Discrimination in Israel: the struggle against poverty and destruction in the unrecognised Arab villages

Date: Wed 3 November 2010

More than 80,000 Arab citizens of Israel live in villages that the Israeli government refuses to recognise. As a result, the inhabitants of most of these villages are forced to live without water or electricity and suffer discrimination in access to health, education and transport facilities, as well as constant house demolitions, fines and harassment. Residents of unrecognised villages have no municipal representation, and the severe environmental problems they face often remain untreated due to their lack of recognition.

This is a rare opportunity to hear from Yoad Winter, one of the founders of the Arab-Jewish partnership Taayush in Northern Israel, and an activist with the Negev Coexistance Forum, about the historical and political circumstances that led the State of Israel to ignore more than 100 of its localities and about the on-going Arab-Jewish struggle against discrimination.

Yoad will be joined by Ismail and Aziz Abu Madegam, representatives from Al Araqib, who will talk about living under the constant threat of demolitions and about the current situation in the village. The evening will be moderated by Mansur Nsasrah, a PhD candidate at Exeter University who teaches Middle East Studies and International Relations at the universities of Exeter and Plymouth.