Covid-19: Israeli Arabs avoid the worst but not the economic crisis

With a total of 16,683 cases and 279 deaths as of May 23, Israel and its nine million people have been relatively spared from Covid-19. The number of deaths per inhabitant established by Johns-Hopkins University is low since it stands at 3.14 deaths per 100,000 people, against 42.12 for example for France. And the number of contamination there is also much lower than in many European countries.

The death toll is even lower for the Arab community in Israel, which has the lowest number of cases and deaths from Covid-19, with around 1,000 confirmed infections and only five deaths. Arab citizens of Israel (Palestinians, Bedouins and Druze, predominantly Muslim or Christian) represent 20% of the population. A fragile community, often neglected by public authorities, who appeared particularly vulnerable when the pandemic hit the country, as did the ultra-Orthodox. These two communities are the poorest in the country: 47% of Arab citizens and 52% of ultra-Orthodox lived below the poverty line in 2018, according to the National Insurance Institute.

But unlike the Arab community, where the contamination rate represented 8% of new cases, ultra-Orthodox cities and districts have become hotbeds of contamination. According to a report by the Jerusalem-based Taub Center for Social Policies, 22% of new infections in Israel, registered between March 31 and May 12 in cities with at least 5,000 residents, were in towns and villages populated exclusively by ultra-Orthodox. However, they only represent 5% of the population.

Cooperation and discipline

For Arab political leaders, these results are above all linked to the cooperation and responsiveness of local political, professional and religious organizations, as well as to the discipline of their members. "The level of organization of the Arab population has been impressive, despite the government's lack of involvement in the management and preparation of the crisis with our community," said Aida Touma-Suleiman, member of the Israeli parliament, to France 24. for the Unified List, an alliance of three mainly Arab parties.

From the beginning, "we have set up a war cell for the Arab population, which brings together the best experts from our community, specialists in health, employment, information and communication, and everyone has cooperated, "adds Aida Touma-Suleiman, also chair of the Special Committee for Work and Social Assistance.

"It took the Israeli Minister of Health two weeks to respond to our request to translate the information into Arabic. But we were already working among the population, and we had already launched an information campaign in Arabic, calling on the community to take precautionary measures, "adds Aida Touma-Suleiman.

A car and a speaker to inform

Ali Salam, the mayor of Nazareth, the largest Arab city in Israel (110,000 inhabitants) located in the north of the country, believes that the cooperation between the municipality, religious leaders and the Israeli security forces has been of great help. .

"At the start there was a real concern that the virus would spread among the Arab population. But that did not happen" he explains to France 24. "On March 8, I formed a committee and we met with national security, the police, the religious authorities, the directors of the three hospitals in Nazareth and we worked together with one voice to call on citizens to respect social distance measures. This cooperation was crucial. "

For Ali Salam, the residents showed admirable discipline: "They did not leave their house, except to buy food, and even then they applied the rules. We had a car equipped with 'a loudspeaker who circulated in the city, 24 hours a day, broadcasting the instructions to stay at home and to respect the directives of the Ministry of Health, the Prime Minister and the mayor ".  

This level of discipline is not surprising, said deputy Aida Touma-Suleiman: "The population has shown exemplary responsibility because they understood that an epidemic among the population would have been a disaster. Our health infrastructures are weak. The hospitals in Nazareth were not prepared for such a crisis, "she said.

Limited religious gatherings

Kafr Qasim, an Arab city of 23,000 people 20 kilometers from Tel Aviv, also managed to prevent the spread of the virus. Sheikh Sahwat Freij, deputy secretary of the Islamic Movement in Israel and chairman of the movement's national emergency committee, said the strict instructions from religious authorities played an important role.

"In Kafr Qasim, we closed schools, mosques, places of worship and we did not give recommendations to people but a 'fatwa', a formal religious order, specifying that they were not allowed to come together for the moment and that they should stay at home with their families as much as possible and avoid going to the streets, "he details to France 24.

