Haifa 10/6/2015. The Minister of Culture, Miri Regev, has ordered the postponement of the submission of the mapping of Arab culture needs to the Supreme Court, despite the court's orders to present it by June 2014. The Supreme Court ordered the Ministry of Culture to conduct a mapping of the Arab culture needs, after the Mossawa Center and the National Committee of the Heads of Arab Localities petitioned the court. The petition claimed that only 3% of the culture budget (which is estimated at 660 million NIS) is allocated to Arab cultural institutions. In the verdict given on December 23rd, 2013 the three judges wrote that a mapping of the Arab culture needs, conducted by the Ministry of Culture, will be submitted to the Court within six months, and the petitioners will have 30 days to comment on it, from the day they receive it. Since the court's ruling the state attorney's office has asked for several extensions on the submission of the report on the grounds that the mapping was not complete.

The Mossawa Center received the final version of the mapping carried out by the Ministry of Culture in April 2015. The survey shows large gaps in services and support given to Arab cultural organizations. The survey was presented to the Director General of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry filed to the Supreme Court that the review was completed. Mossawa lawyers, Sameh Iraqi, Jawad Kassem and Ami Hollander have asked the High Court to call for a hearing and give final judgment that would require the ministry to fund Arab culture on an equal basis. It should be noted that the Ministry will receive an additional NIS 120 million for its budget in 2015.

This effort by Minister of culture Miri Regev to further postpone allocation of the much-needed funds for cultural activities in the Arab community is part of systematic discrimination against Arab citizens' right to cultural expression by the Israeli government. Other actions include; the revocation of funds for the film "Villa Touma" directed by Suha Arraf, Minister Regev's threats to stop funding the Arab children's theater in Jaffa after the actor Norman Issa refused to take part in a show located in a settlement, and the decision of the Haifa municipality and the Minister of education, Naftali Bennett to stop funding of the Al Midan Theatre.

The Mossawa Center calls on the international community to act immediately to stop these unjust practices of the Israeli Ministries of Education and Culture and to protect the freedom of expression, culture and creativity of the Arab Minority in Israel.