Affirmative action proposed for Arabs who served in IDF

The proposed bill would help minorities who serve receive preference in tenders for public sector jobs.

By LAHAV HARKOV
An IDF Beduin tracker on patrol. Unlike other minorities that serve in the army, for Beduin, service is on a volunteer basis. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)
An IDF Beduin tracker on patrol. Unlike other minorities that serve in the army, for Beduin, service is on a volunteer basis.
(photo credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)
New legislation seeks to have the government prefer minorities who served in the IDF when hiring workers.
The proposal by MK Motti Yogev (Bayit Yehudi) states that Druse, Beduin, Muslims, Christians, immigrants from Ethiopia and others, who served in the IDF or civilian service, will be beneficiaries of affirmative action, over minorities who did not serve the country.
The bill’s explanatory portion states that: “There are minorities in the State of Israel who chose to tie their fates to that of the country and dedicate their best years to serve in the IDF or civilian service, in many cases making great social and family-related sacrifices. Some face discrimination in the area where they live and some face violence and incitement only because they chose to serve the State of Israel and integrate in it.”
In light of that, the bill is mean to help such people and their integration in greater Israeli society, and seeks to “create social justice and fairness towards those who chose to serve,” the legislation states.
The proposal has support from MKs in Likud, Kulanu, Shas and Yesh Atid, as well as right-wing NGO Im Tirzu, which sponsors the Knesset Caucus to Promote and Encourage the Enlistment of Minorities, which is led by MKs Miki Zohar (Likud) and Merav Ben-Ari (Kulanu), a cosponsor of the bill.
Im Tirzu Director-General Matan Peleg said that “strengthening and encouraging minorities working to integrate in Israeli society is a condition for Israel’s continuing existence as a Jewish-Zionist and democratic state.
“Therefore, we must create true incentives for those serving in the IDF and civilian-national service…as opposed to those calling for isolationism and war against the State of Israel,” Peleg stated.


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