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The Right to Health
The right to health is a fundamental human right. Under Israeli law, every Israeli resident is entitled to health services in accordance with the principles of justice, equality, and mutual support. However, the Israeli health system is far from being able to adhere to these principles. On the contrary, we are witnessing increasing inequality in access to health services. Insufficient funding of the public health system, coupled with privatization of health services, have led to a deterioration in the scale and quality of services provided by the health system. The result is two health systems that differ substantially in quality – one for the wealthy and one for the poor.
ACRI works to ensure accessible and equal health services to all citizens and residents of Israel: rich and poor, Arab and Jewish, old and young, living in the center or in the periphery. This includes the rights of the mentally ill with regards to health care, and the rights of refugees and asylum seekers with regards to medication administered without proper information. Through legal work including intervening directly with the Ministry of Health and through focused publications, ACRI has brought the issue of the growing inequalities in the health care system into the public sphere.
Police Photography of Protesters
Photo: Wix Media In September 2020, the police scrapped the protocol that prohibited photographing protesters other than under exceptional circumstances. The police claimed there would be a new protocol, but despite repeated requests from the Association for Civil Rights, no new protocol has been put into place. Meanwhile, police officers have been photographing protesters whenever they like, without any justification. Officers have used their personal phones to photograph in
6 days ago3 min read
Politicizing the Classroom
© Monkey Business Images | Dreamstime.com The State Education Regulations (Activity of an External Entity in the Education System), 5786–2026, instruct the Minister of Education to establish rules to prevent school activities led by a person or organization that is not part of the education system that stand in opposition to the objectives of the State Education Law. The enactment of the regulations was delayed for eight years, and the Minister of Education announced the for
Feb 152 min read
Workers' Compensation for Unpaid Leave During States of Emergency
Photo: © Kevin George | Dreamstime.com Over the past 20 years, arrangements to compensate workers following military operations and states of emergency have been based on a system in which the State reimburses employers for the loss of their income, and employers pay employees the wages they lost due to absences caused by the emergency. In other words, employers receive compensation directly from the State, and they then transfer the payments to their workers. The Forum for
Feb 103 min read
A Tax Policy that Hurts Farmers
Illustrative. Photo: © Gburshtein | Dreamstime.com On February 9, 2026, ACRI submitted an appeal to the Chair of the Knesset Committee objecting to a proposed amendment to the Property Tax Law, introduced as part of the 2026 Economic Efficiency Law (“Arrangements Law”). The amendment proposes imposing a property tax on vacant land designated for construction and on underused agricultural land of up to 1.5% of the land’s value. The property tax was previously repealed after ex
Feb 102 min read
A Proposed Law to Restructure the Police Internal Affairs Bureau (Machash)
Photo: Yossi Zamir, Shatil-Stock A bill proposing reforming the Police Internal Investigations Department (MACHASH) is being discussed by a joint Knesset committee of the National Security Committee and the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee. The original bill was introduced by MK Moshe Saada and sought to remove MACHASH from the State Attorney’s Office and place it under the authority of the Minister of Justice, who would also appoint the head of the committee; it woul
Feb 53 min read
Blocking Entrances to Arab Towns in Israel is Illegal
© Liujunrong | Dreamstime.com Several times in recent months, the police set up roadblocks on access roads to Arab towns in order to fight crime and weapons smuggling. The roadblocks paralyzed main traffic arteries, made entry and exit to the towns difficult to impossible, disrupted daily life, and violated residents' rights to freedom of movement and human dignity. In response to these actions, we sent appeals to the Attorney General, the Police Commissioner, and the Legal
Feb 54 min read
Refusing to Allow Volunteer Physicians into Gaza
