Israel Hayom | In the race for chief rabbi job, pesky laws get in the way

Apparently there is some opposition to changing the law regarding the age and term limits for the Chief Rabbi position. The move to change the law is motivated by the desire of some MKs to have Rav Yaakov Ariel serve as the Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi although he is over the age of 70 and to have Rav Shlomo Amar to serve a second term as Sephardi Chief Rabbi.

I also oppose the change. The original law prevents anyone over the age of 70 from running for the position of Chief Rabbi and limits him to one term. To change the law to allow a certain candidate to serve in the position strikes me as uncivilized. Mayor Bloomberg did it and dictators do it all the time.

That being said, I don't remember the Knesset members raising such a fuss when they they passed a similar law to allow Justice Grunis to become the President of the Supreme Court.

Elections for the 19th Knesset

The Knesset page for the elections for the 19th Knesset has some informative material in English, and this Hebrew warning from the Gripe Police:

 

(Translation: If you want to continue to gripe, fulfill your civic duty and go vote on Election Day. Remember, if you don't vote, your griping rights will be voided for the next four years. On Election Day, vote and then afterwards feel free to complain.)

There is scheduled to be a rally in Jerusalem's Kikar Shabbos tonight organized by the Eida Chareidis urging people not to vote. The Satmar Rebbe from Williamsburg is scheduled to attend.

The Degel Hatorah party distributed flyers this morning countering those who say religious Jews should not vote in the elections. Their main argument was that not voting is not a neutral statement. It saps the strength of the religious sector and give the anti-religious parties a greater majority.  

If you are going to attend the rally, please send in some photos, and remember according to the Knesset Election Law: Any person who does one of the following can expect to be punished... Influences the voter's choice of a list of candidates through the use of oaths, curses, excommunication, or blessings.

*UPDATE*
According to the Times of Israel, the Degel HaTorah party did not heed my warning and was offering blessings to those who vote for the party. Disaster was averted, however, when:

Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein, head of the Central Elections Committee suggested changing the text from “blessed with” to “merited with.” Another sentence that had the phrase “will be blessed from the source of all blessings” should be altered to “will merit all goodness from the source of all bounty,” Rubinstein ordered.

Does the New Law Against Too-Thin Models Violate the Basic Law?

The JPost had an article stating that: 

Starting on Tuesday, female and male models who have a body mass index (BMI) of less than 18.5 may not be shown in the media or on Israeli websites or go down the catwalk at fashion shows...

The law, also sponsored by Likud-Beytenu MK Danny Danon and believed to be the first of its kind in the world, does make violations a criminal offense bearing a fine. But violators can be sued in court by interested citizens, including families whose relatives have suffered or died due to eating disorders encouraged by images of overly thin models.While the media that publish or present illegal images are not liable, they will get a bad image for doing so; the company that produced the ad, ran the fashion show or used the overly skinny presenter can be taken to court.

In addition, any advertisement made to look with Photoshop or other graphics programs as if the model has a BMI under 18.5 has to be labeled with the warning that the image was distorted. The warning must be clear and prominent, covering at least 7 percent of the ad space.

Even the Wall Street Journal has picked up the story.

I wonder, however, whether this law is against the Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation which states that: Every Israel national or resident has the right to engage in any occupation, profession or trade. What if there is a model who naturally has a BMI of less than 18.5? Is she going to be forced to give up her career?

The Basic Law does have two provisions which might protect the law from being overturned:

Section 4: There shall be no violation of freedom of occupation except by a law befitting the values of the State of Israel, enacted for a proper purpose, and to an extent no greater than is required, or by regulation enacted by virtue of express authorization in such law.

Section 8: A provision of a law that violates freedom of occupation shall be of effect, even though not in accordance with section 4, if it has been included in a law passed by a majority of the members of the Knesset, which expressly states that it shall be of effect, notwithstanding the provisions of this Basic Law; such law shall expire four years from its commencement unless a shorter duration has been stated therein.

We'll have to wait and see if this law is challenged in court.

Israel Hayom | Pollsters beware: Six months in prison for violation of rules

Although the elections are still months away, Israel Hayom had a short article today reminding Israeli pollsters of the restrictions that apply to them. The Israeli version of Nate Silver and the Fivethirtyeight blog may not be as accurate as in the US because the laws regarding polling are more strict (in fact, I don't know if there are any laws regarding polling in the US.)

