| March 27, 2005 |
SIKKUY'S
WORK FOR FAIR REPRESENTATION IN THE CIVIL SERVICE SETS THE STAGE FOR
APPOINTMENT OF FIRST ARAB CITIZEN AS DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF GOVERNMENT
INTERIOR MINISTRY
March
16, 2005
If
not as tax commissioner...
By
Uzi Benziman Until now, the Arab sector in Israel would brandish the
name of Oscar Abu Razek as living proof of discrimination: The man was
never appointed to the post of income tax commissioner despite having the
requisite skills, and had to make do with the position of deputy
commissioner. The reason was not a secret: He is an Arab. Now comes
Interior Minister Ophir Pines-Paz and proves that he who did not want Abu
Razek as income tax commissioner will receive him as director general of
the Interior Ministry.
Oscar Abu Razek is the most senior civil
servant within the Arab sector. He has been in the civil service for
nearly 30 years, and has reached the height of deputy commissioner of
income tax. Yet in spite of his substantial expertise in tax law and
abundant experience, he was denied the job of commissioner.
Nor was
his path to the position of deputy commissioner strewn with roses, and at
one station along the way he appealed to the labor court when he felt
discriminated against. In the Arab sector, he is held up as a sort of
symbol of discrimination: the man who climbed the ladder of government
administration but did not reach the top because he is
Arab.
Nevertheless, Abu Razek is an exception. He has achieved
senior standing in his field of expertise. No other Israeli Arab has
accomplished what Abu Razek has. Attorney Ali Haider of the
non-profit association Sikkuy said yesterday that only 5 percent of all
civil servants are Arabs. The following instructive statistic appears in a
report drafted by Haider last year: 93 percent of all Arab civil servants
are employed in six government ministries, meaning that there is
negligible representation of Arabs in most
ministries.
Conversely, the level of education of the
employees is high: 35 percent are university graduates, and 65 percent
have post-secondary education, without an academic degree.
This
situation persists despite two government decisions, dating to August 19,
2003, and February 4, 2004, which ostensibly introduced affirmative action
insofar as representation of the Arab sector in the civil service. One
might have expected that the state would make an effort to increase the
number of Arab employees in its service, certainly at the higher echelons,
but the number of Arabs hired in 2003 was only 193, out of a total of
4,531 new workers, which works out to 4.2 percent.
In other words,
the celebratory decisions - based on the Civil Service Law, which calls
for the granting of appropriate representation to all demographic groups
in general and the Arab sector specifically - are unable to overcome the
hurdle of prejudice of the Jewish public and its establishment toward Arab
citizens of Israel. This is an entrenched emotional attitude - sustained
by many years of suspicion and labeling - which is not prepared to put its
trust in any Arab or to assign him authority or responsibility.
At
most, the Jewish public is for the most part willing to tolerate the Arab
as service-provider to the Arab sector. In certain areas of life, this
stereotype is being increasingly eroded. For example, there are very
popular Arab physicians in hospitals. But in government administration in
general, this is the prevalent attitude.
The civil service is the
field of opportunity of the Arab public. Were it indeed open to the Arabs,
it would offer them an arena for a transformation of its status and a
point of encounter with a Jewish client audience. As Israeli Arabs assume
more senior positions in the government administration, the Jewish public
would become better acquainted with an unfamiliar aspect of their persona,
and grow accustomed to receiving services from
them.
Simultaneously, such a process would upgrade representation
of Arab citizens at the policymaking level. The decision by Minister
Pines-Paz then, is a first step in the right direction, as it assigns to
an Arab citizen a high-ranking position that serves the entire populace.
Individuals familiar with Abu Razek, including high-ranking Jewish
politicians, said yesterday that he is a professional of the first rank, a
fair-minded person with the appropriate skills to handle the senior
position that has been offered to him. One must hope that the appointment
procedure will go smoothly, thereby setting an important
precedent.
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Dear Sikkuy
Friends, Sikkuy's Co-Executive Directors, Shuli Dichter and Ali
Haider, are on their way to the U.S. in April for a very busy schedule of
community speaking engagements and meetings.
Our goal is to
mainstream the importance of civic equality in Israel within the North
American Jewish community and to secure additional support for our
work.
Here's
where we'll be and when:
April
7 - San Antonio, TX
April 8-12 - New York City
April 13 -
Baltimore
April
14-16 - Los Angeles including The Milken H.S. and Temple Beth Am
April 16-17 - San Francisco
April
17 - Napa - Congregation Beth Sholom
April
18 - Sacramento
April 19 - Portland, Oregon We'll be happy to hear
from you if you would like to attend any of our presentations ( carl@sikkuy.org.il) or meet with
us. Also, please take a moment to read the adjacent article in
which Sikkuy's co-executive director, Attorney Ali Haider, is interviewed
about Sikkuy's work advancing fair representation of Israel's Arab
citizens in the civil service. Finally, we'll be sending out hard
copies of The Sikkuy Report 2003-2004 in the coming days and it will also
be posted on our website ( http://www.sikkuy.org.il/). Regards, Carl
PerkalDirector of Resource Development Sikkuy
Sikkuy's
Co-Executive Director, Attorney Ali Haider (standing), spoke in Israel
recently to a group of Jewish federation executive directors from the USA
(top) and a mission visit from San Francisco (bottom). 
|
| http://www.sikkuy.org.il/ |
Sikkuy
- for Civic Equality in Israel
Tel: 972-2-654-1225 Fax: 972-2-654-1108
E-Mail: jerusalem@sikkuy.org.il | |
