" The Arabs in Israel: A Minority Lacking Legal Protection ." Report from a Palestine Center briefing by Ghadier Shafie, Hadeel Karawani, Razi Najar, and Bilal Dirbas

Arab citizens of Israel are subjected to four laws which they consider discriminatory. The most direct discrimination is found in Israel’s Basic Law which does not mention the Arabs as a national minority. Arab citizens are treated as foreigners in Israel and a recent poll shows that the majority—61 percent—of their fellow Jewish citizens see them as a potential threat and 60 percent would like to see Arabs “voluntarily” leave Israel. The reality of the conditions of Arab citizens in Israel was discussed by a panel of young Arab Israeli activists during a 8 October 2002 Palestine Center (Palestine Center) symposium. The activists, Ghadier Shafie, Hadeel Karawani, Razi Najar, and Bilal Dirbas are members of Baladna, a grassroots association for Arab youth based in the mixed Arab-Israeli city of Haifa.


Shafie argued that the Arabs in Israel lack legal protection because the law itself is prejudiced. For example, Israeli citizenship law and the Right of Return Law guarantee Jews all over the world citizenship upon arriving in Israel. Arabs can only obtain citizenship if they are born in Israel or if they meet very stringent rules. Shafie pointed out that although Israel claims to be “Jewish and democratic” it maintains that its “Jewish nature” overrides and compromises the extent to which it can be democratic. Shafie cites seven Israeli Supreme Court decisions allowing “internally displaced” Arabs to return to their original homes only to be prevented by the army which claimed the lands as military areas.

When Israel was created in 1948, some 400 Arab villages were destroyed and their residents evicted. The massive transfer of approximately 800,000 Arabs created the Palestinian refugee crisis of today. In addition, 250,000 Palestinians who were removed from their villages but remained within Israel are considered “internally displaced persons.” Israel enforces what it calls the Present-Absentee Law to prevent Arabs from reclaiming their lands. Although physically present in Israel, explained Shafie, these Arabs are considered absent from their original home, thus their land belongs to the state. Another form of direct discrimination comes in the services provided by Jewish institutions. Arabs are excluded from these institutions. There are no government-funded institutions providing Arab citizens, who make up 18 percent of the population, with similar services. As a result, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Baladna must fill the gap.

Another type of discrimination is the “indirect” form. In Israel, benefits, employment opportunities, housing, even college dorms are distributed on the basis of service in the army. Although every Israeli citizen is required to serve in the army, the Arabs, explained Shafie, do not receive the order to enlist. The Israeli Defense Ministry, argued Shafie, prefers that Arabs do not enlist, and the majority does not. Shafie argued that in reality it makes no difference in the distribution of benefits if an Arab serves in the army or does not. The Arab Muslim Druze citizens of Israel and many Bedouins serve in the Israeli army but are not better off than the Arabs who do not serve. On the contrary, Shafie said the plight of the Bedouins is much worse. Their townships are not recognized and basic services such as water, electricity, and sewage systems are not provided. On the other hand, Jewish religious students, who are exempt from serving in the army, receive full benefits and opportunities.

The remaining two types of discrimination are “institutional discrimination” and “public discrimination.” Arabs feel that they are treated as a “third party.” As an Arab, Shafie feels it in the street, at school, and at work. “It comes to a point where I do not feel comfortable speaking in Arabic,” Shafie said. Ministries have absolute discretion when allocating funds, providing services, and implementing the law when it comes to the Arab citizens, their cities, or the Arab neighborhoods in mixed cities.

The socio-economic inequalities are startling. Karawani pointed out that Jewish men earn 33 percent more per hour than Arab men. Jewish women earn 28 percent more than Arab women. The unemployment rate in Arab towns and villages is between 10.3 and 23.3 percent while the worst unemployment rate in the Jewish sector reached 11.1 percent. A few Arabs are employed in the public sector since military service is a precondition. Arabs employed in the public sector take jobs as teachers, doctors, and nurses in government schools and hospitals. However, Arabs are absent from senior policymaking positions which has a profound effect on the welfare of the Arab citizens.

Every year the government designates “national priority areas”—socially and economically weak localities—to be recipients of developmental and economic benefits. However, only a handful of Arab towns have ever been designated although they are among the poorest in the country. Poor Arab municipalities have been excluded from the Urban Renewal Program, which is designed to reduced social inequalities in Israel. According to Karawani, only four Arab villages and fourteen Arab neighborhoods have benefited from the program compared to 56 Jewish localities and 99 Jewish neighborhoods. Karawani also pointed out disparities in the health and judicial systems and infrastructure. Only 4 percent of judges are Arab and none sit on the Israeli Supreme Court. Many Arab villages have no ambulances and those that do, only have one. With the exception of Nazareth, no Arab city has a hospital.

On the university level, although Arabic is considered the second official language in Israel, Najar said that 50 percent of the courses in the Arabic Faculty of the University of Haifa, which has the largest percentage of Arab students than any other university in Israel, are taught in Hebrew. He argued that issues of concern for Arab students are not a priority for university administrations. According to Najar, Arab students are denied scholarships, financial aid, and even dorms. Arab students are not allowed to hold cultural events, mark Palestinian national events, or observe Christian and Muslim holidays. Even peaceful political activity is denied. In March 2000, Arab students were denied permission to commemorate Land Day. The most prominent form of discrimination is the lack of freedom of speech. “Arab students are on the bottom of the administration’s agenda,” Najar said. He pointed out that universities rush to aid “new comers,” Jews who immigrate from Russia and Ethiopia with their problems, including the language barrier, while ignoring the needs of the Arab students who have lived their whole lives in Israel.

Dirbas argued that Israel’s main problem is demography. Israel, explained Dirbas sees the growth rate among the Arab population as a danger to its existence. He believes all of Israel’s discriminatory laws and the pressures Arabs face on all levels is designed to “frustrate” Arab youth to a point where many will decide to leave the country.

Despite being part of Israel since its creation over 50 years ago, the loyalty of the Arab citizens is constantly questioned. The question of loyalty became a central issue in October 2000 when Arab citizens of Israel protested in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. Thirteen Arab citizens were killed by Israeli police who used the same level of force as they would when facing an enemy.