This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 005265 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PGOV SOCI PREL EFIN ELAB EIND IS ISRAELI SOCIETY
SUBJECT: ISRAEL'S ARAB SECTOR 
 
REF: A. 04 TEL AVIV 0874 
     ¶B. 04 TEL AVIV 3085 
     ¶C. 03 TEL AVIV 7247 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  Israel's Arab population significantly lags 
behind the Jewish population in income, level of education, 
level of health care, and employment rate.  This message 
provides an overview of the vital economic statistics of the 
Israeli-Arab sector, which comprises approximately 20 percent 
of Israel's total population.  Public and private reports 
highlight the disparity between the Arab and Jewish sectors. 
For example, one 2003 report states that the average salary 
for an Israeli-Arab employee was 30 percent lower than that 
of a Jewish employee.  A 2004 report indicates that of all 
families living in poverty, 31.1 percent were Israeli Arabs 
and 68.7 percent were Israeli Jews.  In addition, 
Israeli-Arab students who were accepted to university in 
academic year 2002-2003 accounted for 2,200 out of 23,000 
students.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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Israeli-Arab Population 
----------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 
as of May 2005, Israeli Arabs including the Druze, Bedouin 
and Christian minorities, constitute approximately 20 percent 
of the Israeli population, numbering 1.35 million people. 
Israeli Arabs live mostly in mixed cities in the north 
(Galilee), with the Bedouin minority concentrated in the 
south (Negev). 
 
¶3. (U) According to CBS reports, of the entire Israeli-Arab 
population, 1.1 million are Muslim, who predominantly live in 
the following areas: North - 422,700, Haifa - 154,400, Center 
- 122,600, Tel Aviv/Jaffa - 12,000, Jerusalem - 224,600, 
South - 136,200.  CBS estimates that the Israeli-Arab 
population will increase to two million by 2025.  CBS also 
reports that the Druze population, located in the north 
(Golan, Akko) and Haifa, numbers some 113,000 and accounts 
for 8.6 percent of the Israeli-Arab population.  CBS 
estimates the Druze population will increase to 165,000 by 
2025 (Ref A). 
 
¶4. (U) The Bedouin population is more than 150,000, with most 
living in recognized and unrecognized villages scattered 
across the Negev.  The socio-economic condition of the 
Bedouin is below that of the rest of the Israeli-Arab 
community.  Unemployment, lack of infrastructure, and land 
disputes with the GOI place this group, whose population is 
increasing at a fast rate in a vulnerable position (Ref B). 
 
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Employment 
---------- 
 
¶5. (U) According to CBS, in 2003, 60.8 percent of Muslim men 
in the Israeli-Arab community were employed.  Arab-Christian 
employment is at 65.6 percent, and 48.9 percent for Druze 
men.  The 2004 Bank of Israel Report also touches on 
Israeli-Arab employment, estimating that the Israeli-Arab 
participation in the labor force has decreased, even as the 
Jewish employment rate has increased in recent years.  Data 
from 1995 show that Israeli-Arab participation in the labor 
sector was 42.6 percent; by 2003 it decreased to 39.1 percent 
(Ref C). 
 
¶6. (U) Note:  An embassy contact from the Advancement Center 
for Social Justice and Equality, an Israeli NGO, said that 
income support for Israeli-Arab men comes from multiple 
sources.  He said GOI support include allowances, guaranteed 
income and unemployment benefits for unemployed Israeli-Arab 
men.  Post contact remarked that Israeli-Arab men are the 
largest group actively looking for work, but have a hard time 
finding jobs and are in a state of "despair."  An 
Israeli-Arab contact indicated that there is an unofficial 
social support network within economically depressed 
Israeli-Arab communities, where one family extends a helping 
hand to another family, or mosques provide food to needy 
families.  The Israeli-Arab contact said that some families 
also engage in small informal employment in agriculture and 
small business trade and do not report income to the GOI. 
Employee income from these family enterprises do not show up 
in CBS data.  End Note 
 
¶7. (U) CBS states that Israeli Arabs earn less than their 
Jewish counterparts; however, salaries have been steadily 
increasing for both groups.  Sikkuy (Israeli NGO) reports in 
a recent research paper that the national average monthly 
salary in 2002 was NIS 7,570 (USD 1,682), with wages in the 
Arab sector at NIS 5,243 (USD 1,165), 31 percent lower than 
the national average. 
 
¶8. (U) National Insurance Institute 2004 data show that 
Israeli-Arab families represent 31.1 percent of families 
living in poverty in Israel.  49.9 percent of Israeli Arabs 
live in poverty compared to 15.9 percent of Israeli Jews. 
According to Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor (MOIT) 
statistics from 2005, the Bedouin community's employment rate 
stands at 36 percent, while that of Jewish communities 
located in the Negev stands at 61 percent.  According to the 
report, this gap exists in large part because only 11 percent 
of Bedouin women are working.  The MOIT attributed this lack 
of participation in the work force to cultural norms in the 
Bedouin community. 
 
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Education 
--------- 
 
¶9. (U) In recent meetings, Israeli-Arab community leaders 
have asserted to econoff that Israeli-Arab students on 
average do not do well compared to their Jewish counterparts, 
especially in the Bedouin community.  CBS reported that in 
2003, 11.5 percent of the Israeli Arab sector entered 
university studies, compared to 21.5 percent in the Jewish 
community. 
 
¶10. (U) A 2002-2003 report by the Mossawa Advocacy Center for 
Arab Citizens of Israel claims that 15.1 percent of Israeli 
Arabs applied for acceptance into a university course of 
instruction leading to a degree, compared to 81 percent of 
Jewish students.  Only 9.8 percent of Israeli Arabs are 
accepted into a university.  Out of the Arab student 
population only 9.5 percent received their bachelor's degree, 
4.8 percent received their master's degree, and 3.2 percent 
received a Ph.D.  As for participation in the major 
universities, Israeli-Arab students make up 27.4 percent of 
students at Haifa University, 11.8 percent at Tel Aviv 
University, and 9 percent at Hebrew University. 
 
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Health 
------ 
 
¶11. (U) According to the Ministry of Health, infant mortality 
in the Israeli-Arab sector is higher than for the Jewish 
community.  The Ministry reports that there are nine deaths 
per 1,000 births in the Arab community, compared to one death 
per 1,000 births in the Jewish community.  Among the Bedouin 
it is around 17 deaths per 1,000 births. 
 
¶12. (U) In a recent article, the Ministry of Health's 
National Center for Disease Control claimed that the health 
gap between the Arab and Jewish community continues to widen. 
 The article claims that ministry data from 2003 show that 
Arab men live 3.4 years, and Arab women four years, less on 
average than their Jewish counterparts.  The article also 
acknowledges that although the gaps between the sectors have 
grown over the past decade, there was also a general increase 
in longevity; a drop in infant mortality; and a drop in 
cancer, heart disease, and strokes in the Arab sector. 
 
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