Illustrative. Photo: Wix After two and a half years of war, approximately 42,000 people in the Gaza Strip, including 10,500 children, remain seriously injured and in need of rehabilitation and ongoing care. Meanwhile, Gaza’s healthcare system has been decimated, and lost around 1,500 medical staff during the war. Even before the war, Gaza’s limited healthcare system relied heavily on assistance and training from specialist physicians from around the world, who came for volunt
Feb 52 min read
Water Supply Cut Off as Collective Punishment
Illustrative. Photo: © Igor Terekhov | Dreamstime.com On January 25, 2026, an inspector from the Negev Water Corporation disconnected the water supply to three unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev, after discovering damage caused by vandalism to the infrastructure of the water cabinet. As a result, approximately 150 families, including children, the elderly, and people with disabilities, were left without water. When the water supply was not restored after four days, w
Feb 41 min read
Taking to the Streets
February 4, 2026 Subscribe to ACRI's newsletter Demonstrating against the government's indifference to crime in Arab society. Photo: Oded Feller, ACRI This past weekend in Tel Aviv and around the country Arabs and Jews demonstrated in massive numbers against the unchecked crime wave raging in Arab society. This was a moving show of bravery on the part of Arab society, which has faced escalating attempts at marginalization and silencing since the outbreak of the war, and solid
Feb 43 min read
Roadblocks Cutting Off Arab Neighborhoods in the City of Lod
Photos: Abeer Joubran, ACRI On February 1, 2026, ACRI petitioned the Supreme Court on behalf of four residents of the city of Lod, demanding the removal of concrete roadblocks placed by the police in two of the city's neighborhoods that are home to hundreds of Arab residents. In one neighborhood, the concrete barrier has completely sealed off the area; there is no other way to enter or exit. In the other neighborhood, the alternative road passes through an industrial area tha
Feb 32 min read
Mountains of Garbage are being Allowed to Pile Up in East Jerusalem Neighborhoods
Garbage in an East Jerusalem neighborhood beyond the separation barrier, February 2026 On November 13, 2025, ACRI contacted the Director General of the Jerusalem Municipality and the head of the Sanitation Department following numerous appeals from residents living in East Jerusalem neighborhoods beyond the separation barrier regarding mountains of garbage piling up in the streets. Tens of thousands of residents and Israeli citizens live in these neighborhoods: the Shuafat Re
Feb 32 min read
The Death Penalty Bill: Q&A
Photo: © Alanhutcheson | Dreamstime.com The Knesset is advancing a death penalty bill : Penal Code (Amendment—Death Penalty for Terrorists). Below is information about the bill, which ACRI unequivocally opposes. What does the bill stipulate? The most recent version of the bill, which was published on January 27, 2026, seeks to impose a mandatory death penalty for defendants convicted of murder motivated by terrorism in military courts in the West Bank, and a discretionary
Jan 296 min read
Theft of Cows Belonging to a Palestinian Farmer by Soldiers
Soldiers leading the cows from the pen owned by the petitioners to the civilian truck About a dozen armed and uniformed soldiers arrived at a barn belonging to a Palestinian family in the West Bank, handcuffed the barn owner and his son, broke through the barn's fences, and loaded the cattle belonging to the family onto a civilian truck that arrived at the scene escorted by military jeeps. Social media posts from a group that aids settlers in pursuing agricultural projects (l
Jan 293 min read
Public Comments Before Government Decisions
Photo: © Syda Productions | Dreamstime.com Before the weekly government meetings, the agenda is usually published along with attached appendices, which include proposed resolutions. The agenda and appendices are distributed to ministers and professional officials, and published for the public on the website of the Prime Minister's Office. But what was published before the government meeting scheduled for January 25, 2026 was unusual. An agenda was published, but nothing was
Jan 292 min read
Repeal the Protection of the Public from Criminal Organizations Law
© Andrei Dodonov | Dreamstime.com The Association for Civil Rights in Israel petitioned the Supreme Court on February 12, 2025, demanding the cancellation of the Protection of the Public from Criminal Organizations Law. This law, which was approved by the Knesset as a temporary provision for two years, allows police to use tools that had previously reserved exclusively for counterterrorism and state security purposes, based on classified intelligence as well as administrat
Jan 292 min read
Freedom of Movement for the Residents of Jisr az-Zarqa
