The Knesset Will Decide Whether Gambling on Horseracing Will Be Established

By Erez Erlichman

Ynet (Online Edition of Yedioth Ahronoth)

12 April 2007, Tel Aviv

Translated from Hebrew

In the hearing of the petition filed by Hakol Chai against the government's plan to establish gambling on horseracing, the High Court of Justice ruled that the plan will be implemented only after legislation in the Knesset. "This is a significant achievement, since for the first time the voice of horses exploited for profit is heard," says the charity.

"The plan violates the law." Demonstration against the racecourse.
Photo: Oren Ziv

Establishing the horseracing industry for the purpose of gambling in Israel will await the Knesset's decision, ruled a three-Justice panel of the High Court of Justice, after having received an opinion submitted on behalf of the State. Yesterday (Wednesday) the judges discussed the petition filed by the organization Hakol Chai, which demanded that this industry be prohibited in Israel, following the Resolution of the Social-Economic Cabinet of the government, adopted in 2004, to establish a racecourse for gambling purposes in the area of the Regional Council of Gilboa, and later in the Negev. Following the ruling of the High Court of Justice, the organization withdrew the petition, and the activists are now awaiting the Knesset's decision.

"The State pledged, in front of the High Court of Justice, to refrain from holding such horseraces without explicit legislation by the Knesset – and this is a huge achievement," says Hakol Chai. "In fact, the State stated that it will consider the welfare of the horses and will hear experts who will testify on our behalf before advancing the government's plan. This concerns a cruel industry that violates the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Law, because of the torture, cruelty, and abuse inherent in it, and we have therefore been waging a lengthy battle against it, in the context of which the petition was filed with the High Court of Justice about two and a half years ago."

The organization's spokesperson, Tali Lavie, states that the opposition to the industry is also gaining wide public support, backed by a series of demonstrations in front of the racecourse complex in Gilboa. "Knesset members of every color of the political rainbow have already expressed their adamant objection, among which are members of the Meretz Knesset party who signed a petition against horseraces, Chairman of the Knesset Education Committee MK Michael Malkior, MK Zvulun Orlev, and others," she says. And she adds that "the fight for animals received another reinforcement when the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, published a rabbinical court ruling (Psak Halacha), according to which horseraces should not be assisted, attended, or watched."

"This is a significant achievement, since until today, with respect to the establishment of industries that exploit animals, the animals' voice would not been heard and they would not have been a consideration in the decision making," Lavie concludes. "We received an important status in the process, since the State announced that it will consult us, and will not advance the government's decision without considering the expert testimonies that were included in the petition. We believe that examination of the abuse of horses that is entailed in the industry will lead, eventually, to the decision to refrain from adopting it in Israel."