On Tuesday May 9th, the Mossawa Center is holding a conference in the Knesset to discuss the pitfalls in the new state budget before its approval. 

 

The Mossawa Center has called upon political parties, local authorities, and specialized civil society organizations to form parliamentary, media, and popular pressure before the Knesset approves the proposed budget for government ministries for the years 2023-2024, which is expected in the coming weeks. The Center has warned against passing the budget without media and popular pressure, as doing so would deepen discrimination against the Arab community, increase budgets allocated to militarization and occupation, and intensify economic and social discrimination against the Arab community.

 

Economist Mohammed Abu-Leil from the Social Economic Unit at the Mossawa Center has prepared a comprehensive report on the proposed budgets of ministries and the demands of the Arab community for the budget proposal. The report relies on data on the disparities experienced by the Arab community in various areas, such as education, employment, youth, poverty, health, industrial areas, agriculture, tourism, transportation, and welfare. Abu-Leil’s report was circulated to Knesset members, civil society institutions, and local authorities for use in parliamentary advocacy in the coming weeks before the budget vote.

 

In tandem with the report, the Mossawa Center will host their annual conference to discuss their findings. This will be held on Tuesday, May 9th, 2023, in the Knesset, in cooperation with Members of the Knesset (MKs) on the parliamentary finance committee, namely Dr. Ahmed Tibi, Aida Touma Suleiman, Iman Khatib Yassin along with the National Union of Arab Municipalities in Israel, and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Heads of Arab local authorities, Knesset members, and representatives of government offices and specialized institutions have been invited to review the budget proposal and work towards garnering parliamentary and popular support for the demands of the Arab community from the budget.

 

Jafar Farah, the director of the Mossawa Center, emphasized the need to work at all levels to influence the budget proposal before its approval, in order to close the gaps that have deepened the crisis in education, health, culture, and employment in the Arab community.

 

Dr. Ahmed Tibi has pointed out that the conference aims to intensify coordination and pressure between Knesset members and local authorities, who must ensure that the allocated budgets are fully utilized. This conference is a call from the Arab community before the budget is approved, and they have invited the Chairman of the finance committee, Moshe Gafni, as well as a number of ministers and representatives of government offices to participate. He added that Arab members of the finance committee have made hundreds of reservations about the budget proposal and will make every effort to secure people's rights to budgets distributed by the government.

 

The Chairman of the National Union of Arab Municipalities in Israel, lawyer Mudar Younes, confirmed that "Arab local authorities are the first to be affected by the planned government budget cuts. We have warned against reducing the budget for transportation and the environment, and the advisors' team in the President's Committee has communicated with the Ministry of Finance, the Economic Development Authority, and the majority of ministries to ensure approval of at least what was passed in Government Decisions 550 and 1279. We will intensify our presence in the Knesset until the budget is approved, and we will follow up on the implementation of the decisions with all the different ministry teams."

 

The Mossawa Center will issue materials on the demands for the budgets of various ministries during the government budget discussion period, which is expected before the end of May.

 

List of Speakers:

 

MK Dr. Ahmad Tibi - Member of the Finance Committee

Mr. Mohammad Barakeh - Chairman of the Supreme Follow-Up Committee

MK Aida Touma-Sliman - Member of the Finance Committee

MK Iman Khatib-Yasin - Member of the Finance Committee

Ms. Yehudit Stilman-Caro Friedrich Ebert

Mr. Jafar Farah - Director of the Mossawa Center

Mr. Omar Wakid - Mayor of Arraba, Head of the Local Authorities Committee

MK Moshe Gafni - Chairman of the Finance Committee

 

Ministers and Government Offices:

 

MK and Minister Nir Barkat - Minister of Economy and Industry

Mr. Meir Bing - Director General of the Ministry of Social Equality

Mr. Hassan Tawfreh - Director of the Authority for Economic Development in the Ministry of Social Equality

Ms. Nur Abd Elhadi - Ministry of Health

Mr. Amin Abu-Hayie- Director of the Arab Society in the Ministry of Housing

Mr. Farj Praaj - Ministry of Transportation

 

Arab Local Authority Heads:

 

Mr. Munir Hamouda - Head of the Beeni Nujedat Council

Mr. Durwish Rabi - Head of the Jaljulia Council

Mr. Salameh El Atresh - Head of the Al Qasum Regional Council

Mr. Khaled Hujairat - Head of the Bir Al-Maksur Council

Mr. Ahmed Sawaed - Head of the Misgav Regional Council

Mr. Wisam Omar - Head of the Tuba Zangaria Council

 

Organizations:

 

Mr. Amir Basharat / Mr. Abed Shhada - Economic Advisors to the Heads of Arab Local Authorities Committee

Mr. Fathii Abu Yunes - Chairman of the Forum of Welfare Department Managers in Local Authorities

Mr. Roey Barak - sikkuy 

Mr. Walaa Haik - The Arab Center for Alternative Planning

Livestream Link: https://www.knesset.tv/committees/conventions/video/53163