LEGAL ADVOCACY

Petition against the National Insurance Institute to force it to use the Arabic language

In December 2000, JCSER submitted a case to the Israeli Supreme Court against the National Insurance Institute (NII) for using only the Hebrew language during investigations and not Arabic although this is the second official language in Israel and many Palestinians do not understand Hebrew. Until now, Palestinians in East Jerusalem have been forced to sign documents and papers without being able to understand its contents. As a result, they risk loosing their rights and benefits to which they are entitled.

JCSER was able to obtain the NII’s official approval to use the Arabic language during investigations towards Palestinian Jerusalemites. The Israeli Supreme Court forced the NII to pay JCSER lawyers' fees and the NII will start using the Arabic language as of April 2002.

This is an important achievement for the Palestinians in East Jerusalem as for long the NII took advantage of the fact that many Palestinians do not understand Hebrew to deny their rights to social insurance and benefits.

JCSER calls on citizens not to sign documents in Hebrew for the NII or any other Israeli institution if they do not understand the contents.

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