Last week, a lawsuit was resolved at the Regional Labor Court in Tel Aviv, presided over by the Judge Keren Cohen, by Omri Kis against Cafe Al Hayam Ltd., part of the Café Café chain, according to which he had not been given work as a waiter at the branch because he was of Arab origin. Due to this discrimination, he was awarded NIS 30,000 in compensation.
The plaintiff arrived at the cafe requesting work as a waiter, and was accepted for training. Towards the end of the shift, the shift manager asked the plaintiff what his race was. The plaintiff answered that he was an Arab. In response, the shift manager replied that the restaurant is kosher and therefore he cannot employ the plaintiff as a waiter, but suggested he work in a nearby restaurant.
The judge, Keren Cohen, noted in her verdict, that even though this is a serial plaintiff, who submits many lawsuits for being discriminated against on account of his being Arab, this doesn’t hinder the suit or create non-existing discrimination.
The position of the Equal Opportunities Commission, which joined the process as a friend of the court, was included in part of the verdict. In noting her position, the Tel Aviv Regional Commissioner, Adv. Shiri Lev-Ran Lavi, presented the severity and extent of racial discrimination, particularly at the stage of acceptance for employment. The Regional Commissioner also noted that this is an unacceptable and illegal social phenomenon that both society and the law enforcement authorities must act to eradicate.
Equal Employment Opportunity National Commissioner Tziona Koenig-Yair stated “This is an extremely important verdict, both in theory and practice. Even though the severe phenomenon of discrimination against the Arab population exists in the labor market, it does not feature sufficiently in the verdicts of the labor courts. This shows the great importance of a verdict carrying a clear message to employees who are discriminated against – that the doors of the labor courts are open to every one of them.”
The court awarded the plaintiff a total of NIS 30,000 for breaking the Employment (Equal Opportunities) Law in addition to awarding him NIS 5,000 in legal costs.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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5 Responses
This will STILL not stop the BDS and other idiots that Israel isn’t an apartheid state.
Was it his race or that he needed to be Jewish for halachik reasons? If that was he case it can hardly be considered discrimination. Its rather analogous to rejecting someone for a post they are not qualified for.
the “Jewish state” AGAIN doing everything against halacha.
Discrimination against Arabs makes perfect sense when Arab pollsters confirm that 89% of “Palestinians” support rocket fire against Israeli civilians. It’s foolish NOT to discriminate. It’s well known that the Israeli justice system has been overrun by the radical left, but it’s unnerving to see just how radical they are. They’re worse than the Arabs!
1. How is there ever a halachic requirement that a waiter by Jewish (perhaps a sommelier in a restaurant that serves non-mevusal wine, but that’s not the case here)? Kosher restaurants throughout the world hire non-Jews for such positions.
2. It is highly logical for Israel to prohibit discrimination against Arabs, since excluding Arabs from the economy would only force most of them to support radical groups, which is something Israel doesn’t want. Israel benefits from the fact that most Palestinians are opposed to an Islamic State.
3. It would be nice if Israeli also prohibited discrimination against hareidim, but that will have to wait until a Jewish state gets established in Eretz Yisrael.
4. Note the damages were nominal – a few thousand dollars.