Israel sets aid for Israeli Arabs attacked by Jews
Reuters
Date: 09-26-05
By Tali Caspi
JERUSALEM, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Israel's cabinet agreed on Sunday at Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's urging to ask parliament to approve compensation for Israeli Arab victims of Jewish nationalist attacks.
The move came in response to an outcry by Israeli Arabs who discovered after surviving a shooting attack by a Jewish army deserter in northern Israel in August that they were ineligible for full state compensation.
Under the current law, only Israelis who fall victim to "an organisation hostile to Israel" -- a reference to Palestinian militant groups -- can receive government payouts.
The amendment, which the cabinet voted to send to parliament for approval, states that "anyone -- Arab or Jew -- hurt ... as part of a nationalist dispute in Israel will receive compensation".
Officials said Sharon, who denounced the shooting that killed four people in the Israeli Arab town of Shfaram as a "terror attack", pressed his cabinet to vote in favour of the amended law.
"There was an oversight in the law," Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon said. "Today the government has rectified the problem and in the future all victims of nationalistic crimes in Israel will be treated equally."
Israeli Arabs make up a fifth of the population of the Jewish state and have long complained of discrimination by the authorities. Israel says its Arab citizens enjoy full civil rights and vocal parliamentary representation.
"This is a poor man's victory," said Issam Makhoul, an Arab member of Israel's parliament and himself a survivor of a 2003 assassination attempt by a Jewish ultranationalist.
"Look, it's important to see the beginning of change. But let's not forget this is only one small action against a very large problem," Makhoul said.
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