Barriers in Jisr az-Zarqa. Photo: Abeer Joubran, ACRI On January 12, 2026, ACRI petitioned the Supreme Court on behalf of six residents of the town of Jisr az-Zarqa, demanding the removal of concrete barriers that the police placed at the entrance to the town and within two of its neighborhoods. The barriers at the entrance to the town narrow the traffic lanes, obstruct vehicle movement, and endanger drivers; the barriers within the neighborhoods prevent passage by pedestrian
Jan 272 min read
Soldiers Attempt to Forcibly Expel Palestinian Families in the West Bank
Illustrative. A shepherd in the West Bank. Photo: © Rrodrickbeiler | Dreamstime.com On January 23, 2026 ACRI contacted the army on behalf of two shepherd families from the village of al-Nakhb in the West Bank. The families have been living in this location for decades, and according to them, the land is privately owned and belongs to the estate of the family’s grandfather. In mid-January, a military jeep arrived at the home of Youssef’s family (name has been changed for
Jan 252 min read
Disqualifying Teachers with Degrees from the Palestinian Authority
Illustrative. East Jerusalem school. Photo: Ronit Sela, ACRI On January 21, 2026, the Knesset passed the Law for the Prevention of Employment of Education Workers Who Hold an Academic Degree from an Institution in the Palestinian Authority (Legislative Amendments), 5785-2025. The law prohibits employing educators (teachers, principals, supervisors) in Israel's education system if they have an academic degree from an institution of higher education in the Palestinian Authority
Jan 223 min read
Getting Rid of the Gatekeepers
Gali Baharav-Miara, Israel's Attorney General. Photo: Yosi Zamir, Shatil-stok The Kesset's Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee has been debating a bill initiated by the committee's chairman, MK Simcha Rothman, to split the role of the Attorney General for the Government. This is an extremely dangerous proposal that introduces political considerations into law enforcement, and does away with fundamental principles such as the binding status of the Attorney General's opini
Jan 213 min read
Witnessing the Expulsion of a Community
Subscribe to ACRI's newsletter January 20, 2026 Goats from a nearby settler outpost grazing on what was the home of a resident of Ras al-Ain Dear friend, This past Wednesday, members of ACRI’s staff visited the village of Ras al-Ain in the southern Jordan Valley in the West Bank. Ras al-Ain was home to about five communities of approximately 110 Bedouin families. “Was,” because it is in the process of being dismantled and evacuated, after being forcibly expelled by settle
Jan 203 min read
Bad Fences from Bad Neighbors
Map of some of the fences erected on the roads. Map courtesy of Dror Atkes, "Kerem Navot" Wide swaths of major roads northern Jordan Valley have been illegally fenced off over the past few months. The fences were installed by local settlers, with the clear purpose of restricting the movement of the area’s Palestinian residents. As a result of the fencing, Palestinian communities are disconnected from grazing and agricultural fields, and are burdened with further restrictions
Jan 202 min read
Return Bail Money to Palestinians
Photo: © Designer491 | Dreamstime.com ACRI submitted a petition to the Supreme Court against the head of the Civil Administration, demanding the return of bail funds deposited by Palestinians for release from detention or as deposits to ensure their appearance at court. The Civil Administration has accumulated approximately 53 million shekels belonging to Palestinian residents, which it is required by law to give back. State Comptroller reports and journalistic coverage have
Jan 142 min read
Thanks to ACRI: The Mediators Program Aiding Negev Bedouin Communities will Reopen
Photo: © Karl Francis Dale Tapales | Dreamstime.com On December 15, 2025, ACRI, together with Itach-Maaki and Physicians for Human Rights, sent an appeal to the Ministry of Health regarding the mediators program operated through the Ministry of Health, via a contractor, at 26 Tipat Halav (well-baby) clinics in Bedouin communities in the Negev. The program's purpose is to reduce infant mortality in Bedouin society: mediators translate and make medical information accessible t
Jan 122 min read
Tel Aviv University Restricts Freedom of Expression
Tel Aviv University protest in Entin Square (off-campus), March 2025. Photo: Orna Naor, Shatil-Stock On January 12, 2026, we appealed to the President of Tel Aviv University following a new policy published by the university to regulate public activity on campus. The policy includes significant restrictions on freedom of expression, protest, and association on campus, that include requiring protests to take place off campus, police approval for every cultural event, prohibiti
Jan 111 min read
Palestinians Detained By Soldiers for Punishment and Intimidation
