IRAC’s 22 Major Achievements in 22 Years

1. The Supreme Court has made three major decisions that recognize Reform and Conservative conversions. IRAC’s court victories in 1995, 2002, and 2005 are vital to the ongoing struggle for these two movements to gain proper recognition in Israel.
    
2. Petitions and court battles seeking equal allocation from the government have led to pluralistic institutions receiving millions of shekels in funding. IRAC has secured land and pre-fabricated Synagogue buildings from the state for Reform and Conservative congregations.
    
3. A court ruling in IRAC’s favor, on a case in which we were defending the rights of an Orthodox man who was not hired because he observed the Sabbath, has become a precedent that bars employment discrimination based on religious preference.
    
4. IRAC’s Legal Action Center for Olim (LACO) has served over 70,000 clients and in 2004 was officially recognized by the state as the preeminent organization for new-immigrant rights in Israel.
    
5. Though the fight against the Orthodox monopoly is an uphill battle, IRAC has blocked legislation that would guarantee Haredi quotas in various departments of state, kept Ultra-Orthodox institutions out of neighborhoods in which they were unwanted, and prevented misappropriation of funds by several religious organizations.
    
6. Knowing your options: Hospital maternity wards that provide circumcision services information must include lists of non-Orthodox Mohels. Previously, the lists were only comprised of those approved by the Orthodox Rabbinate.
    
7. IRAC convinced the Attorney General to file charges against Shmuel Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of Tsfat, for racist incitement. Though a deal was made to drop the indictment in exchange for an apology, public attention was called to Eliyahu’s actions and words, effectively ending his bid for Chief Rabbi of Israel.
    
8. IRAC has identified and eliminated racism and incitement to violence in advertisements in the print media, billboards, internet, and on the radio.
    
9. Reform, Conservative, and Pluralistic institutions often have to contend with the revocation of funds and an unfair tax burden because they are not officially recognized by the state as religious institutions. IRAC has consistently been able to get this recognition, these funds returned, and the tax rates reduced.
    
10. IRAC has prevented the cruel deportation of battered spouses and widows who have not completed naturalization process.
     
11. IRAC convinced the Interior Minister to greatly reduce the financial burden on Olim by granting healthcare to new immigrants’ elderly parents, not eligible under the law of return, after they have been here for a reasonable amount of time.
     
12. Keeping families together: IRAC compelled the Interior Ministry to cancel its blanket policy that did not recognize adoptions occurring close to aliya. We have also obtained automatic resident status for foreign parents of soldiers who have served at least one year.
     
13. Adoption laws in Israel give preference to Orthodox couples. Through legal action, IRAC has reduced the bias against Reform and Conservative parents seeking to adopt.
     
14. Fighting corruption: IRAC has shed light on State workers who are illegally allocating funds based on personal preferences, leading to the establishment of a disciplinary court to deal with the matter.
     
15. IRAC led the battle to insure the creation of alternative cemeteries for those who do not want or qualify for an Orthodox burial.
     
16. Due to IRAC’s extensive lobbying, the Knesset passed the Shlehei Mitzvah (Good Samaritan) law in a preliminary hearing, which allows restaurants, hotels, and function halls to donate food to organizations that distribute to the needy without the fear of being subjected to lawsuits.
     
17. Minority rights: IRAC works tirelessly to preserve the rights of the Druze and Bedouin communities. We have secured government funding and kept kindergartens open in Druze villages. We also have attained improved water and grazing rights for Bedouin farmers. Working closely with the Jerusalem Open House, IRAC has helped guarantee that the annual Gay Pride March in Jerusalem will continue.
     
18. In response to IRAC’s petition, the National Religious Services Authority announced to the religious councils across Israel that mikveh attendants must allow all Jewish women, not only the Orthodox, to bathe in the ritual bathhouse.
     
19. We succeeded in breaking the Orthodox monopoly on the hundreds of local municipal religious councils in Israel, making way for Reform and Conservative members. This also resulted in greater transparency and the cleaning up of rampant corruption in the religious councils.
     
20. The Orthodox Rabbinate has absolute authority over Jewish marriage in Israel. In partnership with the Free Marriage Coalition, IRAC has worked diligently to promote the option of alternative wedding ceremonies, vastly increasing their popularity. We have developed a guidebook and seminars in order to explain all of the laws, options, and challenges facing couples who choose not to marry through the Rabbinate.
     
21. IRAC continues to secure the rights of women throughout Israel. For example, women can now display their portraits on public advertisements for election campaigns in Jerusalem. This precedent-setting case will keep women visible in Jerusalem and national politics.
     
22. IRAC has won State funding for non-Orthodox conversion classes, setting a precedent for equal funding for Reform and Conservative religious services.