A successful agreement!   WAC-MAAN – Workers Advice Center POB 35252 Tel Aviv 61351 Ph: +972-3-5373271 / Fax: +972-3-5373269 e-mail: roni@hanitzoz.org.il   21.2.06   To all those who supported WAC in its public campaign:   We are happy to inform you that thanks to your help and that of many other supporters, and thanks also to the concrete evidence of our work, the Registrar of Non-Profit Associations in Israel has decided to withdraw the accusations against WAC-MAAN. Official notice of this decision was recently given to WAC’s representatives. It is the result of a meeting that took place in January 2006 between WAC, Attorney Ophir Katz representing it, and the Registrar, Attorney Yaron Kedar. The Registrar’s new decision cancels, in effect, all accusations concerning impropriety in the relationship between WAC and the political party Da’am - ODA. It overturns a ruling from October 2004, which some of you received in the form of a letter from the Ministry of Justice dated October 2005. This ruling ordered the dismantling of WAC on the grounds that it doesn’t operate toward its stated goals, but rather serves as a front for transferring funds to the ODA Political Party. The Registrar's new decision cancels altogether the eight points concerning improper relationships between WAC and ODA. Furthermore, in his meeting with WAC, the Registrar pointedly complimented WAC, saying, "Nobody wants to stop you from doing your positive work." Against this background, WAC has reached an arrangement with the Registrar, according to which, during the next few months, an accountant, agreed on by both WAC and the Registrar, will check its books. (See excerpts from the letter of Ophir Katz below.) WAC sees here the end of a McCarthy-like persecution which began in 2001 at the instigation of the previous Registrar, Amiram Boget, who is known as an extreme right-winger. We wish to thank you for the support and the solidarity you have shown. We know with certainty that the public backing we received, in Israel and abroad, from labor unions, workers’ organizations, non-profit associations, and many private individuals, both Arab and Jewish, helped to convince the Registrar how important WAC’s work is, creating a positive atmosphere that was vital in bringing matters to a good conclusion. In order to clarify the legal aspects of the affair, we publish excerpts from the opinion written by WAC’s attorney, Ophir Katz, on February 14, 2006:   1. As will be recalled, the Registrar of NPAs decided, as a sequel to an investigation carried out at the order of his predecessor, to include the NPA in the framework of a “recovery plan” and to appoint an external auditor, putting in his hands complete authority with regard to financial transactions by the NPA, or in other words, the power to determine how the NPA would be managed. 2. The Registrar’s stand had its origin in the finding of an investigator, a finding rejected by the NPA, according to which the NPA does not fulfill its purposes, among other things in the light of his determination that the NPA busies itself in fact with support for a political party. 3. In the Registrar’s decision (from October 2004) a sanction was even established, in case the NPA refused to accept the demand for a “recovery plan” and the additional demands. The sanction was dismantlement of the NPA. 4. The NPA rejected most of the “findings” and the mistaken conclusions that were included in the said report. It announced to the Registrar of NPAs that it does not accept his determinations. The NPA also claimed that it performs only work that is true to its goals and that it refuses to be included within the framework of such a plan, in the light of the fact that its affairs are suitably administered. The NPA also claimed that under the circumstances, the Registrar of NPAs had no pretext for submitting a request to dismantle the NPA. 5. The NPA also announced that it would be happy to cooperate with the Registrar of NPAs and to receive professional help in order to improve the administration of the NPA, if it should be found that there is a need for this. 6. After lengthy discussion and deliberation between the NPA and the office of the Registrar of NPAs, and after heavy public pressure by people and organizations that are acquainted with the NPA’s work and hold it close to their hearts, the Registrar accepted, in fact, the position of the NPA, according to which there is no ground to appoint an external auditor and no ground for his demand to prepare a “recovery plan” for the NPA. 7. In an agreement between the Registrar for NPAs and the NPA, it was determined that no “recovery plan” would be set up for the NPA and no external auditor would be appointed for it. The NPA abides by its position, according to which it is ready to cooperate with the Registrar and to receive professional help from him. Accordingly, it was agreed by both sides that an accountant, whose identity would be approved in advance by the NPA, would prepare, together with the NPA, a work plan for accompanying the NPA during a limited time in order to improve its procedures and activities, if it be found that there is need for this. 8. This arrangement, whose implementation began in February 2006, accords with the position of the NPA and is agreed to by the Registrar of NPAs. This brings to an end, by agreement, the dispute between the Registrar and the NPA.   This concludes the remarks of Attorney Ophir Katz. We thank you again for your persistent support and look forward to continuing our work, free of baseless accusations.   Assaf Adiv WAC Director Roni Ben Efrat – International Relations roni@hanitzoz.org.il   Main page of campaign     WAC Home

WAC Home Main page of campaign                                      Press Release October 2, 2005 The Israeli Registrar of Non-Profit Associations Attempts to Take Control of the Worker's Advice Center (WAC – Ma’an)   Worker's Advice Center (WAC-Ma'an) Position Paper regarding the Registrar of Non-Profit Association's Threat to Dismantle WAC The Registrar of Non-Profit Associations (NPAs) in Israel, Attorney Yaron Kedar, is continuing to harass the Worker's Advice Center (WAC). Even though WAC is completely legal, and even though its activities in promoting workers' rights have gained wide recognition and encouragement, the Registrar's Office continues in its attempts to control WAC and bring the Center's diverse activities to an end.  At the end of September 2005, negotiations between Deputy Registrar Attorney Avital Schreiber and WAC's representative, Attorney Ofir Katz, ran aground. The Registrar's intention to appoint an external auditor to direct WAC reflects a withdrawal from the understandings that were reached between the parties in February 2005.  