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Parliamentary Inquiry Committees |
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committees are appointed by the Knesset Plenum to deal with issues
that the Knesset views as being of special national importance. Each such committee
is meant to present its final report before the end of the Knesset during which
it is appointed.
According to Paragraph 22 of the Basic Law: The Knesset:
"The Knesset may appoint commissions of inquiry - either by empowering one of the
permanent committees in that behalf or by electing a commission from among its
members - to investigate matters designated by the Knesset; the powers and
functions of a commission of inquiry shall be prescribed by the Knesset; every
commission of inquiry shall include also representatives of party groups which
do not participate in the Government, in accordance with the relative strength
of the party groups in the Knesset."
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First Knesset
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on the Detainees at the Jalami Camp |
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Duration: |
From 04/06/1951 until 17/07/1951 |
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Description: |
On May 28, 1951, the Knesset decided to establish this first parliamentary inquiry committee. It was formed in order to investigate the behavior of the police toward the Jalami Camp detainees, who were detained by order of the acting Defense Minister, according to Regulation 111 of the Defense Ordinances, 1945.
The members of the committee were chosen by the Knesset on June 4, 1951.
The committee held 18 meetings - both in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv. |
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Members: |
Chair: Hannah Lamdan
Members: Yohanan Bader Herzel Berger Idov Cohen Avraham Granot David Hacohen Eliezer Peri Yosef Sapir Zerach Warhaftig |
Eleventh Knesset
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee for Traffic Accidents in the State of Israel |
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Duration: |
From 10/11/1987 until 21/11/1988 |
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Description: |
The committee was established by the Knesset Plenum on November 10, 1987, but the members were selected only on August 10, 1988. The committee had 15 members, and there was a rotation between two chairmen. The committee held 11 meetings, and the work of the committee was completed within four months.
The areas over which the committee debated and drew conclusions:
1. The reasons for the high number of fatal accidents in the State of Israel;
2. The government policy regarding the war against traffic accidents, and the factors that make the policy difficult to implement;
3. Professional approaches to the problem including those used in other countries;
4. The social and economic impact of the high number of traffic accidents;
5. The financial resources available vs. the cost of fighting traffic accidents;
6. Other potential financial sources and other resources that can be invoked for fighting traffic accidents;
7. Recommendations for changes and improvements in the current war against traffic accidents. |
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Members: |
Chair: Uriel Lynn
Members: Shlomo Amar Yitzhak Artzi Charlie Bitton David Danino Pinhas Goldstein Michael Harish Haim Kaufman Uriel Lynn David Magen (Monsonego) Yitzhak Peretz Gershon Shafat Avraham Verdiger Gadi Yatziv Yaakov Yosef David Zucker |
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on the Gas-Related Fire at Kiryat Ata |
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Duration: |
From 16/03/1988 until 17/10/1988 |
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Description: |
The committee was established in order to investigate the gas-related fire that erupted on the night of January 30, 1988 at the natural-gas facility at Kiryat Ata.
The roles of the committee involved investigating and drawing conclusions in the following areas:
1) The cause of the fire and its spreading.
2) The procedures and equipment used to prevent such fires - both at the above facility and at others.
3) Preparedness, deployment, and coordination among various related bodies such as the fire department, police, Magen David Adom, hospitals, and the IDF.
4) Legislative aspects of the need to insure safety and the prevention or fighting of such fires.
5) Conclusions that will be drawn will also be applied to any concentration of flammable gas, including central or regional gas facilities, home equipment, transport, etc.
The committee held one meeting, but then discontinued its work. On October 17, 1988 the chairman officially announced the disbanding of the committee. |
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Members: |
Chair: Dov Shilansky
Members: Ovadia Eli David Magen (Monsonego) Aharon Nahmias Yitzhak Peretz Avner-Hai Shaki Edna Solodar Yair Tsaban Mordechai Virshubski |
Twelfth Knesset
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee Regarding the Validity of the Polygraph |
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Duration: |
From 24/07/1991 until 13/07/1992 |
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Description: |
The committee examined all of the aspects connected to the polygraph machine.
