Israeli Supreme Court Voids Law Prohibiting State Income Support Recipients from Owning or Using Cars

Retiring Supreme Court Chief Justice Dorit Beinisch Delivers Ruling on her Final Day on the Court:  Voids Law Prohibiting State Income Support Recipents from Use of a Car

Landmark Win for Adalah and Other Social Rights NGOS

• There are over 110,000 recipients of income support payments from the state. 26% of these recipients are Arab citizens of Israel
• Arab citizens are most affected by the law, as Arab towns lack of public transportation and places of employment
• Adalah hopes that the decision will be a precedent for future Supreme Court rulings that defend the rights of the poor – Jewish and Arab citizens of the state

(Haifa, Israel) Today, 28 February 2012, Supreme Court Chief Justice Dorit Beinish, who is retiring this week, chose to read the court's ruling overturning the Income Support Law (1982) – Amendment 9 before a full court. Amendment 9 forbids poor recipients of state income support allowances from owning or using a car. The seven Supreme Court justices reviewing the case unanimously overturned the law finding it to be unconstitutional. Adalah Attorney Sawsan Zaher petitioned the Supreme Court against the law, along with other social rights organizations.

In response to the court's decision, Attorney Hassan Jabareen, Adalah's General Director stated: "We welcome this precedent-setting court decision, the first time the Supreme Court has overturned a law regarding social and economic rights. This decision directly affects the most vulnerable segment of the country, especially the Arab minority… We hope that this decision becomes a precedent for future rulings in defense of the rights of the poor. The decision serves as a message to the government about the state's duty to defend human dignity by insuring to a minimum level of living standards. We hope that all official institutions in the country absorb this message."

Former, Adalah Attorney Gadeer Nicola first petitioned the court against the law in 2004 on behalf of Mr. Salah Hassan, a resident of Mashhad in the Galilee. In 2007, Attorney Sawsan Zaher submitted a revised petition following certain changes in the law.

In 2004, Mr. Hassan, whose primary income is income support allowances from the state, requested that the National Insurance Institute (NII) permit him to use his car for essential assistance for his daughter, who is blind. Mr. Hassan explained that he is the only individual able to take his daughter to and from regular medical examinations, as well as to attend to daily appointments and needs. The NII refused his request, saying: "There is no proof that there is a need for car use for medical purposes. Blindness does not necessitate regular medical visits, and there is no evidence that his daughter needs regular tests or urgent trips to hospitals and clinics." According to NII data, today over 110,000 people receive income support allowances, around 26% of whom are Arab citizens of the state.

Adalah argued that the law forbidding recipients of income support to use or own a car is unconstitutional and violates the rights to equality, a minimum standard of living, dignity, social security, and property. Adalah emphasized in the petition that, "There is no dispute that income support allowances are meant to provide a last social safety net to keep beneficiaries from slipping into life without a bare minimum of necessities." Adalah also noted that Arab citizens of Israel are the most affected by the law of any group because of the severe lack of public transportation and workplaces in their towns and villages.

For more information, see also:

Press Release, "Adalah Petitions Supreme Court against Amended Law Banning Income Support Recipients from Owning or Using a Car," 16.3.2008.

Press Release, "Following Adalah and Sawt el-Amel's Petition: Supreme Court Orders State to Explain Why Car Owners and Users Should Be Denied Income Support Payments," 18.6.2009

Contacts:
Edan Ring, Adalah Media Coordinator, edan@unik.co.il, 054-668-0085

Salah Mohsen, Adalah Media Coordinator, salah@adalah.org, 052-595-0922