Haifa Association Submits Petition to Israeli Court Against "Discrimination and Racism" Towards Arabs
(AWP) - An Arab association in Haifa has submitted a petition to the city’s Israeli court to demand an end to "discrimination and racism" towards Arab children and their families.
The NMW Association stated that it had filed the petition against the Haifa Municipality and the Israeli Ministry of Education, due to "discrimination in the distribution of governmental and official resources, and withholding of direct funding for Arab kindergartens in Haifa".
"The NMW Association reached an agreement with the Haifa municipality a year ago, after a long and difficult struggle. The agreement obliged the city to allocate a building for an Arab kindergarten for Haifa’s Arab community. Over the course of this year, the municipality violated the agreement, did not fulfill its obligations, and did not hand over the building,” said Ibrahim Ghattas, Spokesperson of the NMW Association.
He added that the Haifa municipality also refused to exempt the association from taxes, in order to "dissuade it from educational projects targeting the children of Arab residents" in the city.
NMW indicated that the resulting damage is estimated at 1.2 million Israeli shekels per year, or the equivalent of 330 thousand US dollars.
"Financial support for Arab kindergartens raises the educational level of nannies. We can complete professional workshops that increase our capabilities to enrich children and to develop their sensory, emotional, social, and behavioural abilities. Funding for parents allows them to bring their children to kindergartens, and reduces the burden on them,” said Rana Labnawi, a nanny in a kindergarten affiliated with NMW.
The association pointed out that over the past 15 years, the Haifa municipality has prevented the allocation of buildings for the construction of Arab kindergartens in the city, while allowing the construction of 36 government-funded model kindergartens for the Jewish community.