The debate centered around the following issues:
1. The validity of the polygraph and its reliability;
2. The ramifications of its use on the rights to freedom of the individual.
3. Legislation regulating the licensing for use of the polygraph.
The committee held 21 meetings until the end of the 12th Knesset, and drafted a bill which was brought before the Knesset Plenum as a proposed law during the Thirteenth Knesset. The law fell on June 9th, 1993. |
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Members: |
Chair: Michael Eitan
Members: Shlomo Dayan Elyakim Haetzni Yitzhak Levy Amnon Rubinstein Shimon Shetreet David Zucker |
Thirteenth Knesset
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee Regarding School Dropout Rates and Illiteracy |
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Duration: |
From 12/07/1993 until 17/06/1996 |
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Description: |
The committee was established within the framework of the Education and Culture Committee. This is the first time that a permanent Knesset committee served as a parliamentary inquiry committee according to clause 22 of the Basic Law: The Knesset. The committee held 6 meetings, and never submitted a report of its conclusions. The committee ceased to exist at the end of the 13th Knesset. |
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Members: |
Chair: Dalia Itzik
Members: Abraham Hirchson Hashem Mahameed Anat Maor Shaul Yahalom |
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Parliamentary Committee for Investigating Murder of Women by their Spouses |
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Duration: |
From 13/02/1995 until 17/06/1996 |
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Description: |
The discussions and information-gathering of the committee centered around the following three questions:
1) What is the extent of this phenomenon of the murder of women by their spouses and of family-related violence in general?
2) Can one pinpoint psycho-social-economic criteria that would profile potentially murderous or violent husbands? Can such men be treated or does society have to rely on penalties and law enforcement? And are such punitive measures enough for prevention?
3) Where are the deficiencies in the various social systems that are meant to deal with the problem of violent husbands and the spouses who suffer at their hands?
The committee held 17 meetings, plus one excursion to the Beer Sheva prison. It also gathered much data from various investigations and professional consultations with experts in the field. |
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Members: |
Chair: Limor Livnat
Members: Nava Arad Joseph Azran Naomi Blumenthal Naomi Chazan Yael Dayan Dalia Itzik Limor Livnat Hashem Mahameed Eliezer Sandberg Silvan Shalom Saleh Tarif Benjamin Temkin |
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on Violence Among Youth |
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Duration: |
From 07/06/1995 until 05/02/1996 |
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Description: |
The goals that the committee set for itself are as follows:
1) To learn the reasons, scope, character, methods, and results of the violence among the youth in the State of Israel.
2) To suggest solutions and means to decrease the level of violence among and toward the youth.
3) To evaluate the partial implementation of recommendations of previous committees which dealt with this problem.
The committee held 9 meetings, following which it published only an interim report. |
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Members: |
Chair: Benjamin Temkin
Members: Naomi Blumenthal Moshe Gafni Abraham Hirchson David Magen (Monsonego) Anat Maor Jacob Shefi Yosef Vanunu Shaul Yahalom |
Fifteenth Knesset
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on Two Years Since the Macabia Bridge Disaster |
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Duration: |
From 25/10/1999 until 09/07/2000 |
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Description: |
The committee was authorized to investigate only matters which did not form part of the criminal and civil legal proceedings conducted in the courts following the Maccabi Games bridge disaster. Specifically, the committee was authorized to examine the following
issues:
1. The activities of the entities concerned before and after the disaster.
2. The participation of the State of Israel and the Jewish Agency in financing the activities of Maccabi, generally, and of the Maccabi Games, in particular, including an examination of the continuation of this financing following the disaster.
3. The actions taken by the State of Israel following the disaster.
4. The establishment of a special fund for compensation by the State to families of the deceased victims and the injured persons.
5. The setting up of a ministerial committee, or other body, on behalf of the executive authority which will be responsible for contacts between Australian Jewry generally and victims of the families in particular on the one hand, and the official bodies of the State of Israel, regarding the subject of the bridge disaster, on the other.
The committee adopted the protocols and then continued under the same mandate as the Special Knesset Committee Regarding the Maccabi Games Bridge Disaster. This committee had been appointed during the 14th Knesset with MK Micha Goldman as chairman, but it never completed its work due to the disbanding of the 14th Knesset.
The committee held 12 meetings and published a final report both in Hebrew and in English. |
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Members: |
Chair: Eliezer Sandberg
Members: Naomi Blumenthal Naomi Chazan Tamar Gozansky Zvi Hendel Maxim Levy Michael Nudelman Gennady Riger |
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Report: |
Final Report
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee to Examine the Implementation and Finance of the National Health Insurance Law |
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Duration: |
From 29/11/1999 until 01/03/2000 |
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Description: |
The Knesset appointed the Labor, Welfare, and Health Committee to serve as a parliamentary inquiry committee to examine the implementation of the National Health Law of 1994.
The committee examined the following issues:
(1) The budget that was allotted for the implementation of the law and if it is sufficient;
(2) Changes made in the Finance Ministry to allow for the law to be implemented according to its principles;
(3) Whether the increase in the ceiling of the Health Tax and the non-transfer of funds to enlarge the health budget contradicts the principle in the law of earmarked funds;
(4) Ways to change the "Health Index" in order to reflect the health needs of the public;
(5) The complementary health insurance programs.
