The Mossawa Center, Haifa. Monday 16th of June 2014. On Tuesday, June 17th 2014, the Mossawa Center will host a conference in the Knesset on the legal status of the Arab minority in Israel. The conference will discuss the discriminatory policies and legislation that have resulted in the exclusion of the Arab public from the political and influential sphere in Israel. The conference will be hosted in partnership between the Mossawa Center, MK Ahmad Tibi, MK Hanna Swaid, MK Basel Ghattas, MK Ibrahim Sarsour, and MK Esawi Frij. The conference will be attended by; politicians, foreign diplomats, and academics from all over the country.

The legal status conference, which was preceded by several round table discussions on corresponding subjects hosted by the Mossawa Center, will focus on the issue of the implications for the Arab Minority in Israel under the definition of a Jewish State.The issues will be discussed in two panels. The first panel is entitled,"The State's Jewish Definition and its Implications on the Arab Citizens in Israel." The Second panel is entitled,"The Definition of the State's Implications on the Socio-Economic Status of the Arab Population in Israel."

The 2013 Legal Status Conference led to further advocacy in the Knesset for increasing budget allocations to the Arab minority with some victories including a 1 million shekel increase in allocations from the Ministry of Culture. The 2014 Knesset Legal Status Conference will call for more action from community leaders and MKs to further increase state budget allocations to the Arab minority in order to diminish existing socio-economic gaps between the Jewish and Arab communities. It will also call for the Israeli government to end discriminatory legislation and ensure the protection of the national minority rights of the Arab minority.