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Arab parties
slam affirmative action"
Balad Party Chairman, Azmi Bishara attacked the government's decision
Sunday to implement affirmative action guidelines for government hiring, saying
the plan "borders on racism." "There is a law in the Knesset under my name that stipulates the
government's obligation to appoint Arabs and to assure proper representation of
Arab citizens in the public services sphere. This is an existing law that the
government must implement, and the government's decision today calls for much
less than the law already calls for, said Bishara. The cabinet's move was designed to improve the position of Arabs and
other minority groups in Israel. MK Ahmad Tibi from the UAL-Ta'al joint list, responded to the
governments decision, saying, "This is a mockery ahead of the elections,
that won't close the huge gap between the Arab and Jewish sectors. "We need to make a fundamental change in the government's policy
towards Arab citizens, and not merely make cosmetic decisions," said Tibi.
The ministers decided to reserve 37.5 government positions per year for
the next three years for Arab, Druse, and Circassian applicants, and said that
it would do its best to hire "only qualified candidates." In addition, any government office that hires an Arab to fill a vacant
position would receive funds to hire an additional minority employee. Kadima MK Ze'ev Boim called the decision a chance to "right wrongs
that have been committed." The cabinet also determined that 10 percent of legal internships in the
state prosecutor's office would be reserved for Arab, Ethiopian, and disabled
law school graduates. Avraham Nagosa, head of the One Future Party, which is the new Ethiopian
party running for Knesset, harshly criticized the government's decision. According to Nagosa, the Ethiopian community has been in Israel for over
30 years and only now the state was remembering discrimination - just ahead of
elections. "It is very grave that the state chose to include the members of
the Ethiopian community together with the Arab sector and other minorities, and
didn't internalize that Ethiopians are Jews and Israelis with equal
rights," said Nagosa. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the Muslim population in
Israel stands at 1.142 million, or 16 percent of the overall population. Arabs, including Druse, make up 20% of the population. However, even as
their numbers rise, their representation in government positions does not
reflect it - despite government resolutions for affirmative action. In May 2000, the Knesset passed a law promising fair representation of
the Arab population on the boards of directors of government companies. But by
2003, that law was far from being implemented. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, as head of the Ministerial Committee on
Arab Affairs, tried to push it further that year by passing a 2003 cabinet
decision which stated that by August 2004 there must be at least one Arab
member on each of the 105 boards of directors. He added that until a
corporation had at least one Arab it could not appoint a Jew. At the time of that decision there were 38 Arabs holding such seats. But
by November 2005, only 50 of the 551 directorate seats were filled by Arabs. 'The government is not implementing the laws of the Knesset, nor is it
implementing the decisions it made itself,' said Ali Haider, co-executive
director of Sikkuy, an organization working for equality between Israel's
Jewish and Arab citizens. 'This indicates a real lack of desire to change the reality of
discrimination in regard to Arab citizens,' said Haider. Also in 2000, the Knesset passed a law that required fair representation
of Arab citizens of Israel in the civil service. That, too, was not implemented.
According to a report published in 2005 by the Civil Service Commission, 3,154
- or 5.5% - of all government employees (some 56,000 workers) are Arabs. 'There are thousands of talented Arabs with many university degrees who
are interested in joining the civil service,' said Haider. This article can
also be read at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395586465&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |
