Budget Cuts to Equality, Budget Increases to the Shin Bet

A protest against crime in Arab society. Photo: Orna Naor, STOCK-SJ

On July 30, 2026, ACRI, together with the National Committee of Heads of Arab Local Authorities in Israel, Itach Ma'aki – Women Lawyers for Social Justice, and the Mossawa Center: The Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel, filed a petition with the Supreme Court against the Government, the Minister for Social Equality, the Israel Police, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), and the Ministry of Finance. The petition challenged the government's decision to cut 496.9 million NIS from the budgets of Government Resolution 550, the five-year plan for reducing disparities in Arab society, and to transfer those funds to the police and the Shin Bet for purposes of combating crime. The government also decided to transfer an additional tens of millions of shekels to the Shin Bet from the budgets of the police, the Fire and Rescue Authority, and the Prison Service. Together with the request to cancel the decision, the organizations are asking the Court to rule that the Shin Bet lacks the authority to address civilian crime, and to issue an interim injunction preventing both the budget cuts and the Shin Bet's involvement in combating crime until the petition is decided. 

The cuts to the five-year plan would put a stop to a range of programs designed to reduce discrimination against Arab society, halt projects that are already operating, and squander public funds that have already been invested. The cut would also violate a range of rights for the Arab population, including the rights to education, health, freedom of occupation, and equality. 

The process by which the decision was made to make the cuts was rushed, and the decision itself is contrary to the positions of professional officials and the legal advisers of numerous government ministries, including the Ministry for Social Equality itself, which formally submitted the proposal. Not coincidentally, the Ministers for Social Equality and National Security have obstructed and prevented the implementation of programs and government decisions intended to promote equality and address crime in Arab Society since assuming office.  

The transfer of funds to the Shin Bet for the purpose of addressing civilian crime was done without legal authorization and effectively grants a secret security agency the power to monitor and oversee Arab society as a whole, including law-abiding individuals. As a result, any violation of the law, no matter how minor, could potentially lead to an investigation by the Shin Bet, if the suspect is Arab. Consequently, this subjects Arab society to a separate, non-democratic, and stricter law enforcement system, while Jews remain subject to regular police enforcement.  

Crime in Arab society is a serious issue, but the government is cynically exploiting the need to address crime in Arab society in order to conduct a "fire sale" of public funds and to introduce Shin Bet monitoring into Arab society ahead of the upcoming elections. 

HCJ 88210-07-26 National Committee of Heads of Arab Local Authorities in Israel v. Government of Israel 

Attorneys: Hagar Shechter, Nitsan Ilani 

The petition, June 30, 2026 (Heb) 

The petition was written with the assistance of ACRI legal intern Michele Amzalak