Zohar Committee claims for Dimona and Soreq nuclear workers
Workers of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission’s research centers — the Negev Nuclear Research Center near Dimona (KAMAG) and the Soreq Nuclear Research Center (MAMAG) — who developed cancer can file a claim with the Zohar Committee. Ariel Freiberg & Co. represents workers and families in these claims, and Ariel Freiberg was one of the two lawyers behind the 2017 High Court petition on who may represent them.
HCJ 9017/17 — the right of Zohar Committee claimants to choose their lawyer
In November 2017 Adv. Eli Dasa and Adv. Ariel Freiberg petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice against the State of Israel, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Zohar Committee. The committee’s instructions said that a claimant who wanted a lawyer had to ask the committee for its list of security-cleared attorneys. The petition asked the Court to cancel that requirement.
As reported by Calcalist and Globes, the petitioners argued that the requirement:
- had no legal basis — it was not in the Rivlin Committee’s recommendations, in the government decision that adopted them, or in any statute;
- harmed workers’ right to representation by a lawyer they trust, and lawyers’ freedom of occupation, by creating a closed list;
- was not needed — a claim mainly requires the worker’s personal file and medical file, and any classified passage could be redacted, as the State does in other proceedings.
- Case
- HCJ 9017/17 (בג״ץ 9017/17), Adv. Eli Dasa and Adv. Ariel Freiberg v. State of Israel, Prime Minister’s Office, Zohar Committee
- Filed
- November 2017
- Bench
- President E. Hayut, Justice A. Baron, Justice A. Stein
- Outcome
- On 9 October 2018, at the parties’ agreed request of 3 October 2018, the petition was struck out with no order for costs, and the hearing set for 11 October 2018 was cancelled.
The judgment records only the agreed strike-out. It does not explain the parties’ reasons, and this page does not add any.
What the Zohar Committee is
For decades, workers at Israel’s nuclear research centers who developed cancer sued the State in the regular courts. Those cases ran for many years, and security restrictions made documents hard to obtain. In 2013 a public committee headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Eliezer Rivlin was set up to propose a shorter route that does not depend on proving fault. The government adopted its recommendations in 2016, and the Zohar Committee was set up to apply them. At the time of the 2017 coverage it was chaired by retired District Court judge Shmuel Berliner.
Separately, in September 2017 Haaretz reported that the Israel Atomic Energy Commission had agreed to a NIS 78 million compensation package for 168 employees who had sued in court. That settlement concerned those lawsuits. It is not a figure for Zohar Committee claims, and the office does not quote amounts for a new file.
Who should look at a claim
- Current and former workers of the Negev Nuclear Research Center (Dimona) who developed a malignant disease.
- Current and former workers of the Soreq Nuclear Research Center.
- Families of a worker who died. In many cases they can bring the claim.
- Contractor and outside staff who worked on site. Whether they qualify depends on the committee’s rules, so each case is checked on its own facts.
The committee decides eligibility and amounts. Nothing on this page promises recognition or a sum.
How the office prepares a Zohar Committee claim
- Eligibility check. Diagnosis, years and roles at the center, and the family’s status if the worker has died.
- Records. Employment confirmations, the personal file, the oncology file and the occupational-health file.
- Medical expertise. Oncology, hematology or occupational-medicine input where the file needs it.
- Other tracks. A check on whether a National Insurance or civil track also applies, so nothing is lost and nothing is claimed twice.
- Before the committee. Presenting the file and staying on it until a decision.
The office is in Ramat Gan and represents clients throughout Israel, including Dimona, Yeruham, Beersheba and the south. Fees are agreed in writing. See fees and why us. The full Hebrew page on this track is ועדת זוהר — עובדי קמ״ג וממ״ג.
Questions about the Zohar Committee
What is the Zohar Committee?
Do I have to prove that the reactor caused my cancer?
Can a family claim if the worker has died?
What was the High Court petition about?
Is the Zohar Committee the same as a National Insurance or court claim?
How do I reach the office?
Worked at Dimona or Soreq and became ill?
A first call checks whether the Zohar Committee track fits and which papers matter. No promised amount. Office: 7 Abba Hillel Silver Road, Ramat Gan. Representation throughout Israel.