Druze protest, demanding funds for virus recovery
Druze and Circassians staged a protest in Tel Aviv Sunday and called on the government to approve a five-year budget to assist their communities in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis.
Hundreds of participants blocked the roads, calling for the transfer of a NIS 200 million emergency budget that was approved by the government for assisting them in dealing with the crisis. The protesters wore masks and were careful to maintain two meters between them, in accordance with the Health Ministry’s social distancing regulations.
Protesters waved the colorful Druze flag, which served as the flag of the Jabal Druze State until 1936.
The Druze community is the only Israeli population currently operating without a clear budget. The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Adalah, appealed to the High Court on Sunday claiming that the state is not offering equal treatment to the local authorities in the Arab sector.
While the state has offered to compensate local authorities for loss of property tax from the many businesses that are closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak and cannot afford to pay it, the Arab local authorities said that this puts them at unfair disadvantage. Arab municipalities often have few businesses and collect property tax from private citizens’ homes.
Adalah claims that this distinction in property tax between businesses and private homes is not in the letter of the law as it only refers to property tax in general, without stating if the intention is for businesses or homes.