Adalah Demands the Establishment of Employment Centers in Bedouin Townships in the Naqab

On 8 June 2026, Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel sent a letter to the Ministry of Economy and Industry, the Director-General of the Employment Service, and the Attorney General, demanding immediate action to establish employment centers in six Arab Bedouin towns in the Naqab (Negev, south of Israel). The letter was sent by Adalah Attorney Salam Irsheid on behalf of residents of Hura, Kuseife, Lakiya, Segev Shalom, Ar'arat an-Naqab, and Tel Sheva.

In the letter, Adalah emphasized that: “Although the Arab Bedouin population in the Naqab numbers approximately 300,000 people, over 180,000 of whom reside in seven major townships, and faces the highest rates of unemployment and poverty in the country, there is only one employment office located within a Bedouin locality in the south: in the city of Rahat.”

This demand follows years of state failure to act. In 2022, Adalah filed an Israeli Supreme Court petition to force the Ministry of Economy to open employment centers. During those legal proceedings, the Israeli Employment Service admitted that its single existing Bedouin center in Rahat was highly successful because it’s tailored to the community's unique needs and recommended the establishment of  five new employment centers in Bedouin towns. Years later, the professional recommendations to build new centers remain completely unfulfilled, leaving the severe shortage of services entirely unchanged.

In August 2023, despite the strong need, the Supreme Court rejected the petition, emphasizing that the Ministry of Economy is examining a new policy for the provision of online employment services, which could potentially impact the geographical distribution of the bureaus in the future. In Adalah’s view then, “the Supreme Court granted the Minister of Economy full permission to continue to evade his legal obligations, in spite of a professional recommendation that has been pending for two years, which obliges the authorized entity – here, the Ministry of Economy – to open employment bureaus in Bedouin towns.”

Years later, the professional recommendation to build new centers remains completely unfulfilled, leaving the severe shortage of services entirely unchanged.

The continuation of the current situation, where physically, linguistically, and culturally accessible employment offices are non-existent in six Bedouin townships directly breaches the state’s duty and contradicts the social purpose of the Employment Service Law. Conversely, in Jewish Israeli localities with vastly better socioeconomic indicators, lower unemployment rates, and even significantly smaller populations, fully operational employment centers have been maintained for decades. The letter emphasizes that this failure directly violates the residents' right to equality, as well as their rights to social security and a minimum dignified existence.

Adalah highlighted that the lack of accessible employment centers also severely impacts Arab Bedouin women, who face deep-seated traditional social and cultural barriers when attempting to enter the labor market and exhaust their social security rights. Moreover, the broader Bedouin population in the Naqab faces severe structural barriers, including vast infrastructural disparities and a lack of adequate or frequent municipal and inter-city public transportation, compounded by digital literacy gaps and limited proficiency in Hebrew.

Related press releases:

Israeli Supreme Court Approves Continuous Delay in Obligatory Establishment of Employment Bureaus in Bedouin Towns in the Naqab 23 August 2023

Adalah, CSOs, and local councils petition Israeli Supreme Court demanding opening of employment bureaus in Naqab Bedouin towns 20 March 2022