In November 2004, the Registrar decided to dismantle WAC unless it agreed to a "recovery program" and to the appointment of an external auditor, who would in practice become the Center's manager. This unreasonable decision was based on the findings presented in a report by Accountant Yomtov Bilu who investigated WAC over a period of three years. Bilu claimed to have found serious irregularities in WAC's activities, claiming especially that the Center is not fulfilling its stated objectives: assisting workers. Bilu claimed that WAC is being used to channel funds and resources to a political party: the Organization for Democratic Action (ODA).  WAC rejected each and every one of the Registrar's claims and the findings presented in the report of Accountant Y. Bilu. WAC had consistently claimed that from the beginning there was no justification for the investigation, the "recovery program" or the appointment of an external auditor. The Center operates independently in accordance with the Law of NPAs, and its members determine the direction of its work. It operates according to the objectives it set itself and reports on its diverse activities, including financial reports approved by an accountant, are sent each year to the Registrar.  The Center's activities in promoting worker issues, especially raising the issue of Arab workers in Israel, have won widespread public recognition in Israel and around the world. In order to clarify what this means, we present below a number of initiatives and activities implemented by WAC during the ten months that have passed since the Registrar's decision:  A: Agricultural workers: A meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and the placing of workers in the agricultural sector. Invitation to appear before the Knesset Committee for Foreign Workers and widespread media publicity for WAC's work in placing Arab Israeli workers in the sector.   B: The Wisconsin Plan. WAC has initiated the creation of a national committee of jobseekers from Nazareth, Wadi Ara and East Jerusalem to monitor the implementation of the plan and the hardships it causes to thousands of unemployed people. WAC is also a partner in a coalition of social organizations dealing with this issue.   C: Construction workers – placing hundreds of workers in new construction companies. Appearance before the Knesset Committee for Foreign Workers, renewal of the connection with the Contractors' Association.   D: International contacts – A WAC representative was invited as spokesperson for the Israeli Forum at the Mediterranean Social Forum in Barcelona (June 2005). Strengthening of connections with trade unions in Europe and the US.   In addition, it must be noted that ODA, the party which allegedly received funds from WAC (which never happened, and nothing in the findings suggests that this serious allegation has any foundation in reality), is a registered party in Israel which has never been convicted of breaking any law regarding party funding. The State Comptroller, who was asked by the Registrar to check whether funds had been passed from WAC to ODA on the basis of the investigation findings (Bilu's report), refused to open an investigation and notified the Registrar that there was no basis for such investigations.   Given this background, WAC declared that it would not accept the "recovery plan" proposed by the Registrar's Office, and would not accept the appointment of an external auditor since such steps would constitute a serious infringement of its independence. On the other hand, WAC’s Attorney, Ofir Katz, has negotiated with the Registrar in an attempt to find a formulation that would enable the Center to continue to operate freely. The understandings that were reached in February between Attorney Katz and the Deputy Registrar included WAC's agreement to cooperate with the Registrar in finding and correcting any specific technical problems in the way it is managed. (In fact these have already been sorted out.)   However, without any explanation the Registrar has recently decided to withdraw his readiness to be party to such an arrangement, and has notified WAC in writing that he intends to appoint an external auditor with far-reaching powers. For example, Paragraph 3: "The Center will not pay expenses or sign any agreement to pay expenses of over NIS7000 (US$1600) without the written consent in advance of the auditor." Paragraph 5: "The auditor will ensure that the Center is not breaking any laws concerning (the defense of) foreign workers or illegal foreign workers." Paragraph 6: "The auditor will form an opinion concerning whether any need exists to replace any functionaries in the statutory institutions of WAC or its management, and WAC will operate according to his instructions."   The significance of this decision is clear – the Registrar wants to take control of WAC and prevent it from working to promote workers' rights. This should not surprise anyone familiar with the history between the Center and the Registrar. Ever since WAC's founders approached the Registrar to register WAC as an NPA in June 1998, the Center and those working in it have been subject to political harassment. At that time, Amiram Boget was the Registrar, who is associated with the far right. Unfortunately, the new Registrar, Yaron Kedar, continues this harassment.   The hundreds of workers who have joined WAC see it as having a unique place in the struggle for workers' rights and promoting equal opportunities for Arab workers. Any attempts to undermine the legitimacy of this work are completely groundless. They testify that the Registrar's intentions derive from ulterior considerations.   WAC stands firm in its decision to protect workers' rights to organize in the framework of the Center. We call upon all those who support this basic right and see, as we do, the dangers of ongoing harassment of WAC, to join us once again and demand with us:   End the witch-hunt against the Workers' Advice Center!   Seven years of political harassment is more than enough!   Let WAC, which has placed the issue of Arab workers in Israel on the public agenda, continue its activities!     Take part in WAC's campaign by doing one or more of the following: - Send protest letters to the Israeli embassy/consulate in your country. - Organize a protest in front of the local Israeli embassy/consulate.   Send protest letters to the Israeli Authorities:   Mr. Meni Mazuz – Attorney General of Israel, Ministry of Justice, c/o Foreign Relations: Fax: 972-2- 6261862  / Mail to: ForeignR@justice.gov.il   Attorney Yaron Kedar - The Registrar of NPAs in Israel POB    95464 Jerusalem 91999 Israel Mail to: RashamA@justice.gov.il     Ph: +972-2-6546600, Fax: +972-2-6546671   Please send copies to WAC:  maan@maan.org.il   See more on the case in English, Arabic and Hebrew.     Main page of campaign     WAC Home