Petition to Supreme Court: Cancel Government Decision to Divert Arab Sector Funds to Shin Bet

A number of human rights organizations, together with the National Committee of Heads of Arab Local Authorities, filed a petition today with the Supreme Court against the government, the police, and the Shin Bet, demanding the cancellation of the government's decision to cut half a billion shekels from the budgets of the five-year plan for reducing gaps in Arab society, 'Takdum' (550), and to transfer them to the police and the Shin Bet.

The court was also asked to rule that the Shin Bet is not authorized to handle civil crime and to issue an interim injunction that would prevent the implementation of the cut and the involvement of the Shin Bet until a decision is reached on the petition. Justice Dafna Barak-Erez ordered the government to respond to the request for an interim injunction by August 13.

The petitioning organizations are: The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, 'Itach-Maaki' – Women Lawyers for Social Justice, and the 'Mossawa Center' for the Rights of Arab Citizens in Israel. The petition was filed by attorneys Hagar Shachter and Nitzan Ilani.

The petition explains that, contrary to the government's claim that the funds are not being utilized, professional bodies, including legal counsel from various ministries, indicate that the cut will severely damage development programs for Arab society. This will lead to the termination of projects, the violation of the rights of thousands of people, and the waste of already invested budgets, constituting a serious violation of the right to equality.

The petitioning organizations argue: "The decision does not limit the involvement of the Shin Bet to criminal organizations, but extends it to any civil crime. It promotes the subordination of the Arab public to a separate, non-democratic enforcement system, treating it as a fifth column, and creating two separate enforcement systems where Jews are subject to the police, and Arabs to the Shin Bet." They further argue that the decision was made in a hasty and improper procedure, contrary to the positions of professional bodies.

The chairman of the National Committee of Heads of Arab Local Authorities, Mazen Ghanaim, stated:

"The government's decision sends a dangerous message to the Arab public: instead of adding resources to the fight against crime, they are taking them from Arab society itself. The Shin Bet – a counter-security agency that operates in the shadows – should not be involved in handling civil crime. Arab citizens, like Jews, are entitled to an enforcement system that protects their rights to a fair trial, privacy, and equality."