Expanded Panel of 9 Supreme Court Justices Hears Case against “Admissions Committee Law”
(Haifa, Israel) On 4 December 2012, an expanded panel of nine Supreme Court justices heard the final arguments on a case challenging the constitutionality of the discriminatory “Admissions Committee Law.” The law was passed in March 2011, and allows 475 small communities in Israel built on 'state land' (public land) to reject applicants who "do not suit the lifestyle and social fabric of the community." The law applies to 46% of communities in Israel and 65% of all rural communities. Adalah and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) each filed a petition against the law.
Adalah Attorney Suhad Bishara filed the petition on behalf of the following NGOs: the Arab Center for Alternative Planning, the Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow (HaKeshet HaMizrahi), Bimkom: Planners for Planning Rights, Another Voice in the Galilee (Kol Aher BaGalil), and the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance.
Attorney Bishara argued during the hearing that “the law marginalizes certain groups, creating a legal, constitutional, and legitimate basis for discrimination. The law allows for division of state land based on vague cultural and social standards– and not even the state can explain which criteria admissions committees could use to accept or reject candidates. The law will open the door to arbitrary decisions based on prejudices and personal grudges.”
Attorney Bishara added after the hearing that “The law is functioning the same way it did previously as a policy, deterring many segments of the population, especially Palestinian Arab citizens of the state, from applying for housing in these towns for fear of rejection. The law has serious implications now and has had for many years, so it is not possible to say that it is unripe for judicial ruling.” The parties expect that the Supreme Court will issue a ruling shortly.
Case Citation: HCJ 2504/11, Adalah, et al v. The Knesset, et al. (case pending).
Read more:
Arab groups appeal Israel's exclusionary law: High Court hears two petitions filed by NGOs claiming law can be used to keep Arabs, gays and others out of communities, Ha’aretz, 5 December 2012.
Skeptical justices hear housing discrimination case, Jerusalem Post, 4 December 2012
