Undermining a Plan to Reduce Inequality Before it Even Exists
ACRI sent an urgent appeal on October 14, 2026 to the government and the Attorney General, demanding that they not approve the proposed resolution submitted by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to transfer 964 million NIS from funds earmarked for a future multi-year plan for Arab society, which has yet to be formulated and approved, in order to expedite defense procurement. This move follows the policy of the outgoing government, which during its term repeatedly cut funding for the current five-year plan to reduce disparities in Arab society; a Supreme Court petition recently filed against these measures by ACRI, together with the National Committee of Heads of Arab Local Authorities and other civil society organizations, is currently pending.
In the appeal, ACRI Attorney Hagar Shechter argued that the proposal, submitted only about two weeks before the elections, is unlawful. Moreover, the timing and the decision to fund defense procurement specifically from budgets intended to reduce inequality in Arab society raise serious concerns that the decision was made on the basis of political and electoral considerations, in violation of the law. It is a decision that threatens to undermine a plan intended to address discrimination and the profound disparities in Arab society before it has even been implemented.
ACRI’s appeal, October 14, 2026 (Heb)
