Supreme Court Grants an Order Nisi in Adalah’s Case on Welfare Services in the Unrecognized Villages
At a hearing on 15 February 2000 the Supreme Court issued an order nisi in Adalah’s case concerning the provision of welfare services to the unrecognized villages in the Negev. The 60,000 Arab Bedouin who live in the unrecognized villages in the Negev receive limited welfare services from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare. However, since these villages possess no officially recognized local councils, social services are dispensed by the Municipality of Segev Shalom, one of the seven government-planned Arab Bedouin townships in the Negev.
Although Segev Shalom is given the responsibility to distribute social services, it is not given the necessary means to do so adequately. The unrecognized villages are given less funding for social services than any other communities in the country, despite the fact that the citizens living in these villages are clearly the most needy. For instance, only one social worker is provided for every 6,350 inhabitants, while the town of Rahat is given a worker for every 1,506 residents. In addition, while the unrecognized villages in the Negev are spread cover 1/3 of the total area of Israel, Segev Shalom is given only one vehicle to dispense services to the villages.
As a result of this inability to function properly, the government-appointed mayor of Segev Shalom decided to stop providing social services to the unrecognized villages in August 1999. Immediately following this action, Adalah filed a petition to the Supreme Court against the government-appointed mayor of Segev Shalom and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare on behalf of five NGOs working in the unrecognized villages and two villages committees. Adalah demanded that: 1) the welfare services that had previously been provided to the unrecognized villages be restarted; 2) that the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare open welfare bureaus in the unrecognized villages; and 3) that the Ministry implement the proposals of the Knesset Committee on the Residents of the Unrecognized Villages, which had determined that the needs of the unrecognized villages far exceed the funding provided by the government.
In late August, before the Supreme Court held a hearing on the matter, Segev Shalom restarted the provision of welfare services to the unrecognized villages. Adalah continued representation on the issue of additional services needed and the timeframe for implementation. The government acknowledged that additional services were necessary, but disagreed with Adalah over the amount of services needed and the number of residents currently living in the unrecognized villages in the Negev. At the hearing on 15 February 2000, Adalah presented statistical data demonstrating that the figures the government provided were inaccurate, and that the necessary, additional services were much greater than those offered by the government. The Supreme Court’s order nisi compels the respondents to respond to the legal arguments raised by Adalah within 60 days.
