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Public Transportation as Central Barrier to Arab Women’s Participation in Labor Market

>> Click here to read the full Policy Paper

This policy paper addresses the fact that the lack of adequate public transportation constitutes a central barrier to the participation of Arab women in Israel’s labor market and to the realization of the economic potential of the Arab population in general.

Attempts to improve the situation face several challenges, including the weakness of Arab local authorities, infrastructure problems, the unavailability of public land, and the attendant under-designation of industrial and employment areas in Arab towns (which amount to only 2.4% of all industrial zones in Israel). The dearth of industrial and commercial zones, in combination with the lack of appropriate transportation, is a direct cause of the dire economic situation and unavailability of employment in most Arab municipalities.

In a reality where Arab localities face infrastructure gaps amounting to billions of shekels and where needs continue to grow from one government decision to the next, it is not enough to allocate budgets that rely on temporary budget allocations within five-year plans. These plans depend on the goodwill of changing governments, which are sometimes driven by political considerations or international pressures, such as the wish to improve Israel’s ranking in OECD indices. Therefore, what is needed is a binding commitment anchored in law to ensure long-term allocation of resources and reduce structural gaps in a way that is not subject to frequent policy changes.

Zulat drafted two legislative proposals aimed at improving public transportation in Arab localities:

1.  Amend the Traffic Regulations to require the Transportation Ministry to contemplate equitability factors and to consider how to advance equality in public transportation when approving and budgeting for infrastructure and services; add a new clause empowering a local authority to revoke at any time the license of a bus service, both intercity and inter-community, if it fails to promote equal quality, availability, and accessibility.

2.  Establish in the Traffic Ordinance the obligation to appoint a council for the promotion of equality in public transportation, to be composed of representatives of the public, relevant government ministries, the Federation of Local Authorities, the AEDA, and the Organization of Regional Councils. The council will act as an advisory body to the transportation minister on matters related to promoting equality in public transportation, focusing on the quality, availability, and accessibility of services in terms of free movement, employment, and reduced social, economic, and gender gaps. It will also serve as a collaborative and consultative body that will accept opinions from civil society organizations in order to assess the suitability of public transportation services for different populations, such as women, minorities, the elderly, and people with disabilities. It will also consult with residents, local authorities, and other stakeholders, and will submit recommendations for promoting equality in public transportation at the local and regional levels. The bill also proposes that the minister in charge submit an annual report to the Knesset Economic Committee presenting the steps taken to promote equality in public transportation.

These legislative proposals aim to ensure that the question of public transportation in Arab localities remains a constant item on the agendas of the government and the Transportation Ministry and is not forgotten or sidelined due to political considerations. The overarching goal is to promote an equitable allocation of resources to consistently implement the right to equality and base it on solid foundations.

This policy paper is based on a comprehensive report on the main barriers to the employment of Arab women in Israel drafted for Zulat for Equality and Human Rights by Attorney Shirin Batshon. Click here to read the full report.

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Dr. Maha Sabbah Karkabi

 

Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Tel Aviv University (2015), a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Gender Studies, SOAS, University of London (2015-2016), a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Sociology at Tel Aviv University (2016-2017), and a postdoctoral fellowship Ph.D. at the Humphrey Institute for Social Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (2018-2020).
Dr. Maha Karbahi’s areas of interest focus on the connection between social change, family behavior, and gender inequality in societies in the process of change and specifically in Palestinian Arab society in Israel. Her research draws attention to the study of family life and employment, using a combined “ethnic lens” and “gender lens” and paying attention to the perspective of Palestinian Arab women, a group characterized by intersections between multiple marginal locations, which over the years has remained hidden from the research eye. Dr. Karkabi-Sabah’s research is published in professional journals and chapters in scientific books that are considered pioneers in family research, work, and gender equality.

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Prof. Frances Raday

Professor Emeritus in the Lieberman Chair in Labor Law, in the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University and serves as a full professor in the College of Management’s academic track, where she also serves as chair of the graduate program and as honorary president of the Concord Center for International Law Absorption. Radai was a member of a working group of the UN Human Rights Council on discrimination against women. In addition, she is a prominent and feminist human rights activist.

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Dr. Rawia Aburabia 

Faculty member of Sapir Academic College’s School of Law, received her PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research deals with the interface between law, gender, minorities, and human rights. Has published in leading journals on the subject of the matrimonial laws pertaining to Muslim women in Israel. Her book Under the Law, Outside Justice: Polygamy, Gendered Citizenship, and Colonialism in Israeli Law is expected to be published as part of the Gender Series of Kibbutz Meuhad Publishing House.

Dr. Aburabia has extensive experience in international human rights and public law. She has worked as a jurist for the Association for Civil Right and has been invited as a specialist to address such international forums as the United Nations and the European Parliament on the subject of indigenous communities and minority rights. She has interned with Human Rights Watch in Washington DC, and has been a member of the executive board of Amnesty International. In 2018, she was selected by the magazine Globes as one of the 40 most promising young persons in Israel under the age of 40.

 

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Ron Kessler

With over two decades of experience in the field of digital content, Ron has participated in numerous political and social campaigns. He helped run the digital activity of senior public officials, and worked in various NGOs. Ron is a fundamentally optimistic man, who believes that Israel can be changed and so can people. Lives in Tel Aviv.