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Bet Tzedek is an American non-profit human and poverty rights organization, internationally recognized for its work in providing unique advocacy and support for people living in poverty, and for communities victimized by discrimination and civil rights abuses. One of the United States' leading centers for social justice, Bet Tzedek is based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1974 by a group of Jewish attorneys determined to address the human rights issues and humanitarian needs endemic to Los Angeles. Their social justice philosophy was rooted in a central tenet of Jewish law and teaching: "Tzedek, tzedek tirdof - Justice, justice you shall pursue." Bet Tzedek embraces the fundamental commitment of achieving full and equal access to justice for all people. The United States legal system was created to fairly serve all citizens, yet without equal access to the justice system, low-income citizens are disproportionately victimized by unjust and illegal practices such as coercive labor practices, abuse and neglect of developmentally disabled people, unlawful debt collection and racially targeted victimization. In a city with one of the highest poverty rates in the United States, Bet Tzedek offers support to the nearly two million residents of L.A. who live in poverty. Bet Tzedek has taken on widespread systemic injustices taking place in nursing homes, slum housing, and garment factories — identifying and investigating the problems, and winning victories that have directly and measurably expanded equal access to justice for the poor, elderly and disabled. Today, many of Bet Tzedek's initiatives are the only programs of their kind in existence. Its free legal representation helps low-income people of every race and religion in Los Angeles, and directly empowers people with knowledge and tools needed to protect their rights. ==History== In the late 1960s and early 1970s, activists throughout the nation began to systemically address the roots of injustice by fighting poverty, disenfranchisement and discrimination. The City of Los Angeles faced overwhelming crises with devastatingly entrenched areas of urban blight, deteriorating living conditions in slums and ghettos, and an increasingly disempowered population of low-income people. Bet Tzedek's volunteer attorneys provided free legal representation to Angelenos who would never otherwise gain access to the justice system. As the need skyrocketed throughout the mid-1970s, Bet Tzedek rapidly evolved from a part-time, volunteer-run organization into a comprehensive, full-service center providing free legal aid to all of Los Angeles. By 1977, Bet Tzedek’s lawyers had won several landmark cases that brought hope and empowerment to thousands of the most vulnerable citizens in the rapidly growing metropolis, including successfully blocking the illegal evictions of low-income elderly residents of Venice, California's Cadillac Hotel. Bet Tzedek's victory won health and safety renovations, and guaranteed the residents' right to remain in a for the rest of their lives, at their current low rents. In 1984, Bet Tzedek affirmed its growing reputation as the leading agency offering free services to Holocaust survivors by winning a landmark decision that provided vital support and justice to thousands of low-income, elderly Holocaust survivors. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled in favor of Felicia Grunfeder, a Bet Tzedek client and Holocaust survivor who had been denied disability benefits because she received a small survivors’ reparations payment. After multiple appeals, the federal courts ruled that Holocaust reparations payments cannot preclude disability payments—state and federal legislation subsequently codified the decision. Bet Tzedek provided emergency legal services during and in the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, when four LAPD officers were acquitted in the beating of black motorist Rodney King. The issues central to the riots - racial profiling, civil rights abuses, endemic poverty, poor housing conditions, and unemployment - were also central to Bet Tzedek's work. L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley commended Bet Tzedek for providing services during and after civil unrest. Advocates continue to see clients at senior centers in the central city during the riots. In the early 1990s, Bet Tzedek sued a national HMO alleging fraud and deceptive sales practices in the HMO’s racially targeted victimization of elderly Spanish-speaking enrollees. Ensuing media coverage prompted a federal investigation and a stockholder suit against the company and Bet Tzedek successfully settled the underlying case. Following the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Bet Tzedek provided emergency assistance to earthquake victims with housing issues, home improvement fraud, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) claims. For low-income victims, Bet Tzedek was the sole source of free advocacy. In 1995, Bet Tzedek initiatives revealed disturbingly negligent conditions in Los Angeles area nursing homes. To address this, Bet Tzedek sponsored major state legislation that provided new standards and protections for low-income elderly residents who were most at risk for elder abuse. In 1999, Bet Tzedek's lawsuit against Hillhaven, one of the largest nursing home chains in the country, resulted in the company agreeing to change business practices that violate state and federal law and led to financial hardship for residents and their families. In 1998, Bet Tzedek brought a major class-action suit with pro bono counsel against 16 European-based insurance companies who refused to honor insurance policies purchased by Jews who perished in the Holocaust. With up to 60% of all survivors living in poverty, this advocacy provided desperately needed resources. This advocacy continues to this day, as Bet Tzedek assists survivors with issues centered in the governments of former Nazi nations. In 2001, when 61% of Los Angeles apparel contractors were violating wage and hour laws,〔Lobaco, Gina. (Thirtieth Annual Report ) (PDF). Bet Tzedek Legal Services. Retrieved on June 4, 2007.〕 Bet Tzedek opens the Employment Rights Project in the San Fernando Valley in response to the growing numbers of “working poor” in Los Angeles, who remain in poverty despite working full-time as garment workers, day laborers, domestics, carwash employees, and gardeners. In 2002, Bet Tzedek investigated the city’s most-convicted slumlord, unraveling a complex web of fraudulent practices. After filing a lawsuit, Bet Tzedek obtained a major settlement requiring the slumlord to pay $1 million to the City of L.A. and submit to ongoing monitoring of his business practices by Bet Tzedek. In 2004, Bet Tzedek helped pass a new state law and established a new legal precedent protecting garment workers, ensuring the safety and proper treatment of hundreds of thousands of workers in L.A. alone. In 2012, Bet Tzedek moved from its longtime headquarters in Los Angeles' historically Jewish Fairfax District to a new headquarters on Wilshire Boulevard in Koreatown. The move was motivated in part because Bet Tzedek's services are now provided mainly to non-Jews, and because the organization desired a more centralized location.〔Nita Lelyveld, ("Legal aid group Bet Tzedek graduates to new headquarters" ), ''Los Angeles Times'', September 9, 2012.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bet Tzedek Legal Services – The House of Justice」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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