“The Bedouin sector is the poorest among Israeli society;
Bedouin local authorities are ranked at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder
in Israel.” For years we have heard complaints from the Bedouin and leftist
organizations about discrimination and bias on the part of the state. Take for
example the claim of Professor Ismail Abu Sa’ad from the Ben Gurion University
in Be’er Sheva:
“Statistics about the situation of Bedouin towns in
the Negev teach us of the abject failure of the urbanization policy assimilated
into their framework. The sources responsible for this failure include a
shortage of land and accompanying services, budget crises in local authorities
… The municipal budgets come from two sources: budgetary transfers from the
government and independent income from local taxes. In addition to this,
eligible municipalities are sometimes given grants for exceptional development
projects. The offices of the government systematically discriminate against
Bedouin municipalities. Formulas for consideration for Bedouin towns are biased
and grants for development given to them are meager in comparison with their
urgent needs and what is given to Jewish settlements.”
A table of statistics published by the Central Statistics
Bureau[1] regarding
data about local councils in 2011 compares the budgets of majority Jewish
authorities to those of the Bedouin authorities chosen at random. The majority
Jewish authorities that were chosen are also recognized as being ranked low on
the socioeconomic ladder and must deal with high unemployment rates. On
the majority Jewish side data was gathered from Yeruham, Sderot,
Ofakim, Arad, Netivot, Dimona, and Kiryat Gat. On the Bedouin side data
was gathered from Segev Shalom, Abu Basma, Arara, Tel Sheva, Hura, Ksifa, and
Rahat.
A comparison of data from 2011 displays the exact
opposite: governmental participation in the budgets of Bedouin authorities is
almost twice as much as its participation in budgets of majority Jewish
authorities.
Government Participation in Local Authority Councils
1. The annual percentage of governmental participation in
budgets for majority Jewish authorities
(including “exceptional budgets”) stands at an average of 51.6%. For Bedouin
authorities, the annual governmental participation (including “exceptional
budgets”) is an average of 78.9%. The town of Abu Basma stands out with a
striking 98% (!). The budget of the authority comes from governmental aid, with
only 1.8 percent from independent income.
Percentage of Property Tax Income from General Budget
2. Percentage of Property Tax Income from General
Budget: For majority Jewish authorities, the
percentage of independent income from property tax payments in the annual
budget stands at an average of 21.3%. On the other side, the percentage of
property tax in the annual budget for Bedouin authorities stands at only 3.7%.
It is noteworthy that for the Council of Arara, the percentage of property tax
collection rose 142% from 2010 to 2011. On opposition to this, during the same
period property tax collection for Abu Basma fell by 87%.
Governmental Budgets per Person
Dividing the average governmental participation in
budgets for majority Jewish authorities mentioned (693,595,000 NIS) by the
total number of residents (185,400) leaves 3,741 NIS per person. Dividing the
average governmental participation from the budgets of Bedouin authorities
(599,869,000 NIS) by the number of residents in all of the authorities
mentioned (140,200) leaves 4,278 NIS per person. If so, the Bedouin authorities
enjoy a governmental investment per person that is 537 NIS higher than the
governmental participation per person in the Jewish authorities.
3.
Property
Tax Payments to Local Authorities.
Residents of majority Jewish authorities numbering at
185,400 people made property tax payments in 2011 of an amount of 119,107,000
NIS for 81,051 square meters. The amount of total income from property taxes in
these authorities stands at 325,387,000 NIS. The residents of Bedouin
authorities, numbering at 140,200 people, paid in that year 20,749,000 NIS for
only 19,885 square meters. The amount of income from property taxes in these
authorities stands at 27,232,000 NIS. This data teaches on the one hand about
the unusually low amount of property tax payments in the Bedouin sector (both
from housing and industry), together with a general dysfunction in the
collection system of the Bedouin.
The full findings of the report conducted by Regavim[1] conclusively
refute the claims of discrimination in budgets. It turns out that that
percentage of governmental participation in the general budget for these
authorities is 36% higher than the governmental participation in majority
Jewish authorities. If you also figure in the amount of governmental aid per
person, there is a difference of more than 500 NIS in favor of the residents of
Bedouin authorities.
The discrimination actually favoring the Bedouin
continues despite the unusually low amount of property tax payments among the
Bedouin sector, where the amount rests at an average of 3.7% of the total
budgets for these authorities. In addition, this data points to a low amount of
property tax collection areas in the Bedouin sector.
Conclusion: The source of poverty and backwardness among
the Bedouin authorities is largely due to the fact that residents do not pay
taxes as required by law and live off the public purse. The key to improving
quality of life in the Bedouin communities lies in the application of law and
participation by residents in property tax payments – as is usual in any other
authority in the country.
[1] “Discrimination or Lack of Inspection?” A report
comparing the Jewish and Bedouin budgets in the Negev. July, 2013
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