The Outstanding Parliamentarian Award 2013
The Knesset
In the presence of Knesset Speaker Yoel (Yuli) Edelstein
On March 5, 2014, IDI's Outstanding Parliamentarian Award of 2013 was awarded to MK Amram Mitzna and MK Michal Rozin for their exemplary parliamentary activity in the first session of the 19th Knesset. These two MKs were chosen by a selection committee headed by former Deputy President of the Israeli Supreme Court Justice Theodor Or. The ceremony took place at the Knesset, in the presence of Speaker Yoel (Yuli) Edelstein.
MK Mitzna (Hatnua) and MK Rozin (Meretz) were chosen from among ten finalists who had been shortlisted for the prestigious award based on a variety of measures of their Knesset performance in the first session of the 19th Knesset.
An initiative of IDI, the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award has been awarded since 2010 to Members of the Knesset from the coalition and the opposition who have exceptional parliamentary records and are exemplary public representatives. The 2012 award was granted to MKs Orly Levy-Abekasis and Nitzan Horowitz, and the 2011 award was granted to MKs Uri Maklev, Dov Khenin, and Zevulun Orlev.
Chair: Former Supreme Court Justice Theodor Or
Members:
- Former MK Prof. Menahem Ben-Sasson
- Former MK Yair Tsaban
- Former MK Rabbi Itzhak Levy
- Former MK Issam Makhoul
- Former MK Prof. Yuli Tamir
- Former UN Ambassador Prof. Gabriela Shalev
At the outset of this project, IDI conducted extensive research in order to define objective criteria for measuring quality parliamentary activity and identifying the Knesset members with the most outstanding records. As part of this process, IDI researchers met with former Knesset members and ministers, Knesset professionals from the past and present, and academics who are experts in the field.
Once the parameters for measurement were defined, in the first stage of work each year, a database is built in which the activities of all the relevant members of Knesset are recorded. All MKs are included in the competition except for those serving as Minister, Deputy Minister, or Chairman of the Knesset and MKs who have been recognized by IDI as Outstanding Parliamentarians in the past. This year, the activities of 85 Knesset members were checked (MKs Dov Khenin, Uri Maklev, Nitzan Horowitz, and Orly Levy-Abekasis were excluded as past recipients of the award).
The quantitative data for the Outstanding Parliamentarian award is collected by IDI researchers and the staff of the "Open Knesset" project. Aspects of parliamentary work that are evaluated include: participation in committee meetings, private legislation that was completed during the period of the study, submission of parliamentary queries, submission of motions for the agenda, speeches in the plenary, requests for assistance from the Knesset Research and Information Committee, attendance of Knesset sessions, and reprimands or comments from the Knesset's Ethics Committee. Based on an analysis of this data, 10 finalists are identified.
In the next stage of work, the award committee discusses the 10 finalists and chooses two recipients of the award, one from the coalition and one from the opposition. The committee basis its decision on the data compiled during the first stage of the study as well as additional considerations that are at its discretion. Among other things, the committee may consider the substantive contribution of the laws passed by the MK, the MKs focus on issues of public concern, and more.
Once the award committee has finished its assessment, the two winners of the Outstanding Parliamentary Award are announced.
We are honored to award IDI's Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for 2013 to MK Amram Mitzna for his parliamentary activities in the first session of the 19th Knesset. This honor is awarded to a Knesset member whose activity has been particularly noteworthy in the last Knesset session, who has fulfilled his or her role as a public representative, who has contributed to raising the status of the Knesset and to strengthening Israeli democracy, and who serves as a model and example to all the members of the Knesset.
MK Mitzna has been serving as a Member of Knesset for the Hatnua party since the start of the 19th Knesset's term. Previously, in the 16th Knesset, he served in the Knesset as a representative of the Labor-Meimad faction. During his years in the Knesset he has proven to be a serious and thorough parliamentarian.
MK Mitzna's activities in the first session of the 19th Knesset focused primarily on education and culture. He heads the Knesset's Education, Culture and Sports Committee, and fulfills this role very diligently, as evidenced by the research that he requested from the Knesset's Research and Information Center in order to inform the committee's work. As part of his work as committee chair, he also contributed to advancing significant and influential legislation in the areas of education and culture. In addition, MK Mitzna initiated and promoted important legislation in other areas, faithfully fulfilled his responsibilities in the plenum, and used the various tools available to parliamentarians, especially speeches to the plenary.
For the above activities, and for his parliamentary activity in general, the committee has decided to award the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for 2013 to MK Amram Mitzna.
We are honored to award IDI's Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for 2013 to MK Michal Rozin for her parliamentary activities in the first session of the 19th Knesset. This honor is awarded to a Knesset member whose activity has been particularly noteworthy in the last Knesset session, who has fulfilled his or her role as a public representative, who has contributed to raising the status of the Knesset and to strengthening Israeli democracy, and who serves as a model and example to all the members of the Knesset.
MK Rozin has been serving as a Member of Knesset for the Meretz party since the start of the 19th Knesset's term, and has stood out due to her intensive promotion of issues related to the rights of women, children, and disadvantaged groups.
Since the start of her work in the Knesset, MK Rozin has worked vigorously to promote her important goals, particularly in the Committee on Foreign Workers, which she chairs, and the three lobbies that she heads: the Lobby for Equality in Employment, the Lobby for Female Knesset Members, and the Lobby for Equality and Pluralism. She has also been notable for the laws that she has initiated on a variety of topics, and for her use of a wide range of parliamentary tools that enable the opposition to supervise the government, especially motions for the agenda and speeches in the plenary.
For the above activities, and for her parliamentary activity in general, the committee has decided to award the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for 2013 to MK Michal Rozin.
Speaker of the Knesset Yoel (Yuli) Edelstein: "This award ceremony proves that it is possible to get to a situation in which mentioning "Knesset" is not met with a cynical smile. I hope that we, as Knesset members, will be appreciated. It is possible to change the situation."
MK Michal Rozin: "I would not trade the Knesset for any other place of work. Although the majority rules in the Knesset, the voices of minorities are most certainly heard."
MK Amram Mitzna: "If we do not deal with social gaps, we will not succeed in becoming what we want to be. I am impressed by the positive attitude of Israel's citizens. Their desire to take an active part in legislation surprises me every time I encounter it. This recognition, which was achieved through hard work and transparency, is real and I find it very moving.
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