This was not how Israel’s 1.9 million Arab citizens had hoped to spend Ramadan. Local governments in Israel’s Arab towns and villages have been on strike since May 5, closing down schools, suspending welfare and other municipal services as well as garbage collection, policing and the local coronavirus centers tasked with curtailing the spread of the disease.

The closure of the coronavirus command centers is particularly dangerous in a number of Arab communities hard hit by the pandemic, among them the Negev Bedouin town of Hura, the Wadi Ara town of Umm al-Fahm and Dir al-Assad in the Galilee. Hundreds have tested positive for the virus in these communities, with some in serious condition. Suspending the services of these local centers has halted essential activities, such as evacuating infected residents from their homes to special isolation facilities, disinfecting public buildings, including schools, and reporting to the Health Ministry and other national agencies on the effects of the disease.

The Committee of Local Arab Councils claims it had no choice but to go on strike because no one in the government was listening to them, even though their communities had been harder hit by the pandemic and its repercussions than Jewish ones. Muder Yunes, head of the Arara local council and chair of the umbrella organization of the Committee of Local Arab Councils, told Al-Monitor that Arab society has been suffering built-in discrimination for years — discrimination that the government recognized and sought to address with an unprecedented, five-year economic development plan. The program expires this month. The discrimination, Yunes argued, manifests itself in smaller budget allocations for Arab towns and villages despite their low socio-economic rankings. Thus, for example, while the annual per capita allocation for disadvantaged Arab councils is 560 Israeli shekels($158), similarly ranked Jewish local councils receive 920 shekels ($260), according to Interior Ministry data received by Al-Monitor. The discrimination has been particularly blatant in government compensation for businesses affected by the coronavirus outbreak. “Only 1.7% of the compensation fund was allocated to Arab local councils, whereas Arabs constitute 20% of the population,” Yunes said.

Alaa Gantus, economic adviser of the Committee of Local Arab Councils, told Al-Monitor that tax collection, which makes up 80% of local council revenues, has virtually stopped, for various reasons. For example, unemployment in some towns and villages has surged from 15% to over 40%, pushing many families below the poverty line. Even those still employed face uncertainty over their economic prospects and delay less essential monthly payments, he noted. Residents make most payments to the council by going to the bank or the council offices, rather than using credit cards or standing payment orders, and the quarantine and isolation instructions have prevented many from leaving their homes, sharply reducing collection.