The committee held 13 meetings and collected information from experts, former Health Ministers, directors of health funds, and others. On December 27, 1999 the committee submitted an interim report which brought about an increase in the health budget for 2000. The final conclusions were submitted when the committee completed its work. |
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Members: |
Chair: David Tal
Members: Eli Ben-Menachem Ilan Ghilon Tamar Gozansky Abraham Hirchson Hussniya Jabara Ayoob Kara Haim Katz Maxim Levy Yakov Litzman Hashem Mahameed Yair Peretz Gennady Riger Nissim Zeev |
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee for the Location and Restitution of Property of Holocaust Victims |
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Duration: |
From 15/02/2000 until 01/01/2005 |
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Description: |
The committee dealt with the following matters:
(1) An examination of all of the aspects connected to dormant bank accounts held in Israeli banks, and assets - mostly real estate - held by various institutions in Israel.
(2) The committee heard the testimony of witnesses and gathered information from studies and experts and any other relevant written material to form its recommendations in the following areas:
(a) Ways to expand the possibilities for searching and uncovering assets belonging to Holocaust victims;
(b) Defining the principles regarding the redemption of the assets and the division of the proceeds for helping Holocaust survivors and for Holocaust education and commemoration.
The committee presented the Knesset with interim reports in the years 2000 and 2002. At the beginning of the 16th Knesset, the committee was reestablished (25.3.2003). On December 21, 2004, the committee completed its work as a parliamentary inquiry committee. Beginning January 1 2005, it became a subcommittee of the Committee for Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs. |
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Members: |
Chair: Colette Avital
Members: Yigal Bibi Yuli-Yoel Edelstein Gilad Erdan Abraham Hirchson Michael Kleiner Nahum Langental Tommy Lapid Michael Melchior Michael Nudelman Ehud Rassabi Avraham Ravitz Yuri Shtern Nissan Slomiansky Marina Solodkin Nissim Zeev |
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Reports: |
Final Report
Interim Report
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on the Trafficking of Women |
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Duration: |
From 13/06/2000 until 01/01/2005 |
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Description: |
The committee dealt with the following subjects surrounding the phenomenon of the trafficking of women in Israel:
(1) The extent and magnitude of the phenomenon;
(2) The conditions under which the women are held by their "employers;"
(3) The conditions under which the women are held in custody pending investigation;
(4) The legal aspects in Israel of human trade and the ammendments needed to enforce the prohibition;
The committee held discussions and was aided in its work by material provided by non-profit and international organizations. The committee presented the Knesset with an interim report in December 2002. At the beginning of the 16th Knesset, the committee was reestablished (26.2.2003) and completed its final report on December 31, 2004. Beginning January 1 2005, the committee continued to function as a subcommittee of the State Control Committee.
In the 17th Knesset, the subcommittee was reinstated under the Committee on the Status of Women. |
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Members: |
Chair: Zahava Gal-On
Members: Reshef Chayne Ilana Cohen Yael Dayan Tamar Gozansky Rahamim Melloul Yehudith Naot Orit Noked Yair Peretz Meli Polishook-Bloch Gideon Sa`ar Yuri Shtern Marina Solodkin Ahmad Tibi |
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Report: |
Summary of the Final Report
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on the Continuing Financial Crisis of the Local Governments |
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Duration: |
From 14/06/2000 until 17/02/2003 |
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Description: |
The committee was established to examine the following issues:
1) Location of financial resources to cover the continuing budgetary deficit of the local authorities;
2) Narrowing the gap between local authorities in which the population is more established and those in which the population is in a lower socioeconomic status.
3) Passing over effective and operative tools to the local authorities which will lead to severing their dependence on the national government;
4) Continuous and efficient running of the education and welfare institutions in the local authorities by providing them with appropriate resources;
5) Provision of special attention to development towns, minorities' sectors, and impoverished areas;
6) The legislation that defines the services that the local authorities are meant to provide to their residents; accordingly, the resources that are designated for such necessary services;
The committee held 3 meetings in the year 2000, and did not continue its work. |
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Members: |
Chair: Meir Porush
Members: Ilan Ghilon Nahum Langental Maxim Levy Hashem Mahameed Roni Milo Yehudith Naot Michael Nudelman Reuven Rivlin Nissim Zeev |
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on Violence in Sports |
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Duration: |
From 01/01/2001 until 27/06/2005 |
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Description: |
The committee was established for the following purposes:
1) To examine the extent and dimensions of violence in sports and the involvement of the various institutions and agencies (such as government ministries, the police, the attorney general, local authorities, sports organizations, and the media).
