Department Activities
Expansion of Jurisdiction Boundaries in Arab Towns
Improving and accelerating economic, municipal, and urban development in Arab local authorities by expanding jurisdiction boundaries and/or creating distribution of revenues from shared employment zones.
Transportation in Arab towns
We work with Arab local authorities toward equality for Arab towns in transportation infrastructure and public transportation services
Fair representation in civil service employment
We promote a policy of fair representation for Arab men and women in the civil service
Equality in employment
We initiated an innovative policy to expand employment in Arab society via proactive changes in government acquisition procedures
Housing in Arab Towns
We prod government ministries and assist Arab local authorities to ameliorate the housing crisis in Arab towns
Day care centers in Arab towns
Removing barriers to enable to widen the supply of early childhood daycare centers now lacking in Arab towns
Equality in Public Transit and Education in the Negev
We work with the Regional Council of Unrecognized Villages for more access to educational and public transportation
Decision 922 Followup
Government Decision 922 will greatly remedy unequal budgeting for Arab towns, if fully rolled out
More on Equality Policy Department
In Israel there is profound social and economic inequality between Jews and Arabs in the most important areas, including housing, elementary and secondary education higher education, employment, and wages. The underlying premise of the Equality Policy Department is that the main reason for the disparities between Arab and Jewish citizens is discrimination in the allocation of state resources, notably budgets, land, planning and construction, and social services, alongside discrimination in the employment of Arabs in both the public and the private sectors. Even when the law mandates equality on paper (which is the situation in most cases), government policy allocates resources in a discriminatory manner, perpetuating severe inequality.
We work to effect fundamental and comprehensive changes to this policy, with the aim of reaching absolute equality in resource allocation between Jews and Arabs in Israel, so that in the foreseeable future Arab children will enjoy exactly the same opportunities enjoyed by Jewish children in Israel, and the Arab community in Israel will at long last have the place it deserves – socially and economically -within Israeli.
To attain this goal, we map the existing barriers in government ministries and Arab local authorities that play a role in the unequal allocation of state resources to Arab citizens. Using a unique model developed by Sikkuy, “From Barriers to Opportunities,” we formulate policy recommendations to address the barriers and we promote change through advocacy with government ministries to advance these recommendations. We also work with the professionals at Arab local authorities, providing professional support for their efforts to fully utilize the resources allocated for their towns by the government, and to develop master plans, infrastructure, and municipal services consonant with the needs of their residents.
The department is run in partnership by two co-directors, one Arab and one Jewish, and staffed by Jewish and Arab coordinators for research and advocacy and city planners. The Equality Policy Department is the vanguard of Sikkuy’s pursuit of government policy change, aiming to narrow the gaps between Arab and Jewish citizens as a step to eliminating these gaps and achieving full equality.
Main publications
Department staff
Raghad Jaraisy
Co-Executive Director
More infoNadav Dagan
Co-Director, Equality Policy Department
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Urban Planner, Equality Policy Department
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Coordinator, Equality Policy Planning
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Transportation Project Coordinator
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Coordinator, Negev Equality Project
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Coordinator, Project to Combat Violence and Crime, Equality Policy Department
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Housing Project Coordinator
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Economic Development Coordinator
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coordinator of promoting equality in the Negev, Equality Policy Department
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coordinating efforts involving geographic committees and urban renewal, Equality Policy Department
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Economic Development Coordinator
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coordinator of fair representation and equality policy planning, Equality Policy department
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