For over 20 years, the Mossawa Center has been at the forefront of the fight for justice and equality for Israel's Palestinian citizens.
The Mossawa Center is working to amplify Palestinian voices on the international stage, urging governments and global movements to take concrete steps to end the war, dismantle systemic discrimination, and address organized crime in Arab society.
A new report from the Mossawa Center warns of the severe consequences of continued budget cuts and calls for the allocation of additional billions to address economic and social disparities affecting the Palestinian Arab community in Israel.
The visit underscores the importance of international diplomatic engagement in supporting the rights of Palestinian Arab citizens and fostering dialogue on social justice, equality, and historical preservation.
After the Nakba in 1948, when over 700,000 Palestinian were forcibly expelled from their lands, 150,000 Palestinians were able to resist expulsion and remain in their communities. This group of Palestinians later became Israeli citizens.
Today, there are close to 2 million Palestinian inside Israel, representing 21% of the total population. They comprise the largest ethnic minority in Israel and are mostly confined to exclusively Palestinian localities in the northern part of the country, with other major population centers in the Triangle Area bordering the occupied West Bank and in the Naqab (south). They speak both Arabic and Hebrew and, unlike Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, they have an Israeli citizenship with limited access to civil rights.
Despite their status as citizens, the state of Israel has consistently and systematically discriminated against the Palestinian minority since its founding. This discrimination manifests itself in many aspects of daily life for Palestinian citizens in Israel. The community suffers from land confiscation and inequitable administration, home demolitions, systematic attacks on their civil rights, and racial incitement. Discrimination in the state budget has resulted in over 50% of Palestinian Arab families live below the poverty line, with an additional 25% live at or near it.
Nation-State Law – a Basic Law (giving it constitutional authority) that effectively defines Israel as a state solely for the Jewish people, practically declaring all other minorities within the state - particularly its Palestinian citizens - to be second class citizens. It demoted the status of the Arabic language from being an official language in Israel and declares the “right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people.”
Citizenship Law - prevents Palestinians and residents of “enemy states” (namely the West Bank and Gaza) from gaining citizenship, or permanent residency, through marriage to an Israeli citizen. This law constitutes an undue restriction on family life for the affected Palestinian population and prevents the unification of Palestinian families.
Kaminitz Law - criminalizes building violations and intensifies enforcement of the law through increased home demolitions, larger fines, and heavier sentences for offenders. The Israeli government’s deliberate unwillingness to approve master plans for Palestinian Arab localities and distribute building permits has left many Palestinian Arab citizens with no option other than to build and inhabit structures that are not officially recognized (i.e. without a permit). Hence, the law disproportionately affects Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel and severely stifles development in Palestinian Arab localities. This law is one of the major driving forces behind the demolitions threatening the residents of Jisr al-Zarqa – the poorest locality in Israel - and the Bedouin community in the Negev.
There are little to no industrial zones in Palestinian localities in Israel as the government refuses to approve development plans for Palestinian municipalities. The budgets of Palestinian local authorities are funded primarily through housing taxes – with only 2% of funding coming from business taxes. This is because only 3% of industrial areas in Israel are located in Palestinian towns, severely limiting economic development and employment opportunities for Palestinians.
There is not a single university or higher education institution in any Palestinian locality in Israel. Rahat, one of the largest Palestinian cities in Israel with almost 80,000 residents and a social, economic, and cultural hub in the Galilee, does not have a higher education institution. Meanwhile, the illegal settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank with a quarter of Rahat's population, hosts Ariel University with a student population of 13,000.
Since the establishment of the state, the Israeli government has not built a single public hospital in Palestinian localities. The only Palestinian locality in Israel with a hospital is Nazareth - the largest Palestinian city in Israel and the largest city in the Northern District - which hosts 3 hospitals. However, all of those hospitals are private hospitals built in the early 20th century and are severely under-funded to handle the massive population they serve.
There has been a significant escalation of police brutality against Palestinian citizens of Israel in recent years. Palestinian citizens are 36 times more likely to be shot by Israeli police than Jewish-Israeli citizens.
Since 2000, over 90 Palestinian citizens have been unjustly killed by police, with most incidents ending with no indictment or consequence for the police officers involved.
3,600 Palestinian citizens, including over 300 minors, were arrested in May of 2021 during a brutal crackdown on peaceful protests condemning the forced evictions in Sheikh Jarrah and the war on Gaza. Of the 397 indictments filed against 616 defendants, 89% were Palestinian citizens.
In the first 100 days of the October 7 War, a mass arrest campaign was carried out by Israeli authorities against Palestinians in Israel. Over 300 were detained and 132 indictments filed against them - compared to just 3 indictments filed against Jewish-Israelis who incited violence against them.
We are dedicated to supporting the work of the Mossawa Center in its advocacy for the Palestinian minority in Israel through fundraising, education, and solidarity-building efforts among U.S. leaders, organizations, foundations, and policymakers. Our work includes: