Israeli Arabs claim bias in postwar aid

The court case is so far the highest profile case alleging aid discrimination, but civil rights advocates worry it's likely to be one of many. After turning away loan applications by Arab entrepreneurs, a small-business development arm of Israel's Industry and Trade Ministry was forced by government legal counsel to retract the policy and return the money of a donor who had requested it go to only Jews and military veterans.

"Civil society organizations will have to work very hard in the next few years in monitoring the government actions," says Shalom Dichter, the codirector of civil rights watchdog Sikkui. "The patterns of discrimination in government actions are deeply rooted in the government services."

The four villages are fighting to be designated as a sfar, Hebrew for border community, which is a 40-year-old category that makes businesses based in the municipality eligible for full compensation of profit and overhead costs from border wars. Noting the sfar villages have been determined based on their proximity to the border, Arab lawyers will argue to the high court judges that villages like Fassuta have been excluded from the category solely on grounds of racial bias.

"We argue that when you have a list that's geographically based, you have to include all of the settlements in that area," says Towsan Zahar, a lawyer for Adallah, a civil rights group that has joined the petition. "All of the settlements in the north were exposed to the same missile risk."

An official in the finance ministry who wanted to remain anonymous acknowledged that the border community designation was based on an outdated list. But if the ministry updated the list with four Arab villages, it would expose itself to claims from municipalities as far south as Haifa and bust the treasury's budget.

Beyond the justification of bureaucrats of policies, Israeli Arabs have come under fire for criticism of the war. Last month, Environmental Minister Gideon Ezra even suggested that Israeli Arab towns be made ineligible for aid.

Arab community activists complain that the Jewish majority fails to appreciate that the criticism reflects concern about the fate of Lebanese relatives. It's unfair, they say, to dismiss an entire community as traitors for what should be considered legitimate political criticism.

"It's an excuse to continue the policy of discrimination," says the contractor Matar. "You feel unconnected. You feel that they're doing you a favor by letting you stay here."

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