The Arab Economic Forum held its second annual conference last Thursday (10/3) in a slaughter hall in Deir al-Assad. And this year’s conference addressed the economy of the Arab community in terms of its growth and opportunities for revitalization and the challenges surrounding it. The conference was attended by a large number of Arab businessmen, entertainers and representatives of leading development companies in the financial and business sectors.
Among the guests of honor who participated in the conference were, among others, President Yitzhak Herzog (recorded speech) and the Governor of the Bank of Israel, Professor Amir Yaron, and the Chairman of the Supreme Follow-up Committee for the Affairs of the Arab Peoples, Muhammad Barka, and the Chairman of the Qatari Committee for Local Authorities, Mudar Younis, and the Chairman of the Joint List, Ayman Odeh, Knesset deputy, and heads of local authorities, Mr. Samir Halila and Mr. Ibrahim Berham from the Palestinian Trade Center, and the General Manager of the Arab American University offices in the West Bank d. Anan the cock.
The conference, which was held in partnership with the newspaper “Calclist” and the Economic Development Authority, opened with a welcome speech from the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Economic Forum, Mr. Issa Khoury, in which he said that the conference examines the issues related to the obstacles to economic growth and improving the status of the Arab community economically, by highlighting its vital and urgent issues and proposing solutions for them on the one hand, and focusing on the strategic directions on the other hand.
The conference will be held this year after an interruption during the outbreak of the Corona pandemic to form a larger and more comprehensive forum for stakeholders in the issues of economy and development in the Arab society, where it attracts academic elites, representatives of government institutions, the private business sector of the Arab and Israeli community, manufacturers and trade unions, along with politicians and decision makers in the ministerial offices and local authorities.
Only 36% of Arab women integrate into the workforce
And the conference shed light on the challenges facing the members of the Arab community to integrate into the labor market through a keynote lecture by the Governor of the Bank of Israel, Professor Amir Yaron, where she touched on the segment of women, as recent data for 2020 indicate that the percentage of Arab women in the labor market does not exceed 36 % vs. 82% of women in Israeli society. And the study conducted by the Bank of Israel reveals that one of the most important reasons that contribute to the increase in the gaps is the absence of societal awareness of the importance of integrating Arab women into the labor market. In addition, the study believes that there is a responsibility on the heads of industry and the decision makers in the Arab society in order to provide opportunities Work for Arab women. The study also stated that the proportion of Arab men in the labor market until 2020 reached 69% compared to 86% for men in Israeli society.
challenges and obstacles
And the conference discussed all the challenges and obstacles that the young Arabs face in integrating into the labor market, where the Bank of Israel study showed that the first obstacle is the deterioration of the educational system, which suffers from a major lack of infrastructure and the appropriate educational climate, as is the case in Israeli society, and this is negatively reflected in The performance and academic achievement of the Arab student, both in the pre-university and post-university stages, as the data released in 2018 indicate that the percentage of Arab students in the “Hi-Tech” sector reached 12%, while the percentage of Arab students in the higher education course is 17%, and the percentage of those who obtain a certificate “Bajrut” which qualifies them to enter the university 18%.
Only 30% of young Arabs speak Hebrew at a high level
One of the most prominent challenges facing the members of the Arab community is Hebrew language skills, as the data released by the Bank of Israel in 2020 indicate that only 30% of the members of the age group (20-24) are proficient in the Hebrew language at a high level, which is an obstacle to the ratio Great for getting involved in the Israeli labor market which requires high skills in the Hebrew language.
The conference included dialogue sessions to discuss the burning and urgent issues in the Arab society, with representatives of economic companies and businessmen, researchers and academics, and decision makers.
Government resources and how to utilize them
The first session was entitled “State resources, are they for all its citizens?”, and the government’s economic plan was touched upon, and the mechanisms for utilizing it and transforming it from budgets to work projects, and the guests of the session were each; Lawyer Mudar Younis, Chairman of the Qatari Committee of Arab Local Authorities, and Mrs. Nariman Suleiman, from the “Banfsi” Foundation, and Mr. Sami Lahiani, from the Authority for Economic Development in the Arab Community. The session was moderated by Mrs. Suzan Hassan Zahir.
The credit market. Opportunities and challenges
The second session was entitled “The credit market in the Arab society, between the opportunities and the challenges”, and the most prominent guests of the session were the banking supervisor Yair Avidan, as well as the head of the Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority. The session was moderated by lawyer Fayyad Tamish from the “Fisher” office.
The field of hitech is an economic leverage worthy of consideration
The third session discussed the technology sector and entrepreneurship between the existing reality and the desired hope in our Arab society, and was attended by a number of entrepreneurs, workers and influential people in the hi-tech sector, and the session was moderated by Mr. Khalil Shawahneh.
Money and means of draining the resources of the black market
The fourth session discussed the topic of “money in the service of organized crime in Arab society”, and the participants in the session proposed alternatives and ways to get out of this quagmire by establishing economic initiatives and projects that provide many job opportunities and cut off the black market. One of the most prominent of those who attended the session was the former general manager of the Bank of Israel, Mr. Hizi Kalo, and Mr. Dror Matityahu, the partner lawyer at the “Fisher” office. The moderator of the press session was Samira Haj Yehiya.
The Arab and Palestinian Ocean and the economic exchange
The fifth session addressed the issue of regional trade with neighboring countries, trade exchange and regional cooperation and how to benefit from it economically, and among the most prominent participants in the session were Mr. Samir Halila from the Palestinian Trade Center Administration, and Mr. Samir Khoury from the Ş.K Engineering Company. It was edited by the journalist Dania Masaleh.
The final word for the forum manager
And the conference concluded with a speech from the director of the Arab Economic Forum, d. Sami Mi’ari, who thanked the attendees for participating in the conference, said that the Arab Economic Forum has set its sights on developing the economy in Arab society, bridging the gaps through the establishment of economic and developmental projects, and networking with local and regional stakeholders. and emphasized d. Meari on the importance of implementation in addition to planning and recommendations in conferences and professional meetings where he reviewed part of the achievements of the economic forum in addition to organizing and unifying Arab businessmen under one umbrella, and the number of members affiliated to the forum so far has reached 150 including Arab businessmen and women, which contributes positively In the prosperity and growth of the economy of the Arab community.
Conference recommendations
The participants in the conference recommended several important points in order to work on bridging the gaps and reducing the obstacles in all sectors, the most prominent of which are:
- Support and development of what the economic forum had started to work on since its inception, which is to strengthen joint work with businessmen, decision makers and official government bodies in a continuous and strategic manner.
- Work more on strengthening the concept of financial education, and financial inclusion, and create projects in this context in the Arab society.
- Establishing a professional body that includes people with competencies and experiences in order to convert the budgets of the government’s economic plan into programs and projects on the ground to close the gaps that the Arab society suffers from.
- Advancing more in the information technology (HI-Tech) sector by uniting efforts to build a comprehensive and common plan for the frameworks affecting the work environment, and moving towards building technological initiatives and projects enhances societal awareness towards this sector on the one hand, and contributes to creating job opportunities on the other hand.
- Employing projects and economic initiatives to fight violence and crime, and blocking the way to turning to the black market to take loans, and fighting the appearance of “the hypocrisy”.
- Strengthening joint cooperation and exchange of experiences with industry leaders and decision makers in the West Bank and neighboring countries in all sectors.
