Supreme Court Grants the State an Additional Year to Implement its Decision Concerning "National Priority Areas" in the Field of Education

On 17 June 2007, the Supreme Court of Israel held a hearing on a motion filed by the state to extend the deadline for its implementation of the court's landmark ruling that the division of the country into "National Priority Areas" (NPAs) in the field of education should be cancelled (Decision No. 2288). The ruling was delivered on a petition filed by Adalah on behalf of the High Follow-up Committee for Arab Citizens in Israel and the Follow-up Committee on Arab Education, and in Adalah's own name, seeking the annulment of a governmental decision as it lacked clear and consistent criteria in the awarding of these very lucrative benefits and discriminated against Palestinian citizens of Israel by excluding the vast majority of Arab residential communities. According to the court's ruling, handed down by a panel of seven justices on 27 February 2006, the government's decision would be cancelled within twelve months, or 27 February 2007, because it discriminates against Arab citizens of Israel on the basis of nationality.

Areas classified by the government as NPAs enjoy significant benefits in the field of education, provided both to teaching staff and to students. Today, the list of NPAs contains 550 towns and villages, all of which are Jewish except for four small Arab villages. This is so despite the fact that the socio-economic situation in the large majority of Arab towns lags far behind that of Jewish towns, and that Arab communities are conspicuously disadvantaged in the field of education.

At the hearing, the state asked to extend the deadline for implementing the court's ruling for period of between four and five years. The Ministry of Education (MOE) presented its plan for changing the criteria for awarding educational benefits that is not in accordance with the division of the country into NPAs. The new plan relies on the gradual adoption of the new criteria, on the basis of socio-economic status. The director of the MOE claimed that one of the reasons for the motion to delay was the circumstances of the previous year, including the need to improve the situation of towns and villages in the north and the south (bordering Gaza) of Israel.

Attorney Hassan Jabareen, the General Director of Adalah, on behalf of the petitioners argued that the state's motion violates the principle of the rule of law, and would result in the perpetuation of discrimination against Arab towns and villages. In effect, he argued, the state was trying to ignore the court's precedent-setting judgment, and thus, the authority of the court. The state's filing of the motion to delay the implement of the court's ruling just one month prior to the end of the allotted period reveals a lack of integrity. He noted that during the course of an entire year the state had many options it could have pursued for advancing the implementation of the ruling, but did not take steps in this regard.. Adalah also emphasized that the MOE is trying to apply pressure on the court by sending dismissal notices to teachers and blaming the court's ruling in this case in order to obtain a delay.

In the decision issued following the hearing, the court stated that bridging the gaps between Arabs and Jews in the field of education and ending discrimination against Arab citizens cannot be achieved at the expense of Jewish towns, but that the state had failed to take the necessary practical steps over the previous year, as it should have in accordance with the decision, to reduce the existing gaps between Arab and Jewish citizens. The court stressed that the state must draft a work plan in the near future that does not cause damage to those towns and villages that currently receive educational benefits, and that also takes into consideration the imperative of equality in affording benefits to Arab towns.

The Supreme Court decided to grant the state an extension of an additional year in which the implement its ruling, and that the dismissal notices sent to teachers should be withdrawn. The court also ruled that the state must submit an updated plan for implementing the decision by 1 December 2007.

H.C. 2773/98 and H.C. 11163/03, The High Follow-up Committee for the Arab Citizens in Israel, et. al. v. the Prime Minister of Israel (petition accepted)

 The Decision of the Supreme Court (delivered 27 February 2006) (Hebrew)

Adalah's News Update, �In Landmark Decision, Supreme Court Cancels Long Standing Governmental Socio-Economic Plan as it Discriminates against Arab Citizens of Israel,� 12 March 2006