2) To examine the current methods of handling the violence and enforcing order;
3) To draw conclusions and make recommendations of how to solve the problem of violence in sports including legislateve actions that need to be taken and authority that needs to be delegated;
The committee continued its work into the 16th Knesset (it was reappointed on 24.3.2003) until it submitted its final report to the Knesset. |
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Members: |
Chair: Avshalom Vilan
Members: Ronnie Bar-On Ze`ev Boim Eitan Cabel Amnon Cohen Yael Dayan Gilad Erdan Eti Livni Michael Nudelman Zevulun Orlev Ophir Pines-Paz Reuven Rivlin Nehama Ronen Nissan Slomiansky Ahmad Tibi |
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on the Issue of Water |
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Duration: |
From 26/06/2001 until 02/06/2002 |
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Description: |
The committee was established in order to accomplish the following:
1) To examine the circumstances leading to the current water crisis;
2) To determine which actions and oversights caused the crisis;
3) To determine which agency or institution is responsible;
4) To recommend immediate and emergency actions;
5) To examine various recommendations regarding the establishment of water desalination plants, using treated water for agriculture, fixing water prices, and education for proper water usage;
6) To recommend long-term solutions including the necessary legislative actions. |
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Members: |
Chair: David Magen (Monsonego)
Members: Eliezer Cohen Abdulmalik Dehamshe Abraham Hirchson Zevulun Orlev Yair Peretz Ophir Pines-Paz Eliezer Sandberg Avshalom Vilan |
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Report: |
Final Report
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on Social Disparity |
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Duration: |
From 25/07/2001 until 02/12/2002 |
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Description: |
The committee consulted with government institutions, extra-parliamentary and international organizations, research experts who specialize in the documentation and analysis of social gaps, witnesses who provided oral testimony, professional opinions, and all other material needed to formulate its recommendations in the following areas:
1) The extent of socioeconomic disparity in Israel and its causes over the last several decades;
2) The extent of the average acceptable socioeconomic disparity in the Western world and how Israel compares;
3) Wages policy in the private and public sectors in Israel and the supply and demand of employment;
4) The state of poverty and the populations most at-risk;
5) The social and economic changes that needed to be made in order to lessen the disparity and to provide basic services and quality of life to each citizen.
The committee held 27 meetings and presented a report with recommendations to the Knesset Speaker. |
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Members: |
Chair: Ran Cohen
Members: Mohammad Barakeh Ze`ev Boim Yossi Katz Yechiel Lasry David Levy Mordechai Mishani Yehudith Naot Amir Peretz Yair Peretz Yuri Shtern Shaul Yahalom |
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on Traffic Accidents |
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Duration: |
From 04/02/2002 until 21/01/2003 |
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Description: |
The committee was established to accomplish the following:
1) To uncover the reasons behind the increase over the last year in the number of deaths resulting from traffic acccidents - taking into consideration the overall decrease in the number of traffic accidents;
2) To examine the level of enforcement of the traffic laws by the police as compared to previous years, and checking if the traffic police are utilizing all of its available positions for authorized purposes;
3) To check the anti-traffic-accident publicity campaign by the National Road Safety Authority - to see if it utilized the budget effectively for the campaign;
4) To review the educational system's attitude toward the topic of road safety and to check if the system is properly implementing the decision to teach students about road safety for one hour per week;
5) To examine the efficiency and effectiveness of the traffic court system;
6) To review traffic safety programs that were implemented successfully in other countries and to check if they are adaptable in Israel;
7) To investigate the status of the transportation infrastructure;
8) To review the current traffic laws and ordinances to see if there is room to recommend changes that may prevent accidents;
The committee held 20 meetings, including one open hearing for citizens to voice their opinions and suggestions. The work of the committee was cut short due to the dispersal of the 15th Knesset, and did not resume its work in the next Knesset. |
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Members: |
Chair: Nahum Langental
Members: Uri Yehuda Ariel Mohammad Barakeh Eitan Cabel Naomi Chazan Abraham Hirchson Mordechai Mishani Yair Peretz Nehama Ronen |
Sixteenth Knesset
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee for the Events that Took Place in Amona |
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Duration: |
From 22/02/2006 until 17/04/2006 |
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Description: |
The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee was appointed to serve as a parliamentary inquiry committee to examine the events that happened in Amona on February 1, 2006. The committee was directed to focus on the decision-making process and functioning of the political echelon with regard to that day.
The following matters were examined:
1) Were all diplomatic methods and channels fully utilized in order to prevent bloodshed or to lessen the extent of the confrontation?
