Israeli President Shimon Peres met with Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar and the mayors of Israel’s largest Arab constituencies as he looked to address key issues concerning Israel’s 1.5 million Arabs, such as housing and budgetary concerns.
Calling for a distinct “vision for the future”, with official statistics from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics estimating that by 2030 the Arab population in the Jewish State will reach 2.362 million (24%), Peres said “our job is to take care that (the Arab-Israeli minority) do not feel discriminated against. Our duty (to them is to ensure) to full equality and prevent discrimination - I'm proud of Israel's Arab citizens”.
“We will continue to work together to strengthen cooperation and promote the Arab authorities,” added Sa’ar, as he pinpointed new schemes from the Minister of Education aimed at improving education in Arab communities. “We will continue to work together to strengthen cooperation and promote the Arab authorities,” he further vowed.
The census of the Arab population by the Central Bureau of Statistics in 2008 found that the average number of years of education in Arab communities had increased from less than nine in the late 1980s to 12 in 2008. Sixteen per cent of Arab parents to high-school pupils reported use of private educational services, compared to 44% of Jewish parents. In the 2007/2008 academic year Arab students comprised 12% of all first degree students, 6% of second degree students and 4% of third degree students.
Elaborating on his definition of equality for Arab citizens in Israel, meanwhile, the President since the term encompassed equal employment rights, as he announced the introduction of advanced high-tech parks near Israel’s principal Arab cities, as well as the “Mantk” programme designed to combine Arab engineers in high-tech industries with Israeli technology. Such a focus, he claimed “is key to improving quality of life and educating the younger generation” and to building prosperity in Arab communities. “The vision of combining high-tech sector in the Arab world has become a reality,” he added.
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu broadcasted a Ramadan message to Israeli Arabs and Muslims around the world on Thursday, telling citizens of Israel that they are an "integral part of Israeli society."
In the message on his Facebook page, Netanyahu greeted Muslim citizens of Israel and around the globe to mark the beginning of the Muslim holy month, which began on Tuesday.
"As I do every year, I wish the Muslims a happy holidays," the prime minister stated, adding that on the month of Ramadan, he attaches great importance to one of the core values that characterizes the state of Israel: "Freedom of religion and worship for all citizens of the state."
In a reference to recent tremulous events in the region, Netanyahu stated that such freedoms were not self-evident today, but mark an "essential cornerstone in the democratic state of Israel."
In an effort to make inroads into the Muslim community within the Israeli state, Netanyahu said that the community is an "integral part of Israeli society," and that he attaches "great importance to the role and contribution [of the Muslims] to the economy and in all aspects of life in Israel."
"Against the backdrop of increasingly large and violent upheavals that have hit many countries in the region and caused painful human tragedies," Netanyahu said, "I wish that the people of the region will also have a day of peace."
The prime minister wished on the region the "same freedoms and rights that we have in our country."
Extending a hand to the wider Arab world, Netanyahu said that Israel "continues to extend a hand of peace to its neighbors, both near and far."