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First ad in Sikkuy's "equality platform" mini-media campaign published in Haaretz (English edition) on January 26, 2006
THE SIKKUY EQUALITY PLATFORM AS
PUBLISHED IN HA'ARETZ
"The main goal of the state's actions must be to achieve complete equality for the Arab citizens of Israel…it is in the interest of the state to act to erase the stain of discrimination against Arab citizens in all of its various forms and expressions." (From the Or Commission Report)
Attention Voters:
Equality between Jews and Arabs is a shared civic interest and all of the political parties should offer it to their voters.
The co-signers below, in cooperation with Sikkuy: The Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality, suggest that all of the political parties in Israel include the following clause in their election platforms.
Co-signers:
Dr. Khaled Abu-Asbah - educator and executive director, Massar Institute
Dr. Thabet Abu-Ras - geographer, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Dr. Muhamad Amara - linguist, Bar-Ilan University
Nabila Espanioli - psychologist and director of the Al-Tufula Center
Professor Itzhak Galnoor - former civil service commissioner
Professor Abed Gera - Volcani Center - Agricultural Research Organization
David Grossman - author
Shlomo Gur, Adv. - former director-general, Ministry of Justice
Dr. Rassem Hamaisy - geographer, urban planner
Alouph Hareven - head of the Human Dignity Initiative, Sikkuy
Yehudit Karp, Adv. - former deputy attorney general
Shawki Khatib - chairman, the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee
Yossi Kucik - former director-general, Prime Minister's Office
Dr. Alon Liel - former director-general, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Yaron London - journalist
Dr. Adel Manna - director, the Center for the Study of Israeli Arab Society, Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
Salman Natour - author and playwright, executive director, Emil Touma Institute
Ambassador (ret.) Benjamin Navon
Professor Gavriel Solomon - Israel Prize laureate for education
Aida Touma-Sliman - executive director, Women Against Violence
Professor Yossi Yahav - former head of the Central Bureau of Statistics
THE EQUALITY PLATFORM
The points below do not include everything that is necessary; they are only examples of immediate needs. Material and data for providing a wider perspective for policy making can be found in Sikkuy's reports, its policy paper on developing the Negev and Galilee, and a proposal to establish an Equality Authority. 1. Introduction - A government we join will take responsibility for ensuring full equality in the allocation of state resources between Arab and Jewish citizens in all fields and at every level. A government we join will establish an executive agency to work within the branches of government to implement this policy; the agency will include representatives from all government ministries. We will conduct an ongoing dialogue with representatives of the Arab public, civic society organizations and experts in various fields to help jointly draft plans for narrowing the gaps and to help monitor the implementation of these plans.
2. Infrastructure, land and housing - The physical infrastructure in Arab communities is dilapidated and sometimes even dangerous for human habitation. A government we join will provide special assistance to local authorities in rehabilitating the infrastructure in Arab communities - water, electricity, drainage and sewage systems, safe streets for children within the communities, and so on. A government we join will make sure that state lands are equally apportioned to Arab and Jewish citizens. We will provide additional resources to the Interior Ministry for expediting planning processes for the development of Arab communities, including the formal recognition of "unrecognized villages", their development and connection to infrastructure.
3. Local authorities - The local tax base in Jewish localities is: 70% industry and business, and 30% residential. In Arab localities, the ratio is: 20% business and 80% residential. The Arab local authorities have suffered neglect and discrimination for decades in comparison to the Jewish local authorities. A government we join will eliminate the disparity between the Jewish and Arab local authorities in the transfer of equalizing grants and development budgets, and will initiate improved financial recovery programs with special assistance. We will invest in establishing local commercial parks for light industry in Arab communities, with the aim of relocating workshops and factories from residential areas to properly designated and managed industrial zones.
4. Industrial and capital investment zones - In 2003, entrepreneurs in Arab communities received only 1.4% of the allocations awarded by the Investment Center of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. Thus, the State of Israel loses a great deal of the potential involvement of Arab citizens in the economy. A government we join will make the criteria for encouraging capital investment more flexible and adapt them so that Arab entrepreneurs can benefit from them and participate in the Israeli economy. Of the 27 regional industrial zones in Israel, not a single one is located within an Arab local authority. A government we join will immediately incorporate Arab local authorities into the directorates of the regional industrial zones that currently exist, so that they will receive an equal share of local tax revenues from these zones.
5. Fair representation- Only 5.5% of state employees are Arabs and few of them have influence in the policy making arenas. A government we join will expand the mandate for fair representation that is incumbent upon governmental authorities, state bodies, public institutions and local government. We will immediately appoint 70 Arab directors to the boards of government corporations, in accordance with existing government decisions. In addition, we will fund programs to advance the hiring of Arab professionals and officials, especially in jobs that pertain to policy making in the various government ministries. A government we join will enforce the laws for fair representation in the civil service.
6. Education and social welfare - According to data from the Education Ministry, there is a shortage of 1,795 classrooms in Arab schools. The budget for allocated classroom hours for an Arab pupil is only 85% of what a Jewish pupil receives. A government we join will eliminate the shortage of classrooms and equalize the allocated classroom hours within three years. Only 50 of 5,000 university lecturers (1%) are Arabs and the percentage of Arab students in universities is only 5%. A government we join will work to integrate Arabs in the institutions of higher learning so that they will be partners in the state's scientific and technological achievements. Through a series of incentives and affirmative action, Arabs will comprise 20% of all academic students within five years. A government we join will eliminate the gap in social welfare budgets for Arab authorities, which today receive only 49% of those allocated to Jewish local authorities.
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