2) Were alternative evacuation methods explored, and if so, why were they not used?
3) The considerations of the political echelon in acting as it did;
4) Any breach of the law during the evacuation of Amona;
5) The exaggerated use of force during the evacuation - including toward women and minors;
6) The use of force toward Knesset members.
The committee held 4 meetings until the disbanding of the 16th Knesset, and submitted an interim report on 19.3.2006. |
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Members: |
Chair: Yuval Steinitz
Members: Uri Yehuda Ariel Binyamin (Fouad) Ben-Eliezer Shlomo Benizri Naomi Blumenthal Effie Eitam Yehiel Hazan Uzi Landau Tommy Lapid David Levy Yossi Sarid Ilan Shalgi Ephraim Sneh Dani Yatom Ehud Yatom Eliyahu Yishai |
Seventeenth Knesset
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on Bank Fees |
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Duration: |
From 22/01/2007 until 19/06/2007 |
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Description: |
On January 22, 2007, the Knesset approved the decision of the House Committee to establish a parliamentary inquiry committee regarding bank fees and to have the Economic Affairs Committee serve as the inquiry committee.
Committee Functions:
1. The examination of the banking fee system and its regulation while comparing it to other systems around the world.
2. The examination of the actions and authority of the Bank of Israel in relation to bank fees.
3. Consolidation of a recommendation to the to the Knesset and to supervisory bodies regarding the legislation, regulation, and supervision of bank fees.
4. Examination of public petitions regarding bank fees.
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Members: |
Chair: Moshe Kahlon
Members: Avishay Braverman Amnon Cohen Yakov Cohen Gilad Erdan Eliahu Gabbay Israel Hasson Yoel Hasson Robert Ilatov Yoram Marciano Hanna Swaid David Tal Ronit Tirosh Yitzhak Vaknin Izhak Ziv |
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on the Integration of Arab Employees in the Public Sector |
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Duration: |
From 19/02/2008 |
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Description: |
1) Roles of the committee:
The parliamentary inquiry committee will discuss the matter of the integration of Arab workers in the public sector, and will examine the following issues:
(a) The implementation of the laws regarding fair representation of Arab employees in the civil service.
(b) The barriers that stand in the way of Arab candidates and employees in the civil services, and the means by which to remove these barriers.
(c) The work of various government offices, companies, and authorities which were established by law, regarding their integration of Arab employees.
The committee will present its conclusions, including the suggestion of an effective mechanism for the implementation of the law that demands fair representation of Arabs in the public sector.
2) Authority of the committee:
The parliamentary inquiry committee will have the same authority given to Knesset standing committees regarding the right to summons, information gathering, and setting the agenda. |
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Members: |
Chair: Ahmad Tibi
Members: Menahem Ben-Sasson Moshe Gafni Zahava Gal-On Avraham Michaeli Reuven Rivlin Hanna Swaid Wasil Taha Shelly Yacimovich |
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee for the Infrastructure and Maintenance of the Gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in Meron |
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Duration: |
From 02/07/2008 |
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Description: |
The committee will address issues surrounding Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai's gravesite in Meron: Infrastructure, maintenance, management of visitors and worshippers throughout the year and especially on the holiday of Lag Baomer. The following topics will be examined:
(1) The involvement of the state, its authorities and other agencies connected to the running, maintenance, and development of the gravesite;
(2) Ways to improve the site and make it more attractive, organized and fit to handle large numbers of visitors and worshippers;
(3) The functioning of the gravesite on the holiday of Lag Baomer including public transportation, accessibility, parking, and the involvement of the police;
(4) The public petitions related to all of the above;
Upon completion of its work, the committee will present a report to the Knesset. |
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Members: |
Chair: Moshe Gafni
Members: David Azoulay Moshe Kahlon Yitzhak Levy Yoram Marciano David Tal Esterina Tartman Avshalom Vilan Izhak Ziv |
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Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on the Absorption of Ethiopian Immigrants in Israel |
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Duration: |
From 30/07/2008 |
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Description: |
The committee was established in order to examine the following areas related to the absorption of the Ethiopian community into Israeli society:
1) Education;
2) Housing;
3) Employment;
4) Welfare;
5) Religious services;
6) Employment of Ethiopian rabbis in the religious councils;
7) The status and authority of the Ethiopian "kessim" (spiritual leaders) in the religious councils;
8) Any public petitions related to the above. |
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Members: |
Chair: Shlomo (Neguse) Molla
Members: Uri Yehuda Ariel Colette Avital Mazor Bahyna Ran Cohen Michael Eitan Moshe Gafni David Rotem Izhak Ziv |
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