Adalah to the Attorney General: State Cannot Fund Racist Demography Council
On 5 September 2002, Adalah sent a letter to Attorney General Elyakim Rubenstein demanding that the recently reconvened Demography Council be denied government funding or support, and that a total separation between the Council and governmental authorities be mandated.
According to media reports, last week, the Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, Shlomo Benizri, reconvened the Demography Council, after five years of inactivity. This step was taken after official Central Bureau of Statistics data revealed that the Jewish population in Israel slipped from 77.8% at the end of 2000 to 77.2% at the end of 2001. The Council aims to find solutions to this "demographic problem," such as encouraging Jewish women to have more children.
In the letter to the Attorney General, Adalah Staff Attorney Suhad Bishara wrote that reconvening the Council sends a clear message to all citizens of Israel that the growth of the Arab population is a threat to the state and to its people. Further, the Council's objectives are racist as such. It attempts to de-legitimize the Arab community in Israel, and de-humanize the value of Arab life. Most disturbingly, the Council's work is being supported by public funds and thus, undermines the principle of equality.
Five years ago, Adalah sent a similar letter to the former Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, Eli Yishai, and shortly thereafter, the Council ceased its activities.
