synagogue Hesed and Rachamim. Turn left and continue to the Ohel Moshe neighborhood named for philanthropist Moshe Montifiore.
The street features a community water cistern which has since been covered up by the municipality but one can still see its elevated presence. Continue on Carmel Street, passing the park known as mulberry tree park because of the massive tree which lends its shade there as well as mentioned in, 'Me, and Simone and Little Moise', a song by Yossi Banai about his childhood in the neighborhood.
Further on is Shilo Street. Turn left into the Nachlat Zion and Nachlat Achim neighborhoods. Stop at the impressive synagogue of the Syrian Adas Jewish community at the corner of Shilo and Beersheva Streets. Its interior is magnificent but difficult for the wheelchair tourist to enter.
Our tour takes us down Beersheva Street, right to Lachish Street, thus avoiding many stairs from where we continue until it meets Geva Street. Turning left and left again, then right we arrive at Ovadia Somech Street. Although we have done some backtracking it is worth stopping at the Beit Yitzhak, the Persian synagogue built in 1894. We turn left and return to the corner where we once again meet Shilo Street. Continue straight until you see a right turn which brings you to the charming Zichron Tuvia neighborhood of one street leading you out to Agrippas and back to where the car is parked.
Jenny Ki Tov is an editor and translator. She is wheelchair bound since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
Site - reservists' call for a state commission of enquiry
Anyone interested in signing the miluimnikim (reservist) call for a state commission of enquiry can do so through
www.adcan.co.il
A friend visited their protest tent in the Rose Garden near the Knesset and the Prime Minister's Office. They're calling on Olmert, Peretz and Halutz to resign and for an independent commission of enquiry, and they're collecting signatures to back them.
They don't have money to advertise the website and ask for those who support the commission to tell everybody they know about the website.
www.adcan.co.il
A friend visited their protest tent in the Rose Garden near the Knesset and the Prime Minister's Office. They're calling on Olmert, Peretz and Halutz to resign and for an independent commission of enquiry, and they're collecting signatures to back them.
They don't have money to advertise the website and ask for those who support the commission to tell everybody they know about the website.
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