Supreme Court Orders State to Explain Exclusion of Arab Towns from 'Ofeq' Funding for High Unemployment Areas
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Israel issued an order nisi requiring the state to explain, within 120 days, why not to include Arab towns in the government's 'Ofeq' program. This program aims to improve areas where residents suffer from high unemployment rates and other poor socio-economic conditions. Adalah Staff Attorney Gadeer Nicola and Einat Alben of the Tel Aviv University Law Clinic argued before the Court on behalf of the petitioners.
Yesterday's Court order came in response to a petition filed to the Supreme Court in July 2002 by Adalah and the Tel Aviv University Law Clinic, on behalf of the National Committee for Arab Mayors, and the local councils of Kufr Manda, Ein Mahel and Kessife. The petition named as respondents The Directors' Committee for Fighting Unemployment in Settlements with High Unemployment Rates, the government of Israel, and all Israeli government ministries. The petition was submitted by Adalah Staff Attorney Jamil Dakwar and Einat Alben of the Tel Aviv University Law Clinic.
Only one Arab town, Tel el-Sebe, was included among the 11 towns and cities chosen for the NIS 1.44 billion 'Ofeq' program. (Tel el-Sebe is a government-planned town located in the south, with a population of approximately 10,000 Palestinian Bedouin citizens of Israel). Nonetheless, Arab towns consistently rank lowest on socio-economic indices. For example, figures released in June 2002 by the Labor Office of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare indicated that the 25 towns with the highest unemployment rates in the country are all Arab.
The petitioners argued that the government's allocation of 'Ofeq' funds is arbitrary, inequitable, and not based on any clear criteria. Such an allocation violates the Israeli Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty (1992), and infringes on the collective rights of residents of poor Arab towns, including the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to work, and the right to education. The petition demanded that the government use clear, objective criteria, based on socio-economic needs and unemployment rates, to determine the beneficiaries of the program.
In its first response to the petition on 18 August 2002, the state argued that a NIS 4 billion multi-year program to assist Arab communities promised in 2000 was a sufficient substitute for 'Ofeq' funds. The petitioners countered that the NIS 4 billion plan has not been fully implemented, and presented evidence that there has been no increase in budget allocations to Arab communities as a result of this plan. The petitioners argued that, in any case, this plan should not be used as a basis to disqualify Arab towns from the 'Ofeq' program, which addresses specific socio-economic problems, such as unemployment, that afflict these communities. The petitioners further noted that Palestinian Bedouin towns and villages are not included in the NIS 4 billion plan.
