Ngo comments on the Initial Israeli State Report on Implementing the un convention on the Rights of the Child

NGOs and the Government

Another criticism of the State Report regards the government’s relationship with NGOs. A lot of work on behalf of children is carried out by NGO’s. The government report mentions NGOs’ work in the field, which complements the work of the government but does not reflect the important role NGOs play.¹¹ Maybe it is also not surprising:

The influence of NGO’s on youth policy is not very extensive.¹² The NGO’s are consulted mainly when there are particular issues that need addressing. DCI -Israel believes the reason is that the government fears threats from the outside; the centrality of the government in Israeli life has dominated the society for many years, and this sharing of responsibility is perceived as a threat to its authority.

A Mixed Bag of Omissions, Confusions and Neglect in Reporting

One of the reasons the forest is lost in the trees of the Initial State Report maybe also be because there is no overall youth policy. The government tries to solve problems in a compartmentalized way, rarely considering how they are linked, leading to a “split system”¹³ of services for young people. If a young person has problems in different fields, the comprehensive approach is sorely missed. Dr. Mike Naphtali, the director of Association ELEM (Youth in Distress) is of the opinion that this leads to a high rate of dropouts than would otherwise be the case.

A good overall picture is also hard to get because there is a lot of duplication – parallel government or municipal departments with similar programs aimed at the same populations. This fragmentation is not an efficient way to provide effective services.¹⁴

Article 12 of the Convention declares that States Parties should take into account opinions of the child in all matters affecting the child. This is missing in their report. Government representatives should have consulted with children when preparing the report.

The State Report has a blind spot regarding previous identities of immigrant children and almost completely ignores cultural issues. This is not surprising, because the educational system and much of the absorption policy is based on the denial of the roots.¹⁵ There is not a lot of empathy for the cultural backgrounds of immigrant children, and the lack of attention to that issue in the Government Report confirms the attitude.

A major problem with the State Report is that it does not do enough to describe the changes in Israeli society, the effects these changes have had on children, and its own efforts to ensure an ethical response to these changes. The State of Israel has existed for fifty-three years, and the character of Israeli society has changed over that time. Religious parties (such as the Shas ultra-orthodox party of Jews from Middle Eastern countries) have gained popularity. Other new elements include the large number of immigrants that arrived in the last decade from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia, who have changed the demographic composition of the State. Economic polarization is becoming increasingly drastic, with the gap between the nation's richest and poorest citizens widening. The prolonged occupation of the territories influences every citizen, especially children.

Despite all the changes one can see that the kind of services the government provides to young people has basically stayed the same for the last thirty years even though the population tripled and many serious problems emerged.¹⁶ The most recent government service initiative was the one for girls in distress in 1968. Although the problems have changed, the government treats them with a system developed in the seventies.

The ministries in Israel dealing with children and youth are headed by politicians from various political parties (coalition governments are assembled from a number of parties). The old adage “he who has the youth has the future” guides many politicians. For example, when most of the Ethiopian Jews were brought to Israel it was decided that they would go to religious boarding schools. This served the interests of the National Religious Party. On one hand, politicians have a real interest in young people, but on the other, the interest is intended to serve needs of their own parties’ agenda.

Finally, a major difficulty in evaluating the implementation of the CRC is that statistics sometimes give different pictures. For instance, the enrollment figures listed by ultra-orthodox high school associations differ from those of the Ministry of Education.

Formulating the NGO Assessment

In general, we offer the following points to keep in mind when evaluating Israel’s implementation of the CRC; these themes will recur in most chapters of our NGO Report:

1. There are many reasonable, good laws in Israel concerning children. A major problem arises from the lack of implementation and enforcement.

2. Discrimination exists between different groups of children, resulting in the laws being unequally enforced mainly towards Palestinian citizens.

3. One-third of the Israeli Population is children (33.8% in the year 2000) and 25.2% of them live under the poverty line; the percentage increases in the Arab-Israeli sector where half the children live in poverty. The gap between “haves” and “have-nots” is growing, and poverty is a subject ripe for analysis.¹⁷ The Palestinian population residing in the West Bank and Gaza was 2.8 million in 1997 and more than 50% are children. The overall incidence of poverty among Palestinians in 1997 was 25%. 54% of the Palestinian children are living in poverty.¹⁸

4. Israel continues to ignore its responsibility towards Palestinian children who are under Israel’s effective control.
In chapter V, in our discussion of article 2 (non-discrimination), we will explain that a basic law delineating the rights of the Arab minority is lacking, and in chapter III (Basic Health and Welfare) we note that a basic law on social rights is missing because the government is afraid of budgetary consequences.

The focus of the Palestinian NGO report, coordinated by our Palestinian colleagues of DCI – Palestine, is on Palestinian children within Israel's jurisdiction; we are sure that the many human rights violations of Palestinian children will be brought to your attention in that report. However, in areas where clear Israeli responsibility according to the Convention can be established, we also relate to Palestinian children. Thus, for example, we discuss the problem of Palestinian women about to give birth being held up at checkpoints by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), which has led to the death of babies.

We are aware that the Israeli Initial State Report is a politically sensitive document, and many will look for politically burning issues. Some might try to paint a black and white picture, but the reality is very complex. Our NGO Report, attempts to strike a balance – it does not avoid highly politically charged issues, but also focuses on other matters in children's lives which should not be forgotten in these passionate times. We recommend that this report be read in conjunction with the Initial State Report, and not as a freestanding document. We also recommend reading the Alternative Report prepared by DCI-Palestine endorsed by the Palestinian Children’s Rights Coalition. Due to institutional discrimination in Israel, it appears that even civil society suffers from a division. We have included, at the request of Adalah and appendix on discrimination with a focus of the educational rights of the Palestinian citizens of Israel.

The major point of the NGO comments is that the State of Israel has accomplished a good deal in terms of legislation but far less in fair enforcement of this legislation. The chair of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee MK, Ophir Pines-Paz said: “The rule of law has been undermined in a way that endangers the democratic authorities in Israel. People who have been granted authority by law whether they are elected officials or civil servants do not carry out the law, compromise it, and even violate it blatantly.¹⁹ In addition, more legislation is needed. The situation is especially acute for the Arab-Israeli minority because Arab-Israelis are not protected constitutionally. Respect for the principles of the CRC vis-à-vis Palestinian children in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip provide special reason for concern. These points are not emphasized enough in the Initial State Report.