Mayors of Arab municipalities from across the country spoke out in support of economic justice at a Knesset conference hosted by the Mossawa Center, in cooperation with MK Dr. Ahmad Tibi, on Tuesday, August 2nd. The conference, titled “The 2016 State Budget and Industrial Zoning in Arab Localities” focused on one of the chief causes of unemployment and poverty among Arab citizens in Israel: at present, only 3.5 percent of the country’s industrial zones are located in Arab localities.
Tax revenue from industrial zones is a major source of income for municipal governments. Arab local authorities see very little of this revenue, even in cases where industrial zones are jointly administered by both Arab and Jewish localities. Most income for Arab local authorities comes from residential municipal taxes, a much smaller source of revenue.
The conference was attended by Knesset Members Ayman Odeh, Abd Al Hakeem Haj Yahya, Manuel Trajtenberg, Eitan Broshi, Ofer Shelah, Yousef Jabareen, Basel Ghattas, Jamal Zahalka, Akram Hasoon, Isaac Herzog, Eli Elalouf, Osama Sa’adi and Moshe Gafni. Amir Reshef of the Finance Ministry and Yigal Tzafarti, Director of the Econmy and Industry Ministry’s Regional Development Authority, also attended.
Knesset Member Jamal Zahalka voiced his strong support for the development of industrial zones in Arab localities.
“We have Arab pharmacologists, lab workers, chemists. We aren’t missing anything in principle,” said MK Zahalka. “There are trained human resources, but there aren’t jobs. If you open a factory today in an Arab locality you will have the manpower to fill it.”
Many Knesset Members and mayors emphasized the importance of also planning social support systems, including child care centers and public transportation in Arab localities, in order to facilitate conditions for employment.
The Ministry of Economy has allocated NIS 55 million for various government projects in Arab towns and villages. However, these projects were supposed to be carried out by the end of 2015 and have yet to be completed.
The lack of tax revenue from industrial zones places Arab localities at a significant disadvantage in terms of fulfilling their responsibilities to their citizens. The average income per resident from municipal rates in the Jewish towns is NIS 359 compared with only NIS 45 in the Arab towns While this data appears in the newest five-year plan for the development of the Arab community (Resolution 922, passed in December 2015), it has yet to motivate the Ministry of the Economy to act to remedy this discrepancy and no funding has been allocated from the five-year plan.
Mudar Younis, mayor of Arara, voiced his disappointment in Res. 922 at the conference.
“As far as industrial zones are concerned, I can say that no progress has been made,” said Younis. “I think you could say that Resolution 922 has not achieved anything in this regard.”
Knesset Member Yousef Jabareen was wary of the prospects for much improvement under Res. 922.
“It’s not clear what’s happening with the five-year plan. I don’t think any mayor will tell you that this is the kind of funding that will bring serious change in the coming years,” said Jabareen.
Yigal Tsarfati of the Ministry of Finance reported that allocating land for additional industrial zones may be a lengthy process and developing the necessary master plans may take up to two years.
Imad Dahli, mayor of the Arab municipality of Tura’an, voiced his concern that the Ministries of Economy and Finance are moving too slowly.
“If there isn’t a serious change of heart regarding an immediate master plan, we cannot have change,” said Mayor Dahli. “We are inspired to drive for economic independence in the future but we cannot do that without a master plan.”
Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi emphasized the importance of translating government decisions into tangible improvements.
“We had this discussion two years ago, and nothing has changed since.”
As a result, the extent of poverty in the Arab community remains unjust. The most recent available statistics show that 60 percent of Arab children in Israel live below the poverty line. Establishing new industrial zones in Arab towns and villages and improving existing zones are both vital steps in the economic development of the Arab community.
