There have been a number of initiatives related to our work in the press lately including news about Israeli government announcements, legislation and economic development.
Recent Governmental Decisions:
A. Governmental Decision on Economic Development for the Arab Sector
The Authority for the Economic Development of the Minorities in the Prime Minister’s Office, together with the office of Minister of Minority Affairs, Prof. Avishay Braverman, has been working on a proposed governmental decision regarding massive investments in economic development in Arab localities in Israel. This proposal was approved by the government this past Sunday, March 21st, and was allocated a budget of about NIS 800 million ($215 million). The proposal lays out a three-year plan that focuses on upgrading transportation routes, developing job opportunities, preparing land for the construction of thousands of new housing units, enhancing communication networks and reduction of violence. The program will begin in 12 localities (Maghar, Nazareth, Sakhnin, Shfaram, Umm el-Fahm, Kalansawa, Tamra, Tira, Kafr Kasim, Rahat, Daliat al-Carmel and Usfiya) that were chosen according to population size, leadership stability and socio-economic condition.
B. Launch of NIS 180 million ($49 million) Investment Fund for the Arab Sector
This Investment Fund for the Arab Sector, which was decided upon during the tenure of Prime Minister Olmert, was finally launched last month and is the first-ever governmental initiative to enhance private investments in Arab businesses. It is funded half through the government and half through investments by a group of investors, which won the governmental tender. The investors group is lead by Pitango, Israel’s largest venture capital fund and headed by Chemi Peres.
Proposed Legislation:
Three new laws that are expected to affect the Arab minority and Jewish-Arab relations in Israel are currently under discussion in the Knesset:
A. “NGO Foreign Support Law”
This piece of suggested legislation is being promoted by MKs Zeev Elkin (Likud), Avraham Michaeli (Shas), David Rotem (Yisrael Beitenu) and Otniel Schneller (Kadima). The bill is said to aim at “increasing transparency regarding the funding of Israeli organizations by foreign governments,” and passed the first reading a couple of weeks ago. The explanation to the suggested bill states that it “aims to enhance the transparency and to close existing legislation gaps regarding funding of political activities in Israel by foreign governmental entities.” The suggested bill includes new mechanisms to oversee the activity of civil society bodies that receive funding from foreign governmental, foreign local authorities and other foreign statutory bodies (such as governmental corporations) supporting “political activity,” which is defined as “activity aimed at influencing public opinion in Israel, or an element in one of the Israeli authorities regarding whichever component in Israel’s internal policies or foreign policy.” Such bodies will have to undergo special registration and ensure that the sources of their funding are cited in every report, file or statement they issue or activity they conduct. This proposed legislation passed a preliminary reading about 10 days ago, with the support of all ministers present but Minister Herzog (Labor) and MK Kahlon (Likud). It was decided to postpone additional readings for 30 days until a compromise is reached. This suggested law will affect organizations that rely on funding from such bodies as USAID, the EU and European Governments, while other organizations that rely on private funding are not expected to be affected. It is therefore perceived among Israeli civil society organizations to be another attempt to limit and delegitimize their activities.
B. “Acceptance Committees Law”
This piece of suggested legislation aims to formalize existing practices in Jewish communal villages (e.g. villages in the Misgav Regional Council), by which self elected Acceptance Committees select possible candidates for that village and check the compatibility of the candidate or family with the nature of the village. In recent months, a number of these villages implemented changes in their internal constitutions so that possible candidates would have to declare their support of Zionism and Jewish values as a precondition to entering the community. This means that by definition these become villages for Jews only, reversing a decision made exactly ten years ago (this week) by the Israeli Supreme Court in the case of the Ka’adan family. The proposal passed a preliminary reading in December 2009 and was passed to the relevant Committee for further discussion. A grassroots group of Misgav residents have recently come together under the name “A Future for Misgav” and are working against the proposed legislation.
C. “Nakba Law”
On March 18th, the Knesset passed the first reading of the “Nakba Law” by a 15 to 8 vote. The bill amends the Basic Law on the budget and stipulates that a body or public institution that is budgeted or otherwise supported by the state will not fund (including through state and private funding) any activity that will:
undermine the existence of the State of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people
undermine the democratic nature of the State of Israel
support armed struggle or terrorism against the state
support racism or incitement
undermine the respect for the flag and national symbols
According to the suggested bill, the Finance Ministry will be permitted to cut funding and withhold transfers from the state treasury to any institution that does not comply with the above provisions. The bill must now pass two more votes in the Knesset before it becomes law.
Arabic Language on Governmental Websites
On February 21, International Mother Language Day, The Abraham Fund Initiatives (TAFI) sent a letter and report to Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding the lack of Arabic on governmental websites. TAFI also presented these findings in a special discussion of the Knesset’s Education Committee on February 23rd, 2010. According to TAFI, the study “indicates that over one million of Israel’s Arab citizens are unable to access basic government services online in Arabic, which is one of the country’s official languages. According to the findings of this study, “nine government websites do not contain a single word in Arabic” including the Ministry of Interior which is responsible for numerous direct services to Arab citizens and municipalities. This also true for the recently re-launched website of the President. According to the report, the website of an additional nine ministries contain “extremely limited information in Arabic” including the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Development of the Negev and Galilee and Ministry of Trade and Industry. The following ministerial websites “offer accessible, up-to-date information in Arabic”: Ministry of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Justice, Ministry for Pensioners’ Affairs, Ministry of the Environment, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Following this discussion, the Prime Minister’s Office hired an Arab employee specifically for the purpose of upgrading Arab language content on governmental websites.
