A well written article about Israeli budgets recently appeared on the Jewish Labour Movement’s website, courtesy of Judith Bara, who has kindly given us permission to reprint it here:
The first major budget presented by the Netanyahu coalition in July has, according to a press release by the Mossawa advocacy organisation in Haifa, shown extensive discrimination against Israel’s Arab citizens.
In its planned spending for 2009-10, the government seeks to cut local authority grants by about 25%. This means that councils representing Israeli Arab communities, often among the poorest in the country, will lose some 250 million shekels, leading at least thirty of them into severe financial crisis. These cuts are reflected across the major public services, including transport, planning and development, the latter having been cut from 130 million shekels in 2008 to 69 million for the next year. All of this compounds the adverse situation in which many of these localities already find themselves.
Let us remember that these cuts are not directed at Palestinians in the occupied territories but undermine further the economic and social base of Israel’s Arab citizens, and possibly their support, however grudging, for the peace process. This is not a situation where West Bank settlers are infringing the rights of communities who happen to have the misfortune to reside in areas where further settlements are planned. It is of direct consequence to citizens of the State of Israel who might reasonably expect some degree of support for their communities.
Furthermore, in terms of equal treatment of minority communities, the budget appears to differentiate among Arab towns and localities. It seems that more affluent municipalities which might be seen as useful tourist locations, such as Nazareth, have fared better! What would the Israeli government have to say if Jewish communities in other countries received less in terms of central government grants than their gentile neighbours – unless of course they could be seen as good contributors to international trade?
The original article can be found here
