BREAKING NEWS

Tiny fraction of Culture Ministry budget allocated to Arab language arts

Only three percent of the Culture Ministry’s budget is allocated towards supporting arts in the Arabic language, a Knesset panel revealed on Tuesday.
The Knesset Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality, headed by MK Aida Touma-Sliman (Joint List) convened for a discussion regarding “Women Creating in the Arabic language” as part of the events marking Arabic Language Day at the Knesset.
When asked by Touma-Sliman to provide data regarding the government’s allocation towards Arabic language arts for women, representatives of the culture ministry said they were unable to differentiate whether funds were allocated towards women or men. 
They said that the ministry was currently in the process of “mapping out” where its funding is being allocated.
The representatives also said that each year a NIS 50,000 prize is allocated to an artist in the Arabic language, only that in 2015 the prize was not awarded due to a lack of a budget.
Touma-Sliman summarized the discussion and demanded the Culture Ministry increase the budget to support culture in the Arabic language.