About 200 people with disabilities filed a petition to the High Court of Justice on Monday against Transportation Minister Miri Regev and the director-general of her ministry over the continued suspension of disabled parking permits.
The petition, submitted by retired judge and attorney Daniel Ernst, claims that the decision to stop issuing and renewing permits leaves thousands of Israelis isolated and unable to access essential services — in violation of Israeli law and fundamental human rights.
“The decision by the Transportation Ministry sentences thousands of people with disabilities to isolation, suffering and inaccessibility – contrary to the law and contrary to human values,” the petition states.
The petition follows months of unanswered requests from individuals seeking new or renewed permits. “The respondents chose to trample on the fundamental rights of people with disabilities without giving them an adequate solution,” Ernst wrote in the petition submitted on April 7.
“This is not just about legal rights – it is about human rights. It is not appropriate for a civilized state to act indifferently in the face of such a serious hardship that affects people from the most disadvantaged classes. The harm to the disabled is a moral test of the resilience of Israeli society, and the court is asked to intervene before irreversible harm is caused to thousands of citizens.”
Among the petitioners is Orly, a cancer patient. “While the National Insurance Institute has already extended my entitlement to a parking permit, the Ministry of Transportation informed me that it is not currently discussing renewing the permits. I am currently frequently avoiding leaving the house. I cannot understand what they expect me to do – how dare the Ministry of Transportation take away something that rightfully belongs to me?”
Request for a conditional and absolute order
A warning letter sent to Regev about two weeks prior did not lead to any change in the ministry’s position. The petitioners are therefore requesting both a conditional and an absolute order requiring the immediate issuance of disabled parking permits. The petition argues that the ministry is in breach of the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, the Parking for the Disabled Law (1993), and the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law (1998).
The petitioners, many of whom are elderly or seriously ill, are recognized as disabled by the National Insurance Institute. They say they represent thousands whose permit requests have been left unanswered in recent months.
One example is Alik, 77, who has terminal cancer and has been waiting nearly four months for a permit. “My father deserves to leave the house and enjoy his last days as much as possible,” said his daughter. “Not a day goes by that he doesn’t ask me what about the parking ticket. Every walk for him is like a ‘beret journey.’ Unfortunately, even though we applied on January 27, we still haven’t received the parking permit, and my father has had to give up on going to places where he knows there won’t be parking nearby.”
New criteria for permit distribution to be finalized
At a February 11 hearing of the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, Licensing Division director Yossi Nizri stated that new criteria for permit distribution would be finalized “in the coming days,” with a formal outline to be released “within a month.” Two months later, no updates have been made public, and the petitioners say the ministry continues to ignore them.
“The issuing of parking permits for the disabled is not a benefit or privilege, but rather the exercise of the constitutional right of people with disabilities to equality, dignity and accessibility,” the petition states. “A parking permit for the disabled is not just a matter of convenience, but is a basic condition for the petitioners’ ability to exercise other fundamental rights, such as the right to health, work and participation in social life. In many cases, the absence of a parking permit for the disabled may lead to a real health risk, when terminally ill patients or people with severe disabilities cannot access essential medical treatment.”