"It worked even if some people tried to resist. There are people who go to pray at the mosque five times a day. Some of them are elderly and have been doing this for decades and therefore it is very difficult for them to change their habits. But we told them: we must stay alive so that we can return to the mosque and resume our respective lives. "

Government and local authorities feared that confinement would be difficult to enforce during the month of Ramadan, when families gather to break the fast at the end of each day. "We managed to hold out for the whole month, when Muslims are in the habit of sharing the evening meal with the whole family, ie 40 to 50 people. This time, they reduced this number to 6.7 or 10 people maximum and they didn't go out after the meal. The discipline really helped, "said Ali Salam, the mayor of Nazareth.

With the relaxation of containment measures, mosques and churches reopen. "Instead of limiting the number of faithful to 10, we limit them to 50 or 60" specifies Ali Salam. "Sunday (May 24) will be a holiday (Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan) but we told them that even on this occasion there cannot be more than 50 or 60 people maximum during the religious service."

A very young population

Other factors could explain the low rate of contamination and death among Israeli Arabs, such as the average age of the population, according to Sami Abu Shehadeh, member of the Knesset for the Unified List.

"The Arab minority in Israel is very young. Testing in the community started very late. We do not know how much the virus has spread due to the lack of testing. It is possible that there has been a epidemic but as the population is predominantly young, very few cases have been diagnosed and among them, very few deaths are to be deplored, "he explains.

"Besides, there is the problem of segregation in Israel. More than 90% of the residents live separated: the Jews between them, same for the Arabs. The latter are very isolated in their neighborhoods which are small. So, even if the virus is spreading, as it was the case in Deir el Asad [in the North, note], the epidemic remains completely controlled ", judge Sami Abu Shehadeh.

"We have distributed food packages to people in need and brought tens of thousands of care kits to homes across the country. This has also helped us to keep the situation under control. Because when you bring help and food, people are more receptive to your instructions. They take them seriously because they know you are on their side. "

Sami Abu Shehadeh clarified that this assistance was not reserved for the Arab communities. When the ultra-Orthodox Jewish city of Bnei Brak, 18 km from Kafr Qasim, became a hotbed of contagion, Mayor Adel Badir, also a member of the Islamic Movement, reportedly called the Mayor of Bnei Brak to offer him help. A question of common sense, according to MP Sheikh Sahwat Freij: "You know the coronavirus does not make a difference between Jews and Arabs. I think that if the situation had been reversed, Bnei Brak and the other cities would also have offered their l 'help".

The specter of unemployment

Another factor that has helped stem the spread of the virus is the fact that most Israeli Arabs work in the service sector, according to Sami Abu Shehadeh. "Garages, restaurants, construction companies, hotels, housekeeping services ... all these activities have stopped. Some sectors are still stopped such as restaurants or hotels. The virus has not spread because all these workers stayed at home. " 

While the Israeli Arab community has been relatively spared the virus, the local economy has been hit hard by containment. "As with every disaster that strikes a country, the weakest are the least well off. Half of the Arab population lives below the poverty line and the stoppage of the service economy was a heavy blow" says Sami Abu Shehadeh.

"Because of poverty, crime is also much higher in our community than the national average. Unfortunately organized crime in recent years has become more prevalent, and a large portion of this revenue comes from interest-bearing loans to This will pose major problems in the near future, since people who are already poor have lost their jobs and have had to resort to this type of borrowing. The people who manage these businesses, unfortunately, do not have stopped working during the coronavirus epidemic, "he said.

For Aida Touma-Suleiman, it is clear that the unemployment rate and poverty in the community will increase. "Small businesses have already disappeared; others are on the verge of bankruptcy," she explains. "Now the statistics indicate that the hardest hit on the job market are young Arab men and women. This is going to be a big problem; I don't think they will be able to return to the workforce easily."

Another problem, she said, was the decision of the Israeli government not to provide unemployment benefits to people under the age of 20. A measure that only affects the Arab population since Israelis under the age of 20 do their military service and therefore benefit from a subsidy, food and accommodation. "Even if an Arab under the age of 20 has already worked and paid social security charges, he will not receive unemployment benefit. As a result, during the three months of crisis, these young people receive nothing." And local authorities will therefore have to manage the social consequences of the epidemic.

Article translated from the original in English by David Rich. 

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