User:Avraham Goldstein/Sandbox

The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel (Hebrew: הפורום המשפטי למען ארץ ישראל “hafforum hammishpati lema’an eretz Israel”) is a policy making non-governmental organization in Israel. The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel was established in Israel in September 2004 by a small group of lawyers and public activists. Initially, the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel began as a grassroots organization. Legal Forum’s first major legal action was their appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court, in August 2005, seeking to find fair and equitable solutions for the thousands of Jewish-Israeli evacuees, forced to leave their homes in Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria during the Disengagement.

Since September 2004 the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel has significantly grown. As of September 2009 it comprises dozens of professional attorneys, legal, financial and media experts, public activists, law and political science students, etc., who have worked in the past or are currently engaged in various projects, affiliated with the Legal Forum.

The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel has a branch in Canada and also formed a “natural partnership” with the Canadian branch of B'nai B'rith.

The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel has an affiliate non-for-profit organization The American Legal Forum for the Land of Israel in USA.

Agenda
The official agenda of the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel includes, but is not limited to, the following items:

1. Provides aid to the Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria expellees to minimize the damages, caused by the Disengagement plan;

2. Defends civil rights in Israel;

3. Protects the national lands and the Jewish settlement in the land;

4. Works to protect the values of Jewish religion and Jewish tradition;

5. Fights against political corruption and police brutality;

6. Works for a balanced reporting by the media;

7. Prepares reports and publishes information for the State Controller, Knesset members, and the general public;

Some additional items on the agenda of the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel are:

8. Advocating government reform in Israel to make democratic institutions more efficient and more accountable to their voters ;

9. Advocating reforms in judicial system, including revision of the judicial nomination process  ;

10. Fighting defamation and libeling of the Jewish residents in the Land of Israel   ;

11. Fighting against human rights violations.

Significant actions and achievements
1. Represented Jewish residents of the Gaza Strip and the Northern Samaria in the Supreme Court during the Disengagement. On February 16, 2005, the Knesset passed the final version of the Disengagement Plan Implementation Law, which paved the way for implementing the Disengagement Plan. The Legal Forum has challenged the Disengagement Plan Implementation Law in the Supreme Court as contradicting Basic Laws of Israel and, thus, being unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has denied this petition of the Legal Forum. The Legal Forum than submitted another petition to the Supreme Court, requesting additional monetary compensations in reparations to the Jewish residents of the Gaza Strip and the Northern Samaria, for being expelled from their homes by the Israeli Government under the Disengagement Plan. The Supreme Court satisfied the second petition of the Legal Forum and required Israel Government to provide 1.5 billion New Israeli Shekels in addition to the funds, initially allocated under Disengagement Plan Implementation Law, as reparations to the expelled Jewish residents of the Gaza Strip and the Northern Samaria.

2. Protested the award of the Israel Prize to professor Zeev Sternhell because of his repeating public legitimization and praise of terrorist attacks against the Jewish population in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. Legal Forum organized a public petition, protesting awarding Israel Prize to professor Zeev Sternhell, and submitted the petition with the Education Minister Yuli Tamir. After Yuli Tamir has denied the petition, the Legal Forum brought to the Supreme Court petition, calling for the revocation of the decision to bestow the Israel Prize on professor Zeev Sternhell. After some debating the Supreme Court has denied Legal Forum's petition.

3. Canadian branch of the Legal Forum has appealed to the Canadian government officials, including Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier, and to several human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, to join efforts in preventing the Palestinian Authority from executing Imad Saad. Canadian branch of the Legal Forum has pointed-out in their letter that Canada has committed $300 million to the Palestinian Authority for the building of “security, governance and prosperity” and that this money should not be transferred to Palestinian Authority if Imad Saad will be executed. On April 28, 2008, Imad Saad was sentenced to death by a firing squad by the Palestinian Authority military court in Hebron for his alleged "collaboration" with Israel. In Palestinian Authority a death penalty needs to be ratified by the President of the Palestinian Authority in order to be carried out. The Palestinian Authority officials initially said that it is likely that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will approve the death sentence imposed on Imad Saad. As of September 2009 Imad Saad has not been reported to be executed.

4. The Legal Forum petitioned the Supreme Court against the requirement that soldiers, serving in the Army Radio, work on Shabbath and Jewish Holidays for non-vital broadcast purposes. According to the Legal Forum, forcing soldiers in obligatory army service, career service or reservists to broadcast on Shabbath and Jewish Holidays not for security reasons, is negating General Staff orders and, specifically, negating the regulation 03.0903 of the General Staff. Legal Forum also stated that this requirement unfairly discriminates against religious Jewish soldiers by either forcing them to work on Shabbath and Jewish Holidays or shutting them out of one of Israel’s premier radio stations, which serves as a gateway to a professional career in Israeli media.

5. On September, 16, 2008, Israeli Government submitted to the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee of the Knesset a draft of the law bill granting foreign States legal immunity in the Israeli courts. The draft proposed the following definition: "Foreign State - including a state unit inside a state, which is a federal state, governing authorities of a foreign state, officials, representing the state while on duty and separate entity". According to the Legal Forum, that definition was based on the title USC 28§1603 of the US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. However, according to the Legal Forum, the draft differs from the US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act in that article 21 of the draft permits Israeli foreign minister, after consulting with other government officials, to grant the immunity to any authority of their choice. Legal Forum also argued that the Palestinian Authority, according to article 21 of the draft, can qualify to get legal immunity in the Israeli courts. The Legal Forum suggested some modifications of the draft to prevent the Palestinian Authority from getting such an immunity. The Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee of the Knesset took Legal Forum's suggestions into account and modified the original draft to exclude the Palestinian Authority from being able to get legal immunity in Israeli courts.