The Legal Status of The ArabPalestinian Community in Israel

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The Legal Status of The Arab-Palestinian
Community in Israel

• Dr. Yousef T. Jabareen
• Director of the Arab Center for Law and Policy
• Law Lecturer, Haifa University-Law School

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Introduction

• The Arab-Palestinian Community in Israel
• Native community The remaining part of the
  native Palestinian community after the 1948 War.
  Distinct national, ethnic, religious, cultural
  and linguistic minority.
• Numbers today over one million, comprising close
  to 18 of the countrys population residing in
  three main areas Galilee, Triangle, Negev.
• Doubled 6 times since 1948, but its percentage
  has not changed.
• 90 of the community live in entirely Arab towns
  and villages the rest in six mixed Arab-Jewish
  cities (Haifa, Acre, Lod, Ramleh, Tel Aviv-Jaffa,
  Natzerat Illit).

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Introduction (continued)

• Young community 50 under the age of 18.
• Poor and vulnerable community, with the lowest
  socio-economic status in the country.
• For examples
• Number of families under the poverty line is 3.2
  times that of Jewish families.
• Average earnings are 2/3 of that among Jews.
• Unemployment rate is 4 times that of the Jewish
  population.

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The Arab-Palestinian Community

• 25 are displaced persons - internal refugees -
  in the country from 1948 (Present-Absentees).
• 10 live in unrecognized villages, mainly in
  the Negev in the south, denied basic services
  such as electricity, water, infrastructure,
  phone.
• 1948 1966 The entire community was under
  Military Rule, coupled with de-landing process
  (half of its privately owned land was
  confiscated).
• Bloody Events
• 1956 - Kufur Kassem Massacre (49 killed)
• 1976 - Land Day Protests (6 killed)
• 2000 - October Protests (13 killed)

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Lack of Formal Legal Protection

• No formal constitution in Israel.
• Absence of the overriding democratic
  constitutional principle of equality.
• No comprehensive civil rights statutes
  (employment, housing, education).
• No recognized national minority status.

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Disadvantaged and Excluded Community Forms of
Exclusion

• Four Forms of Exclusion
• Formal Exclusion by Law (de jure)
• Discriminatory Effects of Facially Neutral Laws
  (and policies)
• Material Discrimination Socio-Economic
• Societal Discrimination Hate Speech Racism

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1. Formal Exclusion Laws with Facial
Ethnic-Classification

• Symbolic Exclusion The States symbols the
  Flag, Emblem, Anthem Law (exclusively for
  Jews).
• Immigration and Citizenship The Law of Return,
  The Entry into Israel Law, The Citizenship Law.
• 3. Land and Housing The Special Official Status
  of the International Zionist Union the Jewish
  Agency. The Law of the Jewish National Fund.

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Formal Exclusion (continued)

• 4. Education and Cultural The State Education
  Law, The Broadcasting Authority Law, the Hebrew
  Higher Institution Law.
• 5. Religion Jewish Religious Services Law,
  Protection of Holy Places Law, Central Rabbinate
  Law.
• 6. Political Participation Basic Law The
  Knesset (Article 7A of 1985 Jewish and
  Democratic), Political Parties Law.

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2. Laws with Adverse Effects on Arab Minority

• Examples
• Facially neutral criteria with clear adverse
  effects National Priority Areas, Development
  Towns, Army Services, Religious Students,
  Pilot Projects.
• The Absentees Property Law.
• The Land Law (Confiscation).
• National Planning Building Law.
• Compensation for Victims of Hostile Activity.

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3. Material Discrimination via Institutional
Decision Making

• Political (Under-)Representation
• Lack of political power permanent opposition.
  Representation in civic services and
  decision-making public bodies only 5.
• Allocation of Public Resources
• Disproportionate allocation of public budgets to
  Arab localities only 3-5.
• Allocation of Land
• Discrimination in allocation of Land only 3.5
  remained in Arab-Palestinian ownership in Israel.
  
• Arab citizens are effectively blocked from
  acquiring or leasing land in some 80 of Israels
  land mass.

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Development Budget Allocations to the Arab
Population by Government Ministries
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Socio-Economic Discrimination Some Statistics

• Arab Community
• 91000 Infant mortality rate
• (18.71000 amongst the Arab-Bedouins)
• Dropout rate by age 17 31.7
• 39 of the community in the labor market
• 50 of Arab families are under the poverty line.

• Jewish Community
• 41000 amongst Jews
• Dropout rate by age 17 10.4
• 57 of the community in the labor market
• 15 of Jewish families are under the poverty
  line

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4. Societal DiscriminationHate Speech, Racism

• Civil Rights Ethnic-based discrimination in
  housing, employment, and public accommodation.
• State-Sanctioned Violence 13 Arab citizens were
  killed by Israeli security forces in October 2000
  no consequences so far. Since then, 20 more
  Arab citizens have been killed by Israeli
  security forces in questionable circumstances.
• Racism Majority of Jews in Israel claim they are
  against full equality for Arabs two-thirds think
  Arabs should be encouraged to emigrate. Recent
  Report of Haifa University 75 of Jewish pupils
  think that Arabs are ignorant, uncivilized and
  dirty.
• Hate Speech Public statements by officials
  include Arabs in Israel are demographic
  threat, Palestinians must have a genetic
  defect, Arab citizens are a cancer to the
  state.

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End of Discrimination Guaranteeing Full
Individual and Group Rights for the Arab
Minority

• Equal Allocation of All Public Resources in
  Israel, Based on Group Arrangements, Democratic
  Full Participation and Power-Sharing

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Demands by Arab Political Leadership in Israel

• A. Public Domain (Distributive Justice)
• 1. Political Resources Fair and Effective
  Participation
• 2. Symbolic Resources Shared State Symbols
• 3. Materials Resources Public Budgets and Land
• 4. Cultural Resources Language and Culture
• 5. Resources of Immigration and Citizenship
• B. Internal Domain (Group-Based Autonomy)
• Group-Based Self-Steering in Distinct Areas
  Education, Religion, Culture, Media
• C. Historical Domain (Corrective Justice)
• 6. Historical Rights Reparation, Reconciliation

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Full Equal Citizenship A Ten Points Future
Vision

• 1. Recognizing and protecting the Arab minority
  as a national minority and native community in
  the country, with a distinct collective identity
  (ethnic, linguistic, religious, and cultural).
• 2. Guaranteeing full equality of rights on a
  civil and national basis.
• 3. Guaranteeing equal status for Arabic in all
  areas of the public sector, along with Hebrew.

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Collective Rights

• 4. Granting the right to self-steering of Arabic
  educational, culture and religious institutions,
  similar to the current status of the Orthodox
  Jewish education system.
• 5. Guaranteeing full democratic participation and
  effective representation in governmental,
  administration and decision-making bodies.
• 6. Guaranteeing special allocation of material
  public resources to address socio-economic gaps.

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Collective Rights

• 7. Granting appropriate expression of the Arab
  community in the States system of symbols.
• 8. Guaranteeing equality and fairness in
  immigration and citizenship for all citizens.
• 9. Recognizing historic rights of the Arab
  minority to its homeland internal refugees,
  unrecognized communities, land ownership.
• 10. Recognizing and protecting the Arab
  minoritys special relationship to other
  Palestinians and other Arabs in the region.

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Thank You

• Thank You !
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