Emi Palmor (; born August 1966) is an Israeli lawyer and senior civil servant who served as the Director General of the Ministry of Justice from 1 February 2014 to September 2019. During her 24 years of civil service, she was appointed time and again by the government to chair public committees concerning sensitive and controversial social and legal issues in Israeli society, which she led to sustainable resolutions. Palmor is recognized for applying methods of civic engagement and participation in Government processes of policy design, and for promoting a holistic approach to public policy, focusing on prevention and education plans rather than legislation and law enforcement. Palmor is one of the first 20 members of the Facebook Oversight Board.
Biography Palmor was born in Jerusalem to Holocaust survivor parents who immigrated from Romania to Israel in 1960. Her father, Eliezer, served as a diplomat at the Israeli embassies in Belgium, Norway, Argentina, Uruguay, and France. Her mother, Shoshana, a concentration camp survivor from Transnistria, was a chemist and worked in a drug factory. Palmor's first name, Emi, consists of the first letters of the names of her grandmother Esther and her great-grandmother Michal, who perished both in the Holocaust.
She did her military service in Unit 8200 of the Israeli Intelligence Corps, between the years 1984–1986. In 1990, Palmor graduated law school from the Hebrew University and interned with Supreme court Judge Zvi Tal in the Jerusalem District Court and with Yair Golan (in the criminal field). Her brother, Yigal Palmor, is the Director of International Relations of the Jewish Agency, and previously served as the Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Professional career From 1991 to 1996, Palmor worked as a lawyer in the field of Civil Law at the law firm of Carmeli-Arnon in Jerusalem and was accepted as a partner in the firm in 1995. From 1996 to 1999, she served as a prosecutor at the State Attorney's Office Supreme Court Department in the Ministry of Justice and conducted legal proceedings in the criminal field. In 2000, Palmor was appointed Director of the Pardons department at the Ministry of Justice, a position she held for 14 years, during which she was credited with preparing the Minister of Justice's recommendation to the President.
Furthermore, Palmor served on behalf of the Minister of Justice on special missions related to locating missing IDF soldiers. She was a member of the committee that dealt with the release of security prisoners to the Palestinian Authority, and through the years 2006–2011 was the only female member of the negotiation team for the release of POW a Gilad Shalit.
Palmor held in addition to her role as Director of the Pardons Department the following positions:
Chairman of the Eligibility Committee for Victims of Death Offenses (in cooperation with the Israel Police and the Ministry of Welfare) Chairman of the Medical Ethics Committee of the Prison Service Member of the Kanai Committee for the Amendment of the Criminal Registry Law Council member of the Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority Judge in the Disciplinary Court of Appeals of the Prison Service
Director General of the Ministry of Justice On 1 February 2014, Palmor was appointed Director General of the Ministry of Justice in place of Dr. Guy Rothkopf, after being selected by the government at the suggestion of Justice Minister Tzipi Livni. Palmor's appointment was a non-political appointment, as she came from the civil service itself. She continued to serve as a non-political Director General after Ayelet Shaked was appointed Minister of Justice in May 2015.
Upon taking office and under her leadership she emphasized the role and mission of the Ministry of Justice as a social service-providing ministry, advancing equality and developing better and innovative access to justice alongside its traditional roles. She led a series of organizational reforms and established new departments, units and tribunals, while developing legal services and digital platforms.
In the second half of 2015, under Palmor's oversight, the Ministry created the Cyber Unit, successfully resulting in the removal of tens of thousands of Palestinian posts from social media platforms which according to Adalah, a Palestinian human rights organization based in Haifa, "made requests to the Israeli state attorney, appealing to 'Facebook and Google to remove, restrict or suspend access to certain content, pages or users.'" This was done through "no transparency or legal procedure whatsoever, and with no framework for users to defend themselves against allegations that their posts were illegal or warranted removal." In a letter sent to the office of the Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit on 2 August 2017, Adalah attorney Fady Khoury alleged that the unit's censorship operations were conducted without any basis in Israeli law: "Nothing in the law allows state authorities to censor content based solely on an administrative determination… that the content amounts to a criminal offense. Likewise, there is no explicit directive in [Israeli] law authorizing the removal of content determined to amount to a criminal offense, even by a court."
On 23 July 2019, it was surprisingly announced that Palmor would end her position as director general of the Ministry of Justice. The temporary Justice Minister, Amir Ohana, had chosen to replace Palmor over Ophir Cohen, a close friend of his. Since Ohana himself was only a temporary appointment, it was considered a controversial decision, as this position was usually retained by its incumbent as part of the professional staff of a ministry. Palmor's dismissal drew widespread criticism and the High Court of Justice has put a temporary freeze on the appointment. Eventually, Palmor ended her tenure and on September.
