Mossawa Center

Legal paper calls for protection of Arab minority in future Israeli constitution

6 December 2006



The Mossawa Center, the Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens of Israel, released a legal paper that calls to protect the legal status of the Arab minority in any proposal for an Israeli constitution. The paper was debated and discussed by leading lawyers and law experts at the Mossawa Center’s conference on the Legal Status of the Arab Minority in Israel held in Nazareth on December 1. For the last several years the Knesset’s Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee has discussed proposals to create a formal constitution for the state of Israel. 

Media conference criticizes discrimination against Arab media

28 November 2006



The Mossawa Center has criticized the Israeli Cinema Council, large private companies, the government advertisement office, the Ministry of Transportation and the First and Second Broadcasting Authority for their discrimination against Arab media. This discrimination marginalizes Arab citizens and negatively affects their right to knowledge and their ability to express their needs and present them to the Arab and Jewish public. Insufficient allocation of advertising budgets to written and visual media, Internet, radio, television, cinema and even phone services has proved to be a method of further marginalizing Arab society. 

Arab and Jewish Organizations Call on Knesset to Impose Fair Budget

6 June 2006



Today over 30 Arab and Jewish organizations called on all Knesset members to impose a fair budget for Arab Citizens in Israel. The demands included requisitions of 3.5 billion NIS for the Arab Community to be included in 2006 budget. The Mossawa Center for the Rights of Arab Citizens prepared the stipulations of this request, which were also included in a report presented to the Knesset describing the social, financial, and economic realities of the Arab community. 

Human Rights groups: "Prisoner Rights are Human Rights"

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Prisoner Association, Arab Association for Human Rights (HRA), Adalah, B'Tselem, Mossawa Center, HaMoked and Public Committee Against Torture in Israel 27 August 2004



Nine human rights organizations placed an advertisement in the Israeli daily newspaper Ha’aretz, stating that the rights of thousands of incarcerated Palestinians are being violated and that the Israel Prison Service must respect the basic and universal principals of prisoners’ human rights. Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent diginity of the human person.The groups include ACRI, The Prisoner Association, The Arab Association for Human Rights, Adalah, B’Tselem, Mossawa, Ha’moked, and the Public Committee Against Torture. 

81 British Members of Parliament Expresss Human Rights Concerns With Israel's Citizenship and Family Unification Law

1 July 2004



81 British Members of Parliament representing all the major parties have supported an Early Day Motion expressing grave human rights concerns with Israel’s possible decision to renew Israel’s Citizenship and Family Unification Law. The British MP’s wrote “That this House expresses grave concerns that the Israeli Government is due to renew the Citizenship and Family Unification Law in July; notes that the law clearly discriminates against Israeli citizens of Palestinian origin and their spouses by denying Israeli citizenship or residency status to spouses of Israeli citizens who are residents of the West Bank or Gaza”. 

Report: Israel fails to stop racism, xenophobia, incitement and violence

1 June 2004



Rights group Mossawa accuses Israeli authorities of turning a blind eye to racial incitement by politicians against Palestinian citizens of Israel. The 120- page report the Haifa-based Mossawa Center released Tuesday, combined overall observations with specific examples that occurred in the past four years. Mossawa said thousands of them “suffer from xenophobia, incitement, racial discrimination, racial violence, and hate speech.” The report is modeled on the recent report on anti-Semitism released by European organizations.