Illustrative. Photo: Rachel Druck, ACRI Palestinian residents of the West Bank have increasingly been subject to detention by soldiers. They testify that they were detained by soldiers, taken to a military base, held in harsh conditions for long hours (in extreme temperatures, without being provided with food or water, without access to restrooms, and without being able to move—sometimes shackled and blindfolded). In some of the worst cases, physical violence was used against
Jan 112 min read
Media Reform: Serious Harm to Press Freedom and Democracy
A special Knesset committee is currently debating the Communications (Broadcasting) Bill, 2025 ("Broadcasting Bill"), which seeks to enact reforms in Israel’s commercial broadcasting market and its regulation. Among other things, it proposes to establish a new regulatory body that would replace the existing one. This new regulator would have the power to censor broadcasts and would be subject to political influence. This would, consequently, weaken or destroy the tools design
Jan 82 min read
Neve Midbar Regional Council Has Stopped Providing Educational Services for Children of Unrecognized Villages
Illustrative. The village of Qasr al-Sir in the Neve Midbar Regional Council. @ Aiob Abo Madegam | Dreamstime.com For years, the Neve Midbar Regional Council has been providing educational services to thousands of students who are residents of unrecognized villages under a contracting agreement between the council and the Ministry of Education. On December 18, 2025, the Regional Council announced that, due to an ongoing budgetary and operational dispute with the Ministry of E
Jan 82 min read
An "Essential Products" Basket that Includes Candy and Soda, Not Fruit and Vegetables
© Rene Van Den Berg | Dreamstime.com On January 4, 2026, the Ministry of Economy and Industry launched the "Israel Basket" project: retail chains with many branches nationally can compete to offer the lowest price for a shopping basket of 100 products defined as "basic products." Despite the good intentions, an examination of the list of products included in the basket, the tender conditions that were published, and media reports all raise serious concerns that the project wa
Jan 72 min read
Activists are Receiving Invitations for "Friendly Conversations" from the Shin Bet
Photo: © Framestock Footages | Dreamstime.com On December 29, 2025, the media published that men in civilian clothing who identified themselves as police officers arrived at the home of a well-known protest activist and gave her a form to appear for "questioning" at a district police station. When she arrived at the station, she discovered that three Shin Bet officers were waiting for her, to have a "friendly conversation" about posts she published on social media criticizin
Dec 31, 20252 min read
Remove Movement Restrictions Imposed on Hebron's Palestinian Residents
© Maksym Voitenko | Dreamstime.com Since the beginning of the war, major movement restrictions have been imposed on Palestinian residents of Hebron. Palestinians in the city are under curfew, which means that all residents, including young children, the elderly, and people with disabilities, are prohibited from leaving their homes; they are not allowed to open their shops; driving in private Palestinian vehicles is not allowed and emergency and service vehicles must coordinat
Dec 26, 20252 min read
Exploited "Intersection Children" Must Be Protected and Cared For
© Palex66 | Dreamstime.com On November 18, 2025, ACRI reached out to the Police Commissioner, the Directors-General of the Ministry of Welfare and the Ministry of National Security, and the State Attorney, demanding immediate and systematic action to address the ongoing issue of "intersection children." These are Palestinian minors, including children as young as five, who are brought to Israel in order to beg and sell trinkets at major traffic intersections. The children li
Dec 23, 20252 min read
Police Investigations into the Extinguishing of Chanukkah Candles
@ Costasz | Dreamstime.com On December 19, 2025 the media reported that the Israel Police opened an investigation into an incident in which a passerby blew out Hanukkah candles that were placed in the Weizmann Mall in Tel Aviv. Reports stated that the police have not yet determined the nature of the alleged crime, and that it is considering charging the passerby with the crime of desecration of a place of worship. Two days later it was reported that another investigation was
Dec 22, 20252 min read
Soccer Fans Can Attend Games, Even if Police Don't Like What They're Wearing
Illustrative. Photo: Sebastian27 via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) On December 17, 2025 ACRI submitted a petition to the Supreme Court on behalf of fans of the soccer team Hapoel Tel Aviv against the Police Commissioner. The petition demands that the police immediately stop enforcing an illegal policy to prevent fans from entering the soccer stadium because of their clothing or controversial political content. The petition details a series of incidents that occurred in recent wee
