Association Regulations
1. Name and structure
The name of the association is the "Israeli Association for Eye and Vision Research."
The name of the association in English is Israeli Society for Vision & Eye Research – ISVER.
The Israeli Society for Eye and Vision Research is a non-profit organization, registered as a non-profit organization under the Non-Profit Organizations Law, and recognized as a public institution for tax purposes.
2. The Association's Goals
1. To advance the understanding of the eye and the visual system, through research in the various fields of eye and vision research by scientists from various disciplines, both in clinical and basic research.
2. Encourage education and teaching in the fields of eye and vision research in Israel.
3. To be a body that represents the needs of those involved in eye and vision research, and to be a liaison body for government bodies, research and higher education institutions, and funding agencies in Israel.
4. To represent the issue of eye and vision research in the public.
5. Contact similar associations abroad.
3. Membership in the association
There will be four categories of members in the Society:
1. Full Member
2. Paid-up Member
3. Associate Member
4. Honorary Member
An application for membership will be submitted to the Society's Board, which will approve the admission of a new member who meets the criteria detailed below.
A. Full Member: Any scientist and any physician (including paid-up and interns) interested in eye and vision research and who has published at least 2 scientific papers as a senior author in the field of eye and vision research is eligible to apply to join the Society. An application to join the Society must be accompanied by the signatures of two recommenders who are full members of the Society. The application to join must be submitted to the Society's Board, which will decide to approve or reject the application. A full member has the right to vote at the General Assembly.
B. Paid-up Member: A medical intern and/or paid-up for a higher degree (Ph.D, D.Sc) who does not meet the criteria for full membership may join the Society as a paid-up member for a period of training. A paying member does not have the right to vote at the general meeting.
C. Associate member: Any person who is interested in supporting and promoting the goals of the association but is not himself a researcher of the visual system. Will be invited to participate in the scientific conferences of the association. An associate member does not have the right to vote at the general meeting.
D. Honorary member: Any person who has contributed or contributes in a prominent and extraordinary way to eye and vision research in the broad sense may be proposed as an honorary member of the association.
An honorary member shall be proposed by five full members of the association who shall give written reasons for their proposal. The association's board shall approve or reject the status by a simple majority. No more than one honorary member shall be elected per year. An honorary member shall have all the rights of a regular member. An honorary member shall not pay membership fees.
An honorary member shall be invited to lecture at the association's annual conference in the year in which he is elected.
At each annual general meeting, the board shall submit a list of new members for approval.
Termination of membership:
1. Termination of membership by a member shall be made by written notice to the association's secretariat.
2. The general meeting may decide to expel a member from the association. Termination of membership shall be proposed to the meeting by the board if the member has not complied with the provisions of the bylaws or acted contrary to the association's objectives and after being given an opportunity to make his views known. A member whose membership has been terminated is entitled to apply for membership in the manner accepted according to the normal procedure.
4. Membership fees and budget
Membership fees:
The General Assembly will approve (or reject) by a simple majority the amount of annual membership fees as proposed by the Association's Committee. Membership fees will constitute the annual budgetary basis for the Association's activities. Membership fees must be paid within 60 days of receiving the notice from the Association's Secretariat. Membership fees entitle members to free participation in the annual meeting.
The association's budget:
In addition to membership fees, the association may approach representatives of commercial companies, research and higher education institutions, government bodies, industry, various foundations and private individuals for support for the operation of the association. The association's board will submit to the general assembly at the annual meeting a budget report on the previous year's activities and a proposal for approval of a budget for the current year's activities.
The association's fiscal year will be from January 1 to December 31 of each year.
5. The Association's Institutions
5.1 The Association Committee:
Any full member with the rank of senior lecturer or above (in a regular or clinical track) may submit his candidacy as a committee member. A full member whose candidacy has been proposed by another member shall give his consent in writing. Nominations for committee membership shall be sent in writing to the association's committee at least one month before the general meeting. The general meeting shall elect the members of the association's committee.
