Much has changed in Israel since its independence in 1948. Following a pendulum swing from a fundamentally socialist to free market economy, inclusivity has now become one of its emerging socio-economic features.
Throughout this evolutionary process, the country has