Dec 19, 20252 min read
A New Super-Pharm Policy Allowing Only Some with Disabilities to Skip the Line
© Ritu Jethani | Dreamstime.com In November 2025, the drugstore chain Super-Pharm decided to change its policy toward people with disabilities who hold a "queue exemption" card and would no longer allow individuals to skip the line for the pharmacy unless they are Ministry of Defense beneficiaries. It would continue to honor the "queue exemption" card at the regular checkout counters. In making the change, the chain relied on an interpretation of the law stating that accessib
Dec 16, 20251 min read
Allow Lifesaving Winter Supplies into Gaza
Gaza, November 25, 2025. Photo by Yousef Zaanoun, Activestills On December 16, 2025 ACRI sent an urgent appeal to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the Commander of the Southern Command, and the Minister of Defense, demanding that residents of the Gaza Strip be supplied immediately with protective equipment to cope with the looming winter, including tents, sealing sheets, blankets, sanitation equipment, and heating and lighting equipment. In the ap
Dec 16, 20252 min read
A Historic Ruling: Police Cannot Use Racial Profiling to Ask for ID
© Ben Gingell | Dreamstime.com First Petition On August 18, 2019, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the Association of Ethiopian Jews in Israel, and the Public Committee Against Torture petitioned the Supreme Court with the demand that the court prohibit police from detaining people on the street and asking them to present identification when there is no suspicion that they have committed a crime. As part of the petition, we also called for the revocation of the
Dec 14, 20255 min read
Refusing Entry of International Medical Volunteers to Gaza
Photo: Wix media In October and December 2025 we sent three appeals to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and others regarding the refusal to allow the entry of volunteer doctors from around the world to the Gaza Strip. The three doctors on whose behalf we appealed had previously volunteered in Gaza before being refused entry. They hold American and British passports and there is no claim that they pose a security risk. Instead, the issue is that they
Dec 14, 20252 min read
Ignored Appeals from Evacuated Residents of Sderot
Photo: Gali Bessido, Shatil-Stok On February 2, 2025, the Association for Civil Rights submitted a petition to the Ministry of Tourism on behalf of four residents from Sderot who were evacuated from their city days after the war began. These residents, who were dealing with the effects of being displaced from their homes, were then denied the housing grants they were entitled to, or discovered that they had accumulated debt with the National Insurance Institute due to incorre
Dec 12, 20252 min read
No More "Warning Conversations" from Police to Discourage Participation in Protests
Demonstration by the Ethiopian community against police violence, 2022. Photo: Tali Meyer, Shatil-stock On December 10, 2025, ACRI appealed to the Police Commissioner and the Legal Advisor to the Police following testimonies we received and reports in the media about attempts by the Lachish Police to deter members of the Ethiopian-Israeli community from holding or participating in a lawful demonstration. According to the statements ACRI and the media received, the community
Dec 11, 20252 min read
Allow Seriously Ill Residents of Kfar Aqab to Pass Through a Less-Congested Checkpoint
Hizma checkpoint. Photo: © Ronen Barany | Dreamstime.com The village of Kfar Aqab in Jerusalem is located beyond the separation barrier in the city. Until the Gaza war, residents would leave for Jerusalem through the Qalandiya or Hizma checkpoints. An additional checkpoint, the Jaba checkpoint, was established at the beginning of the war and encloses the neighborhood. The checkpoints are extremely congested, and crossing them takes a long time—sometimes hours. They are also
Dec 11, 20252 min read
No More Hiding Behind Planters
Photo: © Tero Vesalainen | Dreamstime.com At the end of a major hearing at the Supreme Court this past July, the court's security guards feared violence from right-wing activists who had come to court. To avoid this, they helped representatives from ACRI quickly escape from the courtroom the moment the proceedings ended and tried to hide us in one of the corners of the building. And so there we found ourselves, after a principled and important legal hearing about the starva
Dec 7, 20253 min read
Providing Status to Female Palestinian Victims of Domestic Violence