From the article:

The Knesset's Central Election Commission on Wednesday warned public opinion pollsters ahead of the upcoming elections that they must follow legislated guidelines, and that those who fail to do so could face significant punishment of up to six months in jail or a fine of up to 29,000 shekels.

According to an appendix of the Election Law, "Whoever conducts a poll using known statistical methods, during the 90-day period prior to Knesset elections … will transfer the results as soon as possible, accompanied by a detailed account of the information, to the Central Election Commission."

In addition, pollsters are required to reveal the name of the organization that ordered the survey, the date or dates it was conducted, the population from which the sample pool was taken, and the number of people who refused to take part in the survey, among other stipulations.

The law also states that two days before elections to the Knesset, no public opinion polls are allowed to be published.  

I like the fact that no polls can be conducted 2 days before the election. I think this helps to ensure that people are not discouraged from voting based on poll data whether accurate or fictional.

For a paper on Israel Election Laws see Eyes They Have, But They See Not. And to read some background regarding the upcoming Israeli elections see here.

Army Times: U.S.: Laws of war apply to cyber attacks

In light of alleged collaboration between Israel and the U.S. in creating computer worms, it is significant that according to the Army Times, Harold Koh, the State Department’s chief legal adviser, announced yesterday that it was U.S. government policy that certain cyber attacks may constitute a "use of force." I think we can expect other nations to begin clarifying their positions regarding what determines whether a cyber attack is a "use of force."

By Aram Roston - Staff writer

Posted : Tuesday Sep 18, 2012 20:18:17 EDT 

The U.S. government believes that cyber attacks can amount to armed attacks, and are subject to international humanitarian law and rules of war, the top State Department lawyer said Tuesday.

Harold Koh, the State Department’s chief legal adviser, unveiled the U.S. government’s position on the rules of cyberwar at a conference hosted by U.S. Cyber Command at Fort Meade, Md.

Koh announced that it was U.S. government policy that certain cyber attacks may constitute a “use of force,” a legal term defined by the UN Charter. Functionally, such cyber attacks are only legal if a military engagement is authorized by the United Nations, or if the attacks are launched in self defense.

Koh also introduced a series of 10 legal principles about cyberwar. The first is the general rule that international law does indeed “apply to activities in cyberspace.”

Some cyber attacks, Koh said, can “amount to an armed attack or imminent threat thereof” and could trigger a nation’s right of self-defense. Presumably, that means that if a country is attacked with a cyber weapon, it can fight back, either with conventional military force or a cyber weapon in return.

Koh said that to constitute a “use of force” under international law, a cyber attack would probably have to “proximately result in death, injury or significant destruction.”

Cyberwar was until just years ago little more then futuristic fantasy, but capabilities have developed so quickly that deploying cyber weapons now requires legal oversight. Koh’s announcement is an important development because the DOD has been grappling with the issue.

Indeed, shortly before Koh spoke, the CYBERCOM chief of staff Rear Adm. Margaret Klein had complained that there was “a lack of clear legal guidance” about what laws applied to the use of cyber as a weapon.

CYBERCOM oversees the Defense Department’s offensive and defensive cyber operations, and is led by Gen. Keith Alexander, who also runs the National Security Agency.

Koh emphasized that in using any cyber weapon, a country had to “distinguish military objectives from civilian objectives,” and had to avoid targeting civilian infrastructure.

Michael Schmitt, head of the international law department at the Naval War College, said the announcement came at an important time.

“The problem,” he said, is that people were wringing their hands in despair: ‘Oh my God, does international law apply?’ Non-lawyers seemed captivated by the idea that these weapons operated in a legal void.”

“It is significant,” he said, “that the legal advisor comes out and says unambiguously that international law applies.”

Schmitt headed a group of experts sponsored by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, Estonia, which prepared a draft manual on international law in cyberwar.

The United States is one of the few governments believed to have engaged in cyberwarfare, in particular the Stuxnet attack against Iran’s nuclear centrifuge infrastructure. Koh’s announcement of a legal doctrine on cyberwar comes just months after new reports surfaced about the Obama administration’s alleged central role in deploying the Stuxnet worm.

"Spouse" Abuse- After 45 Years of Marriage, Widow Not Entitled to Inheritance

Earlier this month, in the case of In Re: YA, the Tel Aviv Family Court, Judge Shifra Glick, ruled that the widow, C.A., was not entitled to inherit her husband, Y.A.'s estate even though they had been married for 45 years.

