HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEF: VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN ISRAEL
February 1995
APPENDIX II: NOTES ON SELECTED SOURCES
The information on the following selected sources is taken from material provided by the organizations noted. The sources affiliated with these organizations who provided information to DIRB in telephone interviews are identified under the relevant group.
The Association of Rape Crisis Centres in Israel (ARCCI)
Founded in 1990, the ARCCI receives funding assistance from the New Israel Fund. The data for the 1992 annual report cited in this paper "are based on the records of incoming calls to the various RCCs in the course of the year 1992" ( ARCCI 1993, in editor's note, n.p.). The report notes that "the data ... refer only to those who actually turned to the various RCCs for help, who are not necessarily a representative sample of the entire population of victims of sexual assault" ( ibid.). The English and Arabic versions of the report are "condensed translation[s] of the original Hebrew report" ( ibid.).
Nili Nimrod is a Coordinator with the ARCCI.
Israel Women's Network (IWN)
According to the pamphlet The Israel Women's Network for Justice and Equality, the IWN is a "non-partisan coalition of Israeli women representing a wide range of political opinions and religious outlook ... " ( n.d., 1). "Members and associates of IWN include over 1,500 Israeli women, among them professionals, public figures and community leaders ... ( ibid., 3). "[It] is a non-profit, non-governmental organization which depends on personal donations" ( ibid., 10) to promote women's rights and provide legal and educational services ( ibid., 5-9). IWN publications include a Hebrew-language newsletter and an English-language quarterly ( ibid., 9).
Rachel Benziman is a staff attorney with the IWN in Jerusalem.
Ministry of Police, Jerusalem. 12 December 1993. Summary, Findings and Main Recommendations of the Report of the Ministry of Police Comptroller on the Subject of Police Handling of Domestic Violence.
This report for a press conference with the Minister of Police was faxed to the DIRB by the Ministry of Police. The report indicates that "the phenomenon of domestic violence (between spouses) is complex and complicated" and that "[i]n Israel, as in other countries of the world, the Police face great difficulty in handling this matter" ( Ministry of Police 12 Dec. 1993). The report "examines the reasons [for this] and proposes an alternative model for dealing with the phenomenon" ( ibid.).
Na'amat, Movement of Working Women and Volunteers
This is Na'amat states that Na'amat is "the largest women's movement in Israel with a membership of 800,000 women, (Jews, Arabs, Druze and Circassians) representing the entire spectrum of Israel society" ( n.d., 1), most of whom are volunteers ( ibid., 16). The organization has 100 branches, "affiliated to local Labour Councils, in cities, towns and settlements all over the country" ( ibid., 2). It also has sister organizations in other countries whose members are part of the World Labour Zionist Movement and the World Zionist Organization ( ibid., 19).
This is Na'amat indicates that Arab women are involved in the movement and that "Na'amat representatives are able to reach out to all sectors of the community - the woman, the child, the family - Jews, Arabs, Druze, Circassians and Bedouins" ( ibid.). The organization operates community centres and Centres for the Prevention of Violence in the Family, and provides educational and free legal services ( ibid., 2-14; Na'amat 1991, 27). Na'amat is also involved "in immigrant absorption, working with both volunteers and professionals as well as with government, Jewish Agency and social service agencies to ease the process of integration and absorption for Jews from the Soviet Union (Commonwealth of Independent States), Ethiopia and other countries" ( ibid., 17). According to the brochure, Na'amat's Ideological Education Department has initiated "special seminars for Russiam [sic] immigrants conducted in their native tongue. These seminars include lectures, discussions, questions and answers on ideological and political issues, as well as information on rights, responsibilities, and legal status of women in Israel" ( ibid. 14).
The organization publishes a magazine 10 times per year and a quarterly English-language newsletter, as well as brochures which are available in five languages and "Yediot Na'amat", a monthly "internal house organ" available in Hebrew, Arabic and Russian ( ibid., 18-19).
Ronit Lev-Ari is a director for Na'amat's Centres for the Treatment and Prevention of Violence in the Family program.
New Israel Fund
The New Israel Fund describes itself as "a joint effort by Israelis, North Americans, and Europeans to strengthen democracy in Israel. Since its founding in 1979, it has provided funding and technical assistance to over 200 Israeli non-profit organizations working to protect civil and human rights, to improve the status of women, to bridge social and economic gaps, to further Jewish-Arab coexistence, and to foster pluralism and tolerance" (NIF Report Winter 1993-94, 8).
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