© Emanuilov Shabtay | Dreamstime.com On May 6, 2024, we filed a legal petition (Hebrew) regarding the format of processing applications for providing legal status, on humanitarian grounds, submitted by Palestinian women who married an Israeli spouse and suffer from domestic violence. The petition was joined by Physicians for Human Rights, Woman to Woman, Women Against Violence, Women's Spirit, Itach-Ma'aki and HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual. Palestinian
Dec 3, 20253 min read
The Death Penalty: Cruel, Unjust, and Racist
November 24, 2025 Subscribe to ACRI's newsletter © Ilkin Guliyev | Dreamstime.com Dear friend, Throughout Israel’s history, only one person has been sentenced to death: Adolf Eichmann. Eichmann was a high-ranking Nazi, and one of the major architects and facilitators of the mass deportation of Jews to ghettos, concentration camps, and extermination camps during the Holocaust. In reports to the United Nations and in other publications, Israel has justifiably taken pride in
Nov 24, 20253 min read
Establish Family Health Centers in East Jerusalem Neighborhoods Beyond the Separation Barrier
© Narongrit Sritana | Dreamstime.com On November 11, 2021, ACRI petitioned the Supreme Court along with a group of mothers, residents of Jerusalem, demanding that the state establish Tipat Halav family health centers in neighborhoods beyond the separation barrier. Tipat Halav family health centers provide essential health and medical services to infants and babies, as well as to pregnant women from the early stages of pregnancy to new parenthood. These centers are available t
Nov 20, 20253 min read
Police Must Allow the Protest Against the Genocide in Sudan
Photo: Henry Wilkins/VOA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons ACRI petitioned Israel's Supreme Court on November 18, 2025, on behalf of an asylum seeker from Sudan, after the police revoked the permit for a demonstration at the United Arab Emirates embassy in Herzliya against the genocide in Sudan. The police initially approved the demonstration under certain conditions, but later reversed its decision, claiming it had received information that there was a high degree of cer
Nov 19, 20251 min read
Allowing Jordanian Citizens Living in East Jerusalem to Pass Through the Shuafat Checkpoint
Illustrative. Checkpoint between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Photo: © Rrodrickbeiler | Dreamstime.com On November 19, 2025 ACRI petitioned the Supreme Court to oppose the policy of the police and Border Police to forbid Jordanian citizens who live in Israel legally under the framework of the family unification program from passing through the Shuafat Refugee Camp checkpoint to other parts of Jerusalem. The petition was submitted on behalf of a brother and sister, both Jordanian
Nov 19, 20251 min read
Unlawful Strip Searches of Female Protesters
Photo: Yossi Zamir, Shatil-stok (the individuals pictured are not connected to the events described in this post) On June 25, 2025, we approached the Inspector General of Police, the Legal Advisor to the Police, and the Attorney General, following two incidents in Jerusalem in which police carried out partial or full strip searches on two women who were detained at protests. The details of the incidents raise major concerns about the systematic abuse of female protesters aime
Nov 18, 20252 min read
Water Access in the Northern Jordan Valley
Water supply in a remote Palestinian community. Photo: Bimkom On March 19, 2025, ACRI, together with Bimkom-Planners for Planning Rights, and Jordan Valley activists, approached the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and the General of the Central Command demanding that they act immediately to enable access to water for Palestinian agricultural communities in the northern Jordan Valley. The communities of Farsiya, Ein al-Hilwa, Samra, Khalat Makhoul,
Nov 17, 20252 min read
Getting Our Hands Dirty
November 13, 2025 Subscribe to ACRI's newsletter Dear friend, There are times when you have to get your hands dirty. ACRI’s work usually takes us to the courtroom and the Knesset, but a week ago a group of us went to the West Bank to accompany and help Palestinian farmers harvest their olives. While much of the focus has been on Gaza, major escalations in violence have taken place in the West Bank since October 2023. Life in the West Bank, which was never particularly easy
Nov 13, 20253 min read
Diverting Budgets from Arab Society: A Cynical Move that Perpetuates Inequality
Photo: Danny Shem-Tov, Knesset Communications (CC BY-SA 4 via Wikimedia) On November 11, 2025, ACRI appealed to the Attorney General with a request not to advance a government resolution proposal being promoted by Minister for Social Equality May Golan that seeks to divert close to 3 billion shekels that were allocated for the welfare of Arab society to the Ministry of National Security for the purpose of addressing crime in Arab society. The budgets that are being proposed
Nov 11, 20252 min read
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