On 19 December 2001, Attorney Hassan Jabareen, General Director of Adalah, filed a petition to the Supreme Court of Israel against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and several other government ministers demanding equal representation for Arab women on the boards of directors of governmental companies, in accordance with amendment six to the Governmental Companies Law (1975). The amendment, passed by the Knesset in 1993, legislates equal representation for all women in Israel on the boards of directors of government-owned companies. In 1994, as a result of a petition filed by the Israel Women’s Network (IWN) seeking the enforcement of amendment six, the Supreme Court ruled that women must be afforded appropriate representation on government corporate boards.

In the petition, Adalah argued, “Since the amendment of the Governmental Companies Law and the first IWN Case (1994)…the percentage of women in those positions increased from 7% to 37%, but this policy was not applied towards Arab women in Israel.” An April 2001 report by the Governmental Companies Authority revealed that the only five Arab women - or less than 1% of all sitting board members at that time - held positions on the board of directors of governmental companies.

Since the release of that report, the number of Arab women board members has increased from five to seven.

On 11 June 2000, the Knesset passed amendment 11 to the Governmental Companies Law (1975). Article 18(a)(1) of this amendment stipulates, “In the board of directors of governmental companies, adequate representation will be given to the Arab population.”  Mr. Jabareen argued, “The amendment of the Governmental Companies Law and the ruling on the IWN case of 1994 related to the rights of all women in the state of Israel without discrimination according to their national identity. However, the application of the law discriminated against Arab women based on their national identity.” In the petition, he noted that as of November 2001, Arabs in total held only 25 (7 women and 18 men) out of 584 positions (about 4%) on the boards of directors of governmental companies.

Adalah argued that despite the new legislation, Arabs have not made any significant gains in representation on the board of directors of governmental companies. Within two years of the passage of amendment six, in 1995, the percentage of women on the boards of directors of governmental companies increased from 7% to 19%; by 1997, the percentage of women increased to 26%, and today they comprise 37%. In contrast, since the passage of amendment 11 in 2000, the percentage of Arabs (men and women) represented in these positions rose only from 2% to 4%.

The lack of representation comes in spite of the fact that a great number of Arab men and women meet the criteria for appointment to these positions. In 1995, the Population Authority released data on 28,165 Arab university graduates in Israel. The data shows as follows:

Since the release of these statistics, the number of Arab university graduates, and Arab women graduates in particular, has risen. Given the availability of qualified Arab applicants, Adalah demanded that the Supreme Court order the respondents to fully implement affirmative action policies as required by amendments 6 and 11, to ensure the adequate representation of Arab men and women in Israel.

On 20 December 2001, the Supreme Court issued an order nisi in the case. Finding that the petitioner set forth a legal basis for the claim, this order requires the respondents to submit a reply to the petition within 60 days.