About the forum

The Arab Economic Forum is an independent, non-profit institution (institute) for scientific and applied research, concerned with socio-economic issues and policies in the Palestinian Arab community in Israel. The importance and distinction of this forum lies in its specialization in studying economic and social issues and their repercussions on the Palestinian Arab society, as well as in its ability to support the action strategies of decision makers, which would contribute to facing the economic and social dilemmas and challenges faced by the Palestinian Arab community in Israel recently.

Forum goals

The forum has several objectives, the most important of which are:

• Enhancing the local economic and social research capacity and developing relations with the scientific and research community at the regional and international levels
• Producing applied research and promoting its use in the process of drawing up economic and social policies that would serve the Palestinian Arab community in Israel
• Providing advisory support to decision makers (the Arab Follow-up Committee, local authorities, and the Joint List) at the official and civil levels to enhance the ability to make sound economic and social decisions. This is done through professional workshops: for academics, officials in government departments, and specialists in the public and private sectors. The fruit of these workshops will be the development of economic plans and the reading of financial reports. The workshops will be held with the participation of the Association of Companies Managers in Israel
• Providing a platform for national democratic dialogue on the economic and social policies of the Palestinian Arabs in Israel, by organizing an annual conference on economic development in the Arab community in Israel, in partnership with the Israel Executives Association, Globus newspaper, Bank Hapoalim, government departments, local authorities, and businessmen and women
• Provide information about economic and social performance and disseminate it to enhance community awareness
• Attracting and attracting scientific and research competencies to contribute to the implementation of research programs

Our message

The initiative to establish the Forum stems from the conviction that there is an urgent need to study socio-economic policies under the supervision of Palestinian researchers, to propose alternative policies and strategies of action that are compatible with the dilemmas and challenges facing Palestinian society, and to contribute to social change and bridge gaps on the economic and social levels.

Our vision

The forum focuses on a variety of economic-political and socio-economic issues, including: combating poverty, combating unemployment, women in the labor market, human resource development policies, social security policies, providing resources for the education system and other critical issues facing Arab society in recent years.

Mechanism of Action

The Forum operates independently financially and administratively, and has no party, sectarian, or ideological affiliation. It is supervised by a board of trustees composed of academics and personalities from within the country and the diaspora. The Board of Trustees determines the forum’s policy, approves its work plans and programs and its financial budget, and monitors the implementation of the forum

The forum is managed by Dr. Sami Meari (founder-founder), is a lecturer and researcher at Tel Aviv University. His research focuses on the economics of conflict, migration and its impact on the labor market, the impact of the Arab-Israeli conflict on the Palestinian and Israeli economies, and discrimination against minorities.