The court based its decision on its interpretation of the word "בן זוג- spouse" in the Succession Law-1965 and the purpose of the inheritance law.

Man Attacks Estranged Wife in Hospital- New Law Should Prevent Re-occurrence

Apparently, violence in health care facilities is a problem in Israel worthy of its own law.

The JPost reported today that a man attacked his estranged wife and hospital staff in the maternity ward. In May they reported on 3 brothers of a woman who was placed in a emergency shelter for domestic violence victims who went to the social worker’s home with clubs and iron bars and beat up her husband and other family members. According to a report at the Health Policy Monitor:

A comprehensive study conducted in 2003/4 on violence in emergency rooms in Israel (Landau et al. 2004) revealed that 75% of the medical staff reported a violent incident in the past year. Most reports related to verbal violence, but 29% reported threats and 16% physical violence...

This problem receives growing media attention; it was debated in the parliamentary committee for work welfare and health in 2007. During 2008, several academic conferences were dedicated to the issue and discussed measures to address it.

Life in Israel: Law Proposal: Strollers On Buses

Reposted from: Life in Israel: Law Proposal: Strollers On Buses:

If you were to get on a bus with a baby stroller and you have to either take the baby out and fold it up or else pay for an additional ride. Often you will see mothers, already burdened with kids and bags, start juggling everything they have including the baby they are removing from the stroller, all while the bus is lurching forward, in order to avoid being required to pay for the additional ride.

A law was proposed that would put an end to stroller-based-discrimination. An extra ride on public transportation would not need to be paid for, and it would also be illegal to prevent a stroller from being brought into a public building or area. It has happened numerous times that people with strollers were prevented from entering stores, libraries and other public places.

The law was initiated by some students who were working on a project of human rights. They include in their explanation that the folded up strollers usually don't take up so much less space than when the stroller is open, and the proposal is an attempt to protect the rights of the parents and the children.

The students initiated it, but it was proposed by MK Uri Maklev of UTJ, with a variety of other MKs signed on to the bill giving it a broad consensus that almost ensures it will pass when it comes to the vote.

(source: Israel HaYom)

Guest Post: What to Know About Renting a Home in Israel

By: Avner Slater, Adv.


You are looking to rent an apartment or house in Israel. The first and most important thing on your list should be to find a place you where you wish to live and at the right price. But the terms and conditions of the rent should not be far behind. 

Making sure it's the right neighborhood/community to fit your needs and those of your family, with good schools, synagogues, nice parks, shopping areas etc., is something you would do naturally. Unfortunately, however, people tend to think it ends there. The importance of reading and signing the contract are things which are often overlooked. Amazingly, sometimes no contract even exists.

Understanding the Contract 

Take the case of Avrumi G. from Brooklyn, who is planning to get married during the summer, and is looking to rent an apartment beginning this fall. His fiance hears from her best friend that a distant cousin of hers is leaving the apartment she had been living in for a few years. They get the owner's name and number, give him a call, mail him a deposit and the deal is closed.


But wait a minute! What are terms of the rental? What's included in the price? How long is the lease for? What if they want to leave early or stay longer? Is the rent in shekels or dollars? What happens when the dollar rate goes up or down? Is the apartment fully or partially furnished? What is the condition of the furniture? Is there an air conditioner? Is it in working condition?


These are just a few of the many issues which must be dealt with IN ADVANCE and IN WRITING. You cannot afford to have arguments later over what was said or not said during that brief long distance phone call. There must be a clear and detailed contract which spells out all the details.

Corporate Espionage: Spying on Your Own Employees

In a recent case, (Iskandar Salman v. Ihab Alimi) the Labor Court ruled that an accountant, who discovered that he was being filmed in his office by his employer and without his knowledge for the last 7 years, was, despite his resignation, entitled to severance pay.

The plaintiff claimed that after 11 years of working for the defendant, the last 7 of which occurred under surveillance, he no longer trusted his employer and the fact that his employer surreptitiously filmed him at work constituted a deterioration of the workplace environment such that his resignation should be considered the equivalent of a dismissal and he should thus be entitled to severance pay in respect of the years of service to the employer. The Severance Pay Law- 1963 states that "Where an employee resigns by reasons of an appreciable deterioration of his conditions of employment, or in view of other matters of labor relations affecting him and because of which he cannot be expected to continue in his employment, the resignation shall, for the purposes of this Law, be deemed to be dismissal."

