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.