Adalah Demands that Israeli Television Channel 8 Translate and Broadcast Channel's Programs into Arabic

On 11 October 2007, Adalah sent a letter to the General Director of Israeli television Channel 8, the Communications Minister and the head of the “The Satellite and Cable Broadcasting Committee”, demanding that Channel 8 translate and provide subtitles for its programs in Arabic. Channel 8 is an Israeli state media company, and its various programs, including comedy and documentary films, are broadcast and available throughout the country. Research conducted by Adalah revealed that these programs are not translated into Arabic, which prevents a large section of the population from watching and understanding them. However, the channel routinely provides subtitles in Russian, as well as subtitles in Hebrew and Russian for foreign-languages programs.

In the letter, Adalah argued that Arabic is an official language of the state, alongside Hebrew, and therefore Channel 8, as an Israeli state media company, must provide Arabic translations of its broadcasting content. Administrative law binds Channel 8 to the principle of equality, and thus it is obliged to translate its programs into Arabic for the benefit of Arab citizens of Israel, who are a homeland minority numbering over 1.1 million people or around 20% of the population of Israel. The letter was written by the General Director of Adalah, Attorney Hassan Jabareen, with the assistance of legal apprentice Mr. Ehab Asleh.