Israel National Council for the Child

Israel National Council for the Child

המועצה הלאומית לשלום הילד
Abbreviation	NCC
Formation	1980 (45 years ago) (1980)
Type	Non-profit NGO
Purpose	Children's rights advocacy
Headquarters	38 Pierre Koenig Street Jerusalem, Israel
Executive Director	Adv. Vered Windman
Website	www.children.org.il?lang=en

The Israel National Council for the Child (Hebrew: המועצה הלאומית לשלום הילד, romanized: Ha-Moetzah ha-Lumit le-Shalom ha-Yeled) in Jerusalem, Israel, is an Israeli independent non-profit non-governmental organization that advocates for children's rights and well-being.^[1][2][3][4] The organization serves all religions, ethnicities, and income levels in Israel.

The NCC was created in 1980 by the President of Israel. It is the oldest and largest children's rights advocacy organization in Israel.^[5][6][7]

Activities

The NCC undertakes a number of activities in the interest of Israeli children. The NCC's ombudsmen, a position established in 1999 after a three-year test project, investigates thousands of potential violations annually.^{[2][6][8][9][10]}

History

The NCC was created in 1980 by the President of Israel.^[2][11]

In February 1990, the NCC published a report that concluded that abused and neglected children in Israel faced a shortage of juvenile court judges and a case backlog, and suggested the creation of a country-wide children-protection authority.^[12]

Every year since 1992, the NCC has published "The State of the Child in Israel – A Statistical Abstract," which contains data on Israeli children.^[13][14]

In 1998, the NCC created the Child Victim Assistance Project, managed by an attorney, to provide child victims and their supporting families with information, and with support and advocacy services.^[6][15]

The NCC has sought for many years to terminate corporal punishment against children within Israel. According to Director Yitzchak Kadman, even slaps are "not ethical and not educational and [have] destructive results".^[16]

In December 2007, the NCC's Executive Director warned of "the potential damage to the mental health of a child exposed" to pedophiles online, and warned that maintaining child pornography on a computer is not only illegal but has the effect of providing support for an industry that causes harm to children.^[17]

In 2010, the NCC helped draft a Knesset bill providing state compensation to minors who suffer physical abuse or sexual abuse.^[4] In November 2011, NCC's Executive Director noted that as of the spring of 2011, due to a legislative amendment that the NCC had started, Israeli law forbids employing any person in Israel who has been convicted of child pornography issues.^[9]

In January 2012, the NCC reported that over 1,000 Israeli children and teens were considered missing, and said that the number could be decreased by improving information flow between the Israeli Ministry of Welfare and Social Services, the Ministry of Education, and the Israeli police.^[18] Most of the missing children (980) were over 12 years old; 14 were between 1–5; and 76 were ages 11–16.^[18]

In December 2013, the Israeli Knesset approved a bill co-drafted by the NCC, regulating foster care.^[19]

Management

Dr. Yitzhak Kadman has served as Executive Director of the NCC from 1986 to 2016.^[20][21] Since 2016, Vered Windman, formerly the head of the NCC's legal department, serves as the Executive Director.^[22]

References

1. הלאומית לשלום הילד^{[permanent dead link‍]} Retrieved October 13, 2014.
2. Israel National Council for the Child. Archived January 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved October 13, 2014.
3. International Children's Rights Monitor. Defense for Children International. 1992. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
4. Jonathan Lis (October 26, 2010). "Bill would mandate state compensation for child abuse victims; Money would then be recouped from offender; proponents hope to spare victims the trauma of long legal proceedings". Haaretz. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
5. "Mapping of Mainstream Israeli and Palestinian Organizations Willing to Engage in Dialogue", Matthias Verbeke, the Palestinian Center for the Dissemination of Democracy and Community Development (Panorama), the Center for Multiculturalism and Educational Research of Haifa University, and the Institute for Community Partnership of Bethlehem University, within UNESCO's Civil Societies in Dialogue Programme, 2007. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
6. Shlomo Giora Shoham; Paul Knepper; Martin Kett (2010). International Handbook of Victimology. CRC Press. ISBN 9781420085488. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
7. New Israel Fund Strengthening Democracy: A Guide to the Issues, Grantees, and Programs of the New Israel Fund. New Israel Fund. 1991. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
8. "Ombudswork for Children" (PDF). UNICEF. 1997.
9. "On the agenda" Archived October 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Israel National Council for the Child. October 13, 2014.
10. "A Free People in Our Land: Children's Rights in Israel". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. April 1, 2005.
11. Oregon review of international law. Vol. 5. 2003. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
12. Robert R. Friedmann (2012). Crime and Criminal Justice in Israel: Assessing the Knowledge Base toward the Twenty-First Century. SUNY Press. ISBN 9781438403397. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
13. Asher Ben-Arieh; Natalie Hevener Kaufman; Arlene Bowers Andrews; Robert M. George; Bong Joo Lee; J. Lawrence Aber (2001). Measuring and Monitoring Children's Well-Being. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9789401722292. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
14. Michal Kimchi; Yafah Tsiyonit; Asher Ben-Aryeh (2008). The State of the Child in Israel 2007. Israel National Council for the Child. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
15. "Child victims and witnesses in the Israeli criminal process". Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
16. Judy Siegel-Itzkovich (July 18, 2012). "'Corporal punishment can lead to drug abuse'". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
17. Ofra Edelman (December 23, 2007). "Experts say the law treats child porn over the Internet as a 'virtual' crime". Haaretz. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
18. Ruth Eglash (January 10, 2012). "Over 1,000 children are listed as missing in Israel". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
19. Danielle Ziri (December 8, 2013). "Knesset passes bill regulating foster care system in Israel". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
20. Philip E. Veerman (1992). The Rights of the Child and the Changing Image of Childhood. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN 0792312503. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
21. Sami Shalom Chetrit (2009). Intra-Jewish Conflict in Israel: White Jews, Black Jews. Routledge. ISBN 9781135202323. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
22. Lauren Gelfond Feldinger (October 22, 2013). "New Israeli Legislation Aims To Change Definition of Rape To Include Male Victims; Israel's Laws Define Rape Narrowly, Ignoring Some Victims". The Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved October 11, 2014.

External links

• NCC homepage
• Young Children in Israel: A Country Study, by National Council of the Child. The Center for Research and Public Education; edited by Galia Efrat; Published by Center for Research and Public Education, the National Council for the Child (1998)