Discrimination against Arabs in Israel in Public Accommodations
![handle is hein.journals/nyuilp36 and id is 725 raw text is: DISCRIMINATION AGAINST ARABS IN ISRAEL IN
PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS
MOSHE COHEN-ELIYA*
I. INTRODUCTION
Discrimination against members of the Arab minority in
public accommodations (e.g., recreation areas, disco-clubs,
swimming pools, and transportation) is not uncommon in
Israel. This phenomenon has been documented for years in
the annual reports of human rights organizations in Israel.1 In
recent years, Arabs have begun challenging the legality of such
discrimination in court in the following cases: denial of access
to a water-park,2 denial of membership to a country club,3 de-
nial of access to a recreation area near the Sea of Galilee,4 and
excessive security checks at the airports.5 In all of these cases,
the defendants denied the claim of discrimination. They
claimed that the nationality of the plaintiffs was not taken into
account and that in fact they were evaluating the plaintiffs on
individual grounds, which was necessary to ensure the security
of the other customers. The plaintiffs rejected this claim, in-
sisting that the defendants did take their nationality into ac-
* Fellow, Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School; Lecturer, Ra-
mat-Gan Law School.
1. See HA-AGUDA L'Z'KHUYOT HA-EZRACH B'YISRA-EL, DuAKaH SHENATI
1992-1993 [Ass'N FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN ISR., ANNUAL REPORT 1992-1993] 15
(1993); ASS'N FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN ISR., ANNUAL REPORT 1993-1994, at 15, 18
(1994); ASS'N FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN ISR., ANNUAL REPORT 1994-1995, at 12
(1995); ASS'N FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN ISR., ANNUAL REPORT 1995-1996, at 12-13
(1996); ASS'N FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN ISR., ANNUAL REPORT 1997-1998, at 14-17
(1998); Ass'N FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN ISR., ANNUAL REPORT 1998-1999, at 18, 20
(1999); ASS'N FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN ISR., ANNUAL REPORT 2001-2002, at 7-8
(2002).
2. C.C. Um.) 11258/93, Na'amne v. Kibbutz Kalia (unpublished) (on
file with author).
3. C.C. (Natanya) 2090/99, Abu-Ma'amer v. Merkaz Nofesh U-Sport
Kefar Bilu [Country Club Kfar Bilu] (unpublished) (on file with author).
4. Ketav Ha-Teviah [Plaintiffs' Complaint], C.C. (Tverya) 1347/02,
Balal v. Khof Levanon [Lebanon Beach] (2002) (unpublished) (on file with
author).
5. C.C. Um.) 007832/97, EI-Razek v. El-Al (unpublished) (on file with
author); 18147/98, Talawi v. Arkia Kavey Te-ufa Yisra-elim Ba-am [Arkia Is-
raeli Airlines] (pending) (on file with author).
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Imaged with the Permisson of N.Y.U. Journal of International Law and Politics](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/nyuilp36&div=25&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Discrimination against Arabs in Israel in Public Accommodations
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