Arab Israeli Leaders Protest Decision To Withhold $50M in Funding From Arab Municipalities, Clash With Police

Leaders of local authorities threaten to delay school’s opening next week if Finance Minister Smotrich’s decision to halt funding is not reversed

Hundreds of Arab Israeli leaders and activists protested outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem on Monday in furious defiance of a controversial decision by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to withhold more than $50 million in funding from Arab municipalities. The protesters claimed that the decision was unfair and would have devastating effects on their communities.

The demonstrators—around 400 leaders of Arab localities and Arab members of Knesset—clashed violently with the police as they demanded that the frozen funds be released. The protest came after a “warning strike” on Monday morning in Arab towns, which was joined by the Israeli Federation of Local Authorities.

Smotrich responded to the strike by promising action “to prevent the reckless and irresponsible strike. I won’t cave into pressure and threats.”

Hala Khatib, a member of the youth group Arab-Jewish Center for Employment, Equality and Cooperation (AJEEC) in the city of Qalansawe in central Israel, told The Media Line that if the funds aren’t released, it would have “catastrophic” consequences on the students.

“Freezing budgets has a great impact on our Arab society. It hinders the beginning of the school year and will exacerbate the problem of violence because students will spend more time on the streets,” Khatib said.

Dr. Mahmood Mahamid, director of the Department of Psychological and Educational Services in the city of Umm al-Fahm, says his city relies heavily on these budgets to provide psychological support and education to the city’s youth.

“We in the psychiatric care department suffer from the scarcity of financial resources that we receive from the government, and this step will harm especially groups of youth who are at risk and children who suffer from very great social marginalization,” Mahamid said.

“We have programs that deal with combating violence, school dropouts, and fighting drugs through projects and workshops held in schools,” he continued.

The demonstration comes amid a record wave of violent crime in Israel’s Arab sector that has claimed 150 lives since the beginning of 2023, over double last year’s rate. Demonstrators claimed that the loss of funds would only exacerbate the situation.

Modiin Mayor Haim Bibas, chairman of the Federation of Local Authorities, said on Sunday that schools would not open next week as planned if the funds remain frozen.

“If we get to September 1 and we are in the same situation, we will weigh our options. We are standing up for funding in the periphery and the [Arab] community. When something doesn’t smell good, we have to show up,” Bibas said.

Bibas also wrote to heads of local authorities, explaining that Smotrich’s action “harms the weakest authorities, which are currently on the verge of collapse.”

“Violence and crime are on the rise and reach everywhere. The prolonged budget freeze brings the authorities to a state of dysfunction, and they are unable to provide services to their residents,” he wrote in the letter.

We are facing racism and our lives have reached rock bottom. Today, we are here because of the racism of Smotrich, who wants to cut the budgets that sustain our towns

“We are facing racism and our lives have reached rock bottom. Today, we are here because of the racism of Smotrich, who wants to cut the budgets that sustain our towns,” Huda Awad, a representative on the Mazra’a town council, told The Media Line.

Smotrich defended the budget cuts by claiming that without proper oversight, the money would end up in the hands of organized criminal groups, something that the leaders of the Arab community in Israel vehemently deny.

“I do not know whether to laugh or cry at this allegation, because it is a false allegation and has racist motives behind it. Oversight exists in all ministries—they do not give money to any local Arab or Jewish authority without oversight,” Umm al-Fahm Mayor Samir Mahamid told The Media Line.

The funds, which are aimed at boosting the economy, upgrading infrastructure, and fighting crime in Arab communities, were approved by the previous government, which included the Islamist Ra’am party alongside left-wing, centrist, and right-wing parties.

The protest quickly turned violent. While the police were trying to prevent the demonstrators from reaching the gates of the Prime Minister’s Office, some managed to break through the barricades.

Taghreed, a protester who lives in the town of Tur’an in northern Israel, told The Media Line that the government uses double standards when it comes to its Arab citizens. He pointed out how the police deal with the hundreds of thousands of majority-Jewish protesters against the judicial reform, which has been ongoing for more than seven months.

“They do not allow us to move and reach the entrance to the Prime Minister’s Office. [Our protest] follows the demonstrations in the Jewish sector, and there it is a completely different interaction,” he said. “The police are gentle with Jewish protesters, there are no barriers, and they move about freely.”

The police dealt violently with the angry protesters. Awad was thrown to the ground and ended up with a bloody face. Others were arrested.

It is normal for us to struggle. Struggle by all means is necessary to achieve our fundamental right, which is to obtain basic budgets.

Angry and frustrated at the violent turn of events, MK Ayman Odeh told The Media Line that they have every right to protest, vowing to continue their demonstrations until the funds are released to their municipalities.

“It is normal for us to struggle. Struggle by all means is necessary to achieve our fundamental right, which is to obtain basic budgets,” Odeh said. “I reject repression. They must respect the demonstrators’ right to express their opinions.”

“We’re here because we are demonstrating against a very racist decision to steal from us. The Israeli government is actually stealing a few hundred million shekels from all the Arab municipalities in a very illegal and illegitimate way,” added former MK Sami Abu Shehadeh, leader of the Arab Balad party.