In 2002, a yearlong project at Tel Aviv University's Public Interest Law Resource Center developed the country's first legal aid advocacy program devoted solely to refugees. In October 2003, this pilot project became the Refugee Rights Clinic, with 20 law students enrolled each year.
In October 2003, the Clinic produced (in conjunction with Physicians for Human Rights) the first thorough assessment of the new Israeli asylum system, with proposals for improvements. Click here for the full text of our report and position paper "Israel – A Safe Haven?"
In the Refugee Rights Clinic, we employ three inter-related strategies in our work to ensure that Israel is a safe haven for victims of persecution:
- We provide free legal aid to refugees and asylum-seekers regardless of nationality.
- We promote legal and policy reform through research and advocacy.
- We teach refugee law to a new generation of Israeli lawyers.
The Clinic has become the leading source of independent information about Israel’s asylum policies, and was quoted extensively in the 2005 US State Department report on human rights practices.
The program is taught byTally Kritzman, Dr. Adriana Kemp, Attorney Anat Ben-Dor and Attorney Ora Bloom.