The Mossawa Center expressed its support for the appointment of Hassan Tawafra, a Palestinian Arab, as the Director of the Economic Development Authority for the Arab Society. The Mossawa Center considers the appointment of Tawafra to be a step in the right direction and reaffirmed its efforts to push for equal representation of Palestinian Arab in government offices, as well as to continue advocating for the political, economic, and cultural rights of Palestinian Arab society.
The Mossawa Center strongly opposed and petitioned against the appointment of a Jewish employee to the position by former Minister for Social Equality Gila Gamliel, as the position has always been occupied by a Palestinian Arab given its significant relevance to that community. The Ministry suspended the temporary appointment following the petition. The Mossawa Center continued to follow up on the issue with the current Minister for Social Equality to this day.
In the wake of the Mossawa Center’s petition, the Ministry announced the appointment of a committee to select a director for the Economic Development Authority, headed by the Director General of the Ministry for Social Equality, Yael Mevorach. About 120 people, including former heads of local authorities, applied for the position. On Nov. 11, the Minister for Social Equality announced that she agreed to the recommendation of the selection committee and appointed Hassan Tawafra for the position.
The Mossawa Center also requested the implementation of the law on adequate representation of Palestinian Arabs within the ministry. According to the Mossawa Center’s findings, only 5.6% of the employees within the Ministry of social Equality are Palestinian Arab, despite that community representing over a fifth of Israel’s population.
The Executive Director of the Mossawa Center, Suha Salman Musa, affirmed, “we have distinguished capabilities in all fields and it is the right of our people to obtain equal job opportunities. The large number of applicants for the position and the quality of their skills confirm that we have highly capable professional cadres who deserve to have equal access to jobs that correspond to their skills and abilities. We will continue as an institution to advocate for the realization of our community’s economic and social rights.”