| About MossawaOur MissionStaff and BoardDonateGet InvolvedSupportersLinks | Private Equity Fund to Invest in Arab Minority9.2.2010
On February 9, 2010, The Israeli Government announced the creation of the Al Bawader fund, a $50 million private equity fund to invest in the economic development of the Arab minority. The venture is largely financed by Jewish and Arab businessman, with some governmental assistance.
The Al Bawader fund invests in technology, manufacturing and service companies with the aim of promoting greater integration of the Minority sector into the Israeli economy. It will focus on companies that both meet the demands of Israeli markets and have the potential to reach out to Arab regional and global markets. In addition, the fund will promote capacity building by investing in businesses that provide job openings for skilled professionals, and by encouraging entrepreneurial endeavors.
While the creation of the fund is an important and promising step towards improving the socio-economic conditions of the Arab minority in Israel and a project that the Mossawa Center has historically recommended, Jafar Farah, director of the Mossawa Center would like to emphasize that such a project is not sufficient to address the needs of the Arab community. The Arab minority in Israel continues to face significant inequalities in the allocation of public services, including a lack of accessible public transportation to and from Arab communities, significant wage gaps between Arab and Jewish workers and poorly enforced labor laws especially regarding discrimination in the workplace. In addition, while the Arab minority makes up about 20% of the population, it receives only 5% of the state budget contributing to under resourced schools, inadequate health care, poorly funded municipal governments and inadequate housing.
The Mossawa Center supports the creation of the Al Bawadar fund, but does not want the achievement to overshadow the ongoing institutional discrimination faced by the Arab minority that will continue to impede sustainable economic development if it is not addressed. | Mossawa in the NewsEventsPress releases |
| The Mossawa Center, 5 Saint Luke's St., P.O. Box 4471, Haifa, 31043 Israel, Phone: (+972) 4-855-5901, Fax: (+972) 4-855-2772 | ||
