British Ambassador to Israel, Neil Wigan, was very respectful when he tweeted that he was “concerned” to hear that Israeli Energy Minister Karine Elharrar, who uses a wheelchair, is not at the UN due to accessibility issues. Climate conference can participate.
“I apologize deeply and sincerely to the Minister. We want a COP summit that is welcoming and inclusive for all, ”added Wigan.
I wonder if you have to be a minister in the Israeli government to be seen and treated as a person by the British ambassador? Or are you not entitled to be treated like one after your country was colonized by Britain and occupied by Israel?
I am asking this because the Israeli government continues to ignore not only the needs of Palestinian people with disabilities in Israel, but the needs of the Palestinian citizens of Israel in general, all with the full support of the British Government and without a word of apology from Amb. Wigan.
For example, most of the social services in Arab towns that are designed to serve disabled citizens are inaccessible to the people they are designed to serve. In Jisr al-Zarqa, one of the poorest places in Israel, people with physical disabilities cannot even climb the thirty steps to the church building. Also, in a society with poverty rates above 50%, local authorities are forced to rent the local social services building even though there is no rental budget, so instead they have to spend 25% of their social budget on renting the services they are supposed to provide, such as Welfare and social programs against violence and poverty. To make things clear, the government is building new buildings with apartments starting at around $ 900,000 in the same village, which is also experiencing a major housing shortage.
Jisr al-Zarqa is just one example of how Palestinian communities in Israel are not getting the resources and support they need from the government.
Another example is the inability of Palestinian women to get jobs. This is due to the lack of industrial zones and high-tech hubs in the Arab towns and the lack of transport options to Jewish industrial zones. Tackling this could help the nearly 16,000 unemployed teachers in Arab society, most of whom are women. And while the government continues to ignore this issue, special programs are being funded by the Orthodox Jewish communities to integrate women into high-tech industries.
According to a state budget analysis by the Mossawa Center published in 2021, the government promised 3 billion shekels for the construction and development of industrial zones in Arab society, which is hardly enough, but would still be an increase. For comparison: the Ministry of Finance only approved 75 million in 2020.
After all, there is a massive gap in transportation services between Arab society and where it is needed. In 2005, state transport services comprised only 81 out of 157 Arab locations. In 2020, transport usage increased by 68%, but services expanded to only 124 locations. At a conference held by the Mossawa Center in the Knesset last week, Naief Abu Arar, head of Arara Al-Naqab local government, said, “The government is talking about train connections in the Jewish towns that we don’t even have proper roads for the cars in our villages, the Ministry of Transport ignores us completely! “
This week the Knesset will vote on the new state budget for “Arab society”, which is estimated at around 30 billion shekels over five years. In a more normal and sensible environment, Arab society should be part of an overall, more inclusive state budget, rather than being positioned in a five-year budget ghetto, ”MK Aida Touma-Suleiman said at the state budget conference.
There is a growing gap between the needs of the Palestinian communities in Israel and the support it receives from the government. 30 billion apologies wouldn’t be enough to cover Amb. Wigan!
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