Reforms During her tenure, Palmor initiated, led, and implemented numerous important reforms in the Ministry of Justice, the justice system, and the entire government: Led governmental initiative of social rights accessibility through "All Rights" website ("Kol Zchut"); Initiated and led the reform in the CPA training and certification; Led the reform of digital transformation of Land Registration services; Planned and implemented a five-year plan to improve regulation which led to a significant improvement in the State of Israel's ranking in the World Bank's Doing Business Index. Established the Entry to Israel Law Review Tribunals. Initiated and implemented the organizational reform and streamlining of the administrative courts in the field of immigration, Led the integration and expansion of Community Courts, initiative within the Ministry, and significantly developed the Sharia Tribunals whose judges (Kadi) were doubled during her tenure. Expanded the free legal services given by the Legal Aid and the Public Defense to deprived populations. Led the coordination between government bodies in the process of the State of Israel joining the FATF to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
Human capital and employment diversity Palmor is considered a pioneer in the field of occupational diversity in the entire government. She was the first director general to publish a transparent and detailed annual report on the degree of occupational diversity in the Ministry, which was later adopted by President Reuven Rivlin and other Ministries. She developed methods of recruitment and training as well as educational programs for organizations to promote a work environment that encourages diversity and inclusion for Arabs, Israelis of Ethiopian descent, Ultra-Orthodox Jews, Women, and people with disabilities, all poorly represented in the Civil Service. Palmor's initiatives and dedication to the subject have made her a National figure identified with occupational diversity moves and a sought-after spokesperson and lecturer on the subject throughout the government and the Business sector as well. On the 68th Independence Day of the State of Israel, she was selected by the Israel Democracy Institute to light an "alternative torch" for her unique contribution to the public trust in the public service by relentlessly promoting diversity of the Civil Service. In December 2019, she received the "Shared Society Award" by The Abraham Initiatives NGO in recognition of her longstanding contribution to advancing equality, understanding, and co-existence between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel, advocating against racism and exclusion, for integrating and representing Arab citizens in the civil service and establishing the Anti-Racism coordination Unit in the government.
In October 2018 Palmor was first to initiate and publish a work-life balance convention in the Ministry of Justice, which limits contact hours with employees and allows for occupational flexibility, thus reducing employee's burnout, and advancing equality and improving opportunities for women and young parents in the workplace.
Additional positions she held during her tenure as Director General of the Ministry of Justice: Chair of Israel CPA Council Chair of the Governmental Committee for Integration of Arabs, Druze, and Circassian in Civil Service Chair of the Committee on the Agreement between the Government of Israel and the Baháʼí World Centre Chair of the Permanent Executive Committee for the Coordination of the Combat against Human trafficking Chair of the Joint Legal Committee for Israel and the Palestinian Authority Member of the Government Steering Committee for Improving and Streamlining Business Processes in Israel Member of the Israel Land Council and the National Planning and Construction Council Member of the Civil Service Committee Member of the National Council of the Israel Bar Association
Public Committees headed by Palmor During her tenure, Palmor was appointed to head several public committees designated to deal with burning social issues on the government's agenda, including the Committee on The Eradication Of Racism against Israelis of Ethiopian Descent (2016), The Committee for Examination of Tools to Reduce Demand for Prostitution (2017), and the committee in charge of resolving the Negative Consequences of Polygamy (2017).
The Report on Eradication of racism against Israelis of Ethiopian origin and its outcomes In February 2016, Palmor was appointed to head the committee on the Eradication of racism against Israelis of Ethiopian Descent by the Ministerial Committee for the Promotion of the integration of Israeli Citizens of Ethiopian origin into Israeli Society, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The concluding report of the team (known as the "Palmor Report") was submitted in August 2016 and included an overview and reflection of the significant events experienced by Ethiopian Jews as manifestations of racism and discrimination, and is considered a historical milestone in Israel. The team led by Palmor presented more than 50 recommendations, which were adopted and budgeted by the government, and most of them were fully implemented. This was the first time the State recognized the existence of institutional racism against Ethiopian Jews, acknowledged policing and controversial policies on matters of education, health treatment, and other issues. Further, The Palmor report is taught in Universities and often cited and used in the Courts by Defense Attorneys and Judges, including at the Supreme Court, as a benchmark for evaluating practices of racial discrimination by the police and the Legal System.
Key recommendations: