42 per cent of Israeli employers discriminate against Arabs

Some 42 per cent of Israeli employers do not prefer to hire Arab workers, an official Israeli study found.

Local media reported the study was commissioned by the Israeli Economy Ministry’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and was announced in Bar Ilan University in Tel-Aviv.

Times of Israel reported the study’s commissioner Tziona Koenig-Yair saying in a statement: “The survey data raises difficult questions regarding public attitudes in general and employers’ attitudes in particular towards employees from different communities.”

According to Koenig-Yair, the results of the study were based on 500 Jews, the majority of which hold higher degrees. The survey found that about 46 per cent were reluctant to work with Arab colleagues.

The survey reflects the difficulties faced by Palestinians in the Israeli labour market where they are not allowed to work in the public sector, certain industrial zones and several workplaces in their own cities. Therefore, 70 per cent of Palestinians leave their cities to work elsewhere every day.

This has led to a hike of unemployment rates among Palestinians in Israel.

Unemployment rates among Palestinians in Israel are four times higher than that among Jews. In Israel the unemployment rate is less than 6.5 per cent; 4.5 per cent amongst Jews and between 23 to 25 per cent amongst Palestinians.

Meanwhile, unemployment rates amongst Palestinian women in Israel are around 70 per cent. They are the most oppressed members of society in Israel. About 30 per cent of Palestinian women with academic or vocational degrees are unemployed and 50 percent of them do not work in their majors.