Outsiders I—Israeli Arabs

Abstract

Israeli Arabs comprise about a fifth of Israel’s population, and their share is forecast to grow in the coming decades, which means Israel will have to increasingly rely on them for its labor pool. This poses serious problems for the economy, especially for the high-tech sector industry at its core: Israeli Arabs have far lower rates of education than other Israelis, and they have traditionally lived apart from mainstream Israeli society. Israeli Arabs by and large live in separate communities and are educated in Arabic-language schools, meaning they don’t share in the cultural values that have enabled Israeli high tech to thrive. The process of integrating them will require difficult political and social adjustments that have only just begun and may not succeed.