Last week the cabinet approved an investment of more than $210 million in the economic development of the Arab community over the next five years. This is considered the largest such investment ever in this population, and is intended to strengthen the economy through construction and expansion of industrial areas, creation of administrative institutions, development of professional and academic training programs, and improvement of the police force, as well as infrastructure, tourism, transportation and day-care services.
The path to social inclusion and a shared future lies in dramatically reducing socioeconomic gaps between the Jewish and Arab sectors, and the decision constitutes a significant and welcome step in this direction. It is an affirmation that the well-being of the one-fifth of the country's population that is Arab is in Israel's general interest, and deserving of official attention.
There have been other well-intended programs in the past, but their execution was problematic. The reasons for this are varied, but include a negligent government approach toward Arab society, and lack of proper follow-up, implementation and enforcement. In 2008, for example, the government of Ehud Olmert decided that by 2013, 10 percent of the country's civil-service positions were to be allocated to Arab citizens. Even today, however, these citizens comprise only 6.5 percent, despite the fact that they are 20 percent of the population. During Ehud Barak's term as premier (1999-2001), the government earmarked NIS 4 billion for development of the Arab sector, but little of that sum was actually spent.
The two most recent decisions are the closest the government has come to the U.S. affirmative-action policies of the late 1960s and early '70s, which aimed to combat institutional discrimination against African-Americans. Unfortunately, the scope of the Israeli government decisions falls far short of the broad policies and actions taken by the U.S. government in those years.
The new five-year economic scheme is intended to create new industrial zones that will enable more Arab citizens to pursue careers in high-tech; to link Arab towns and villages to the country's main transportation networks; and to expand the municipal boundaries of the 13 towns included in the program. This in turn should help about one-third of the country's Arab population move closer to mainstream Israeli social-economic reality.
Still, what are the other two-thirds of Israel's Arab population supposed to do? Will they be left to slip further into poverty, continuing the downward slide of the last 15 years? Will the same ministers who voted for the plan assume responsibility for equivalent appropriations to Arab towns in the future? Or will they use the recent decision as an excuse to relinquish any further responsibility for Israel's 1.2 million Arab citizens? It is to be hoped that these ministers will continue to act in the spirit of the plan, allocating more money from their regular budgets to foster equality.
Aiman Seif, head of the Authority for Economic Development of the Arab sector, perhaps fearing that some might feel exempted from this duty, asked the ministers to guarantee that their staffs adopt the principle of equality in appropriation and distribution of budgetary funding.
Instead of recognizing their responsibility for creating this gap, and the potential of Arab society to contribute to the growth of the Israeli economy as a whole, past governments have tended to blamed Arab society, labeling it a burden on the economy that prevents higher growth rates. Future governments need to look at the plan as a corrective measure that aims to close the gaps inherited from their predecessors.
In addition, the incumbent and future governments should assume responsibility to eliminate budgetary discrimination, sooner rather than later. Yet, if the government is sincere about closing social and economic gaps, it is not enough to deal with the past injustices: It must guarantee that from now on, equal distribution of resources will be the norm - rather than a one-off event.
Symbolically and politically, this decision reflects recognition that the Arab community is in dire need of government assistance. Its economy is largely separate from the generally booming Israeli economy, and thus more closely resembles the developing world than the thriving conditions of Tel Aviv and Ramat Hasharon.
The government may be hoping to turn the Arab economy into a growth factor for Israel nationally. Many leading economists, including the OECD and researchers at the Reut Institute, argue that Israel will not experience healthy economic development as long as it has a weak sub-economy that is not completely integrated into the broader, national one.
If there is a problem with the recent decision, it's the fear that it is only a partial step, one that will not finish the job. The initiative needs to be expanded sooner rather than later, to allow political buy-in from a broader swathe of Arab society. It's no surprise that the majority of the country's Arab towns that have been left out are unhappy with the plan. The government needs to consider their needs as well and devise appropriate, even if more modest, schemes that will include as broad a spectrum of Arab society as possible.
Social and economic inclusion of Arab society in Israel will contribute to creating true equality, the foundation stone for building a shared society - a declared, key goal of MK Avishay Braverman, the minister of minority affairs. Let's hope the plan succeeds, and impels us to move in the right direction.
Mohammad Darawshe is co-executive director of the Abraham Fund Initiatives (www.abrahamfund.org).
To get more from opinion, click here to sign up for our free Editor's Picks newsletter.