ISRAEL'S ARAB SECTOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 005265 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON PGOV SOCI PREL EFIN ELAB EIND IS ISRAELI SOCIETY SUBJECT: ISRAEL'S ARAB SECTOR REF: A. 04 TEL AVIV 0874 ¶B. 04 TEL AVIV 3085 ¶C. 03 TEL AVIV 7247 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Israel's Arab population significantly lags behind the Jewish population in income, level of education, level of health care, and employment rate. This message provides an overview of the vital economic statistics of the Israeli-Arab sector, which comprises approximately 20 percent of Israel's total population. Public and private reports highlight the disparity between the Arab and Jewish sectors. For example, one 2003 report states that the average salary for an Israeli-Arab employee was 30 percent lower than that of a Jewish employee. A 2004 report indicates that of all families living in poverty, 31.1 percent were Israeli Arabs and 68.7 percent were Israeli Jews. In addition, Israeli-Arab students who were accepted to university in academic year 2002-2003 accounted for 2,200 out of 23,000 students. END SUMMARY. -------------- Israeli-Arab Population -------------- ¶2. (U) According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), as of May 2005, Israeli Arabs including the Druze, Bedouin and Christian minorities, constitute approximately 20 percent of the Israeli population, numbering 1.35 million people. Israeli Arabs live mostly in mixed cities in the north (Galilee),with the Bedouin minority concentrated in the south (Negev). ¶3. (U) According to CBS reports, of the entire Israeli-Arab population, 1.1 million are Muslim, who predominantly live in the following areas: North - 422,700, Haifa - 154,400, Center - 122,600, Tel Aviv/Jaffa - 12,000, Jerusalem - 224,600, South - 136,200. CBS estimates that the Israeli-Arab population will increase to two million by 2025. CBS also reports that the Druze population, located in the north (Golan, Akko) and Haifa, numbers some 113,000 and accounts for 8.6 percent of the Israeli-Arab population. CBS estimates the Druze population will increase to 165,000 by 2025 (Ref A). ¶4. (U) The Bedouin population is more than 150,000, with most living in recognized and unrecognized villages scattered across the Negev. The socio-economic condition of the Bedouin is below that of the rest of the Israeli-Arab community. Unemployment, lack of infrastructure, and land disputes with the GOI place this group, whose population is increasing at a fast rate in a vulnerable position (Ref B). 
 -------------- Employment -------------- ¶5. (U) According to CBS, in 2003, 60.8 percent of Muslim men in the Israeli-Arab community were employed. Arab-Christian employment is at 65.6 percent, and 48.9 percent for Druze men. The 2004 Bank of Israel Report also touches on Israeli-Arab employment, estimating that the Israeli-Arab participation in the labor force has decreased, even as the Jewish employment rate has increased in recent years. Data from 1995 show that Israeli-Arab participation in the labor sector was 42.6 percent; by 2003 it decreased to 39.1 percent (Ref C). ¶6. (U) Note: An embassy contact from the Advancement Center for Social Justice and Equality, an Israeli NGO, said that income support for Israeli-Arab men comes from multiple sources. He said GOI support include allowances, guaranteed income and unemployment benefits for unemployed Israeli-Arab men. Post contact remarked that Israeli-Arab men are the largest group actively looking for work, but have a hard time finding jobs and are in a state of "despair." An Israeli-Arab contact indicated that there is an unofficial social support network within economically depressed Israeli-Arab communities, where one family extends a helping hand to another family, or mosques provide food to needy families. The Israeli-Arab contact said that some families also engage in small informal employment in agriculture and small business trade and do not report income to the GOI. Employee income from these family enterprises do not show up in CBS data. End Note ¶7. (U) CBS states that Israeli Arabs earn less than their Jewish counterparts; however, salaries have been steadily increasing for both groups. Sikkuy (Israeli NGO) reports in a recent research paper that the national average monthly salary in 2002 was NIS 7,570 (USD 1,682),with wages in the Arab sector at NIS 5,243 (USD 1,165),31 percent lower than the national average. ¶8. (U) National Insurance Institute 2004 data show that Israeli-Arab families represent 31.1 percent of families living in poverty in Israel. 49.9 percent of Israeli Arabs live in poverty compared to 15.9 percent of Israeli Jews. According to Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor (MOIT) statistics from 2005, the Bedouin community's employment rate stands at 36 percent, while that of Jewish communities located in the Negev stands at 61 percent. According to the report, this gap exists in large part because only 11 percent of Bedouin women are working. The MOIT attributed this lack of participation in the work force to cultural norms in the Bedouin community. -------------- Education -------------- ¶9. (U) In recent meetings, Israeli-Arab community leaders have asserted to econoff that Israeli-Arab students on average do not do well compared to their Jewish counterparts, especially in the Bedouin community. CBS reported that in 2003, 11.5 percent of the Israeli Arab sector entered university studies, compared to 21.5 percent in the Jewish community. ¶10. (U) A 2002-2003 report by the Mossawa Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens of Israel claims that 15.1 percent of Israeli Arabs applied for acceptance into a university course of instruction leading to a degree, compared to 81 percent of Jewish students. Only 9.8 percent of Israeli Arabs are accepted into a university. Out of the Arab student population only 9.5 percent received their bachelor's degree, 4.8 percent received their master's degree, and 3.2 percent received a Ph.D. As for participation in the major universities, Israeli-Arab students make up 27.4 percent of students at Haifa University, 11.8 percent at Tel Aviv University, and 9 percent at Hebrew University. -------------- Health -------------- ¶11. (U) According to the Ministry of Health, infant mortality in the Israeli-Arab sector is higher than for the Jewish community. The Ministry reports that there are nine deaths per 1,000 births in the Arab community, compared to one death per 1,000 births in the Jewish community. Among the Bedouin it is around 17 deaths per 1,000 births. ¶12. (U) In a recent article, the Ministry of Health's National Center for Disease Control claimed that the health gap between the Arab and Jewish community continues to widen. The article claims that ministry data from 2003 show that Arab men live 3.4 years, and Arab women four years, less on average than their Jewish counterparts. The article also acknowledges that although the gaps between the sectors have grown over the past decade, there was also a general increase in longevity; a drop in infant mortality; and a drop in cancer, heart disease, and strokes in the Arab sector. ********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. ********************************************* ******************** KURTZER