Politics of the Contemporary Middle East - Essay Example

During the early years in the formation of the republic of Israel, several lands were annexed by Israel and most Arabs were shunned by the Israeli administration. Political discrimination of Arabs in Israel is evident by the policies maintained by the Zionist Israeli government because representation of Arabs in the Knesset is small compared to its population. Moreover, the number of Arabs in Israel’s public service constitutes around 6% and notable Arab public servants are nominated from the Druze Arab grouping.

On the political front, Israel is fond of banning political parties’ affiliated to Arabs and even in 2006 a MP in the Knesset was questioned for visiting Lebanon (Tucker, 2008). The call by Arab MPs in the Knesset for the recognition of Israel as a nation for all citizens has on many occasions been ignored. Although, Israel’s constitution recognizes all citizens have equal rights, Arabs have been exempted from the compulsory service in the Israel Defence Forces (Rydelnik, 2007). The issue of land which is a major economic factor in production is in the hands of the Jews in Israel.

This is because 93% of land in Israel is owned by the ILA (Israel Land Administration) while other lands are owned by the Jewish National Fund which was formed to purchase lands for the Jewish population. There are several economic barriers that Israeli Arabs face in their pursuit of economic prosperity such as lack of financing or equal employment opportunities (Ganim, 2001). These barriers have made it difficult for Arab Israelis to empower themselves financially in Israel. Moreover, Arab Israelis cannot serve in the military and therefore they cannot secure scholarships and housing loans which could allow them to progress economically.

As a result, around 53% of impoverished homes belong to the Arabs and the lowest workforce numbers in Israel (Gilbert, 2005). A recent statistic showed that unemployment levels were high in Arab towns in Israel compared to Jewish ones. Moreover, the average minimum wage among Arab Israelis was around 29% lower than their Jewish counterparts. Gender parity in employment among the Arab Israelis is low and Arab Israeli women have the lowest numbers under employment. Socially speaking, Israeli Arabs have poor access to healthcare facilities and in the budgeting process they usually get a raw deal in terms of healthcare plans (Thomas, 2009).

For instance, in the 2002 budget Israel budgeted around 0.6% of its total income towards assisting Arab Israelis. The government move and policy only assisted further discrimination of the marginalized Arab Israelis. Education in Israel is funded by the government and in most instances the Arab Israelis learn in deplorable conditions compared to their Jewish counterparts. For instance, a human rights body in 2001 commented that these schools are world apart and that striking difference existed in terms of educational systems.

The Israeli government expenditure on educating Israeli Arabs was $ 192 compared to $ 1,100 spent on educating their Jewish counterparts (Parsi, 2007). The language used in teaching at Israeli Arab schools is Arabic while learning Hebrew is mandatory. While, in Jewish schools learning Arabic is a basic knowledge requirement for Jews. Moreover, the Israeli national language is Hebrew and most services are