The association's board will consist of nine members. A board member will be elected for a six-year term and may retire after 3 years. Every two years, 3 board members will be replaced.
The committee will represent both the clinical and research sectors and will include at least two researchers with a Ph.D. degree, most of whose time is dedicated to research. A committee member who has completed his term of office may submit his candidacy for the committee two years after completing his term of office.
Additional roles in the committee: The committee will appoint from among its members a chairman and position holders such as treasurer, external relations officer, etc. The chairman of the committee and the members of the committee will be assisted in their duties by a paid secretary, on a part-time basis as determined by the committee.
5.2 Chairman of the Association:
The chairman of the association will alternately be a committee member whose primary occupation is research and a committee member whose primary occupation is clinical. The general meeting will elect the chairman of the association from among the current committee members or from among former committee members who have served on the committee in the past 10 years. A committee member or former committee member who is interested in becoming chairman must notify the current chairman of the association in writing. The election will be secret. The chairman will be elected for one term with the possibility of extension for one additional year, at the proposal of the committee, by the general meeting.
5.3 Honorary President:
The committee will propose for approval to the general assembly an honorary president of the association who has contributed significantly and beyond the ordinary to the activities and functioning of the association. The honorary president will be a member of the committee ex officio. His term of office is 6 years.
5.4 Association Secretariat:
The location of the secretariat will be determined by the committee members by majority vote.
5.5 Signature right:
The chairman and treasurer must sign all financial expenditures on behalf of the association. In the absence of the chairman or treasurer, one of the members appointed as acting members will sign.
6. The General Assembly
The general meeting (which includes all full members of the association, and honorary members) will be convened once a year at a place, date and time, as determined by the association's board. Notice of the convening of the meeting will be given to members at least one month in advance. The general meeting will usually be convened on the date of the annual scientific conference. The discussion at the general meeting will be chaired by the association's chairman, decisions will be made by open vote and a simple majority. Upon the request of ten members (in writing) and two weeks in advance, a secret vote will be held on any issue. Changes to the association's bylaws require a 2/3 majority. The agenda of the general meeting will be determined by the association's board and sent to all members with the invitation. Upon a written request and in advance (two weeks) of 10 full members, topics that do not appear on the agenda may be raised for discussion. The general meeting will present reports on the committee's activities, discuss the action plans for the current year and approve the association's annual budget.
6.1 Quorum:
A quorum will be considered to be 30% of the full members of the association. In the event that there is no quorum, the meeting will be adjourned for an hour and will meet again afterwards. A quorum will then be considered to be 10% of the number of members of the association. If there is no quorum, no decisions will be made. In this case, a written vote will be held by sending letters to members. The votes will be counted 60 days after the letters are sent.
6.2 Voting right:
A full or honorary member is entitled to participate and vote at every general meeting and shall have one vote in each vote. No member may vote on behalf of another.
7. Scientific conference and publications
The Society will hold an annual scientific conference at which scientific papers in the study of the eye and vision will be presented. Scientists and physicians who are not members of the Society may participate in the conference, including by giving a lecture or presenting a poster. These participants will pay a participation fee equal to the annual membership fee. The selection of papers to be presented at the annual conference will be made according to their scientific value by a scientific committee that will include at least 3 committee members. Approval of the final program will be at the discretion of the ordinary rabbi of the committee members. The abstracts of the papers will appear in the annual conference abstracts booklet. The Society will endeavor to publish the abstracts in the international scientific press.
8. Dissolution of the Association
The association's board may submit to the general meeting a proposal to dissolve the association. The board must submit such a proposal to the members no later than two months before the general meeting. The decision to dissolve the association is made by secret ballot and by a two-thirds majority of the number of participants in the general meeting. In the event of the association's dissolution, its property will be transferred to any body similar or identical in its purposes to the association, according to the board's decision.