The plaintiff also sued for emotional distress caused by the invasion of privacy. (In case you are curious, the plaintiff learned of the existence of the camera after the employer returned from his vacation, viewed tapes of the other employees not performing their assigned tasks properly- whatever that means- and called them into his office to reprimand them. It was then that the secret filming was revealed. The employer claimed this was the first time he had ever reviewed the tapes.)

Proposed Amendments to the Protection of Privacy Law (1981)

Amendments to the Protection of Privacy Law (1981) have been proposed in the Knesset.

The new amendments will provide that:

• acts done by parents or guardians that would otherwise be a breach of the privacy of a child will not be considered a breach if done for the benefit of the child;
• "child" shall be defined as one up to and including 13 years of age;
• someone who purposely breaches the privacy of a minor can be punished by up to 7 years in jail;
• a person requesting information  from a child for inclusion in a database must first receive the consent of the child's parent or guardian;
• direct mail may not be sent to a child without prior permission from a parent or guardian;
• requesting information from a child or sending him direct mail without prior consent from a parent or guardian is punishable by up to 3 years in jail.

And an amendment to the Consumer Protection Law (1981) would prevent anyone from exploiting the age of a counterparty to a transaction.

I must say, I think the proposed jail terms seem a bit excessive especially when according to the notes to the proposed amendment convictions under the law do not require a showing of intent or negligence.


It is interesting that "child" is defined as up to and including 13 years old. First, that is the age of adulthood for boys in Jewish law. Second, Facebook does not allow anyone under the age of 13 to create an account but 13-year-olds are permitted. So under this law, Israeli teens will have a one year waiting period until they are Facebook legal.

Israel Passes New Passenger Protection Law- from JPost

The Travel Adviser: Hit them where it hurts!  JPost - Travel - Travel News:


New Knesset law will mandate compensation for travelers who experience flight delays and cancellations.

The Bar Gets Higher: Record Low Bar Passage Rate in Israel

News outlets are reporting that preliminary results show that only about 50% of those who took the Israeli Bar Exam last week successfully passed the test. (See the hebrew article at The Marker here.) The average score was a 64 out of 100, and the passing grade is a 65.

Is this the Bar Association's way of thinning the herd and dealing with the problem of too many lawyers?

Does an overly difficult exam violate students' basic right to freedom of occupation?

The students who took the exam are weighing their options, including appealing the fairness of some of the question, suing the Bar Association, and protesting.

There are other countries with harder exams. The bar passage rate last year in Japan was 25% and two law schools in that country reported that none of their graduates passed the exam. See the article from the ABA Journal here. And I've seen some people writing that Brazil's bar passage rate is even lower but I didn't see a reliable source for that claim.

2 Class Actions Against PelePhone Certified by District Court

The Tel Aviv District Court recently approved a class action lawsuit filed against cellular phone provider Pelephone for charging customers a fee of 85 NIS in order to unlock their phones for use with SIM cards from other providers. The complainant claimed that such fees were against the Communications Law and violated the terms of PelePhone operating license.

PelePhone argued that it did nothing wrong.

Another class action against PelePhone was also certified around the same time. This one had to do with PelePhone option for customers to pay for music to be played to callers to their numbers in place of a standard ring. Customers paid 6.93 NIS for the service. Before the music was played to callers, they heard a 5.6 second message saying, "Do you like this song? If so, press * two times and it will be sent to your cellphone, for a fee." The lawsuit claimed that PelePhone did not have the customers' permission to solicit these purchases on time that was ostensibly paid for by the customers for the transmission of music.The lawsuit claimed the PelePhone breached its agreement and was unjustly enriched on the backs of its customers.

PelePhone claimed that it provided discounted songs to customers and because of that benefit, the class action did not accurately represent all of its customers and was against their interests. Further they claimed that most of their customers knew about the messages and so implicitly agreed and furthermore, it was easy to cancel the service and the messages by speaking with a PelePhone representative.

The Court rejected PelePhone's claims saying that it was not clear that customers knew about the messages and that they could cancel the messages. The Court also rejected the argument that the service benefited customers because it was still a source of revenue for PelePhone and appears to be a breach of the contract. PelePhone used the paid-for time of its customers without their permission.

Both of those decisions only permit the class action to proceed; there will be further decisions about the substantive issues at a later date unless the parties reach a settlement.