On Friday, October 28th, the Mossawa Center will be hosting our annual Conference on the Legal Status of Arab Citizens in Nazareth. This conference is a vital platform for discussions on the rights of and legal issues facing Arab citizens. It brings together politicians, legal experts, academics, journalists and civil society actors from the Arab and Jewish communities, as well as international diplomatic representatives.
This year’s conference will focus on four themes, highlighted in four separate panels:
1) “The Arab Community: Between Calls for Inclusion and Practices of Discrimination”
2) “Economic Development in the Shadow of New Planning and Housing Legislations”
3) “The Knesset and the Courts: Efficacy of the Parliamentary and Legal Systems”
4) “Strategies to Combat Racial Targeting of Arab Citizens”
The conference will advance a discussion of strategies for mobilizing the Arab community to address issues such as the Citizenship Law, new planning and building laws, amendments to the penal code, emergency “anti-terror” laws and the parliamentary Expulsion Law.
The first section of the conference, “The Arab Community: Between Calls for Inclusion and Practices of Discrimination,” will focus on the impacts of discriminatory legislation and statements against Arab citizens, in particular with regard to the Arab community’s interaction with state institutions and their participation in Israeli society more broadly. In July, Prime Minister Netanyahu issued a message to the Arab community, in English, calling for them to “take part in our society.” The state has also called for increased employment of Arab citizens in government offices and Ministries. At the same time, however, legislation such as the Citizenship Law and the Expulsion Law demonstrates a disregard for the rights of Arab citizens. Panel participants will include Arab politicians, civil society leaders, lawyers and prominent journalists.
The panel on the efficacy of the parliamentary and legal systems will focus on current efforts and future strategies to advocate for the rights of Arab citizens in the Knesset and Israeli courts. This panel will highlight the declining power of the Supreme Court as well as the influence of extremist elements on the legal system as whole and on law enforcement and the Police Internal Investigations Department in particular.
In anticipation of the drafting of the 2017 state budget in the Knesset in November, the third panel will address the relation between discriminatory housing and planning policies, and the limited possibilities for economic development in Arab communities. The panel will compare current government plans with the needs of the Arab community. Topics will include the growing housing crisis of the Arab community, the new government authority overseeing planning and construction in Arab localities, industrial zones in Arab localities, employment of Arab women, educational programs and welfare. A central point of debate for this panel will be the impact of and strategies to combat the new planning and building laws currently under review in the Knesset. Looking forward, the conversation will also look at advocacy strategies for an equitable 2017 state budget. Participants will include Arab mayors, officials from planning and building authorities, civil society actors, lawyers and academics.
The fourth panel will discuss discrimination against Arab citizens, racial profiling and strategies to combat these issues. Topics will include: police violence; “price tag” attacks; discrimination in employment and access to public institutions such as clubs and public transportation; the Citizenship Law; the recent Emergency “Anti-Terror” Law and police violence against the Arab community post-Or Commission, including the militarization of police forces. The panel will guide a solution-focused conversation, identifying potential paths forward for the Arab community and other victims of racism in Israel such as refuges.
Further information and panel participants will be released soon.
