National Priority Areas - The Economic Efficiency Law - Legislative Amendments for Implementing the Economic Plan for 2009-2010

This law extends government permission to use sweeping discretion to classify towns, villages and areas as “National Priority Areas” (NPAs) and to allocate enormous state resources without criteria.

The law contradicts a landmark Israeli Supreme Court decision from 2006 in which the court ruled a government decision from 1998 which classified 553 Jewish towns and only 4 small Arab villages as NPAs with “A” status in the field of education unconstitutional.

In June 2010, after four years of non-compliance by the state and additional litigation, Adalah filed a motion for contempt of court to the Supreme Court against the Prime Minister due to the government’s failure to implement the court’s decision and the resulting perpetuation of discrimination against Arab citizens of Israel. In February 2011, the Supreme Court dismissed the motion for contempt after the Attorney General’s office announced that the government was no longer using the prohibited classifications.