Number of
Employees: 180
Number of Arab
Employees: 0 →
0%
Issues:
1.
Framework
for Public Discourse
The media is the arena in which complex discourse in Israel takes place.
Ostensibly this arena is open to anyone with expressive abilities, but
after half a century of decline due to their civic “culture of silence”, the
Arab citizens of Israel have been virtually excluded from Israeli public
discourse. The Ministry of
Communications does not dictate the context of Israeli public discourse, but
has the power to create a framework within which it can occur. The absence of Arab citizens from the
ranks of ministry employees eventually excludes their presence from the
discourse framework. It would
appear that some of the reasons for this are related to the fact that programs
are planned and operated exclusively by Jewish employees.
2.
The Third Channel
The question of the quality of Arab citizens’ integration in Israel
surfaces more predominantly with the establishment of the Third Channel. In drafting the law, the Ministry
of Communications avoided defining the elements of original, Israel-based
productions. Thus the legislators
avoided committing themselves to proper representation of Arabs, as well as to
strengthening the socio-political fabric of Israel. As a result, the option of Arab participation in the
socio-political fabric within the Third Channel is impaired. Establishing the Channel in the Arabic
language will apparently create the platform necessary as a focal point for the
Arab populace, but it will exist divorced from the ongoing socio-political
happenings in Israel. It would be
advisable to amend the law and to secure the place of the Arab voice in public
Israeli discourse, in addition to providing a unique platform in the Channel in
the Arabic language.