The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Trade

General Budget: 3.3 billion NIS

Development Budget: 176.7 million NIS

Development Budget Intended

for Arab citizens: 30 million NIS (16.9%)

Number of Employees: 520

Number of Arab Employees: 4 → 0.76%

Issues

1. Allocation of State Land for Industry

♦ In 1998-1999, 1524 dunams (four dunams = 1 acre) were allocated for industry in

Israel. Of this land, 400 dunams (26.2%) was allocated to 130 Arab entrepreneurs.

♦ The land received by the Arab entrepreneurs represents 80% of all the state land

designated for industry in the Arab local municipalities in the northern part of the

country. In fact, almost all the potential state land for industrial development was

used within these communities.

A comparison in the Nazareth area indicates differences 9-11 times better for Jews in an area where more than half of the citizens are Arabs (62%). For example, the consolidated urban network in the area of Nazareth includes the communities: Migdal Ha-Emek, Nazareth, Nazareth Elite, Yafia, Reina, Kfar Kana, Ein Mahel, Iksal, and Ilut. In this region, the inequality towards Arab citizens is evident in how the municipal areas of jurisdiction for the various communities are determined, and in how plans intended for industry on State land are approved.

The following table represents the size of the communities and the size of their areas of municipal and industrial jurisdiction:

	Jews	Arab
Population (individuals)	72,000	126,200
Area of Municipal Jurisdiction (in dunams)	38,000	64,000
Industry (in dunams)	1980	203

The following diagrams illustrate the existing gap between Jews and Arabs in the same region. The first illustrates the size of industrial area per individual, while the second shows the size of the industrial area in proportion to the size of the municipal jurisdiction:

Land for Industry

Industrial Area in Square Meters per Person

Industrial out of the Total Area of Jerisdiction

Two of the major aspects for territorial distribution which directly influence the lives of the citizens are:

A. The municipal area of jurisdiction within which the community life occurs

B. The business-industrial area which represents part of the municipal area of jurisdiction, within which the commercial, industrial and business enterprises take place. In this area, the entrepreneurs, employees and the community benefit from the taxes and permits paid for by the various businesses.

2. Project Encouragement 99

In 1999, 21 communities participated in Project Encouragement, among them four Arab communities, while in 2000, only three communities took part. Coincidentally, the Project’s budget was halved.

This project allows focused investment for the promotion of communities in need. It is one of the only ways in which affirmative action can be implemented in Arab communities. In practice, in the 1999 budget and in the 2000 budget, the project was not used for affirmative action for Arab citizens.

Project Encouragement 99

3. Industrial Zones Along the “Trans-Israel” Highway

♦ In the event that Road #6 is paved as planned, 12 large industrial zones will be

established along the road, with an overall area of thousands of dunams. None of

these areas are in the jurisidiction of an Arab municipality nor are they intended for

the Arab population.

This matter falls under the responsibility of national planning, and should not be left to private entrepreneurs whose interests and judgment are narrow.

It is the State’s duty to design and implement a suitable plan which will bring about the equal distribution of advantages and benefits derived as a result of the paving of “Trans-Israel”. The municipalities along “Trans-Israel” must benefit equally from any future advantages presented by the highway.

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Trade deals primarily in those peripheral areas having national priorities. The Arab communities along “Trans-Israel” should be considered for all intents and purposes as peripheral areas. Even if located geographically closer to the country’s center, they still are peripheral socially, politically and in terms of unemployment. They are desperately in need of development and special encouragement. The paving of “Trans-Israel” presents an exceptional opportunity, perhaps the last, to take action and remedy the inequities and injustices inflicted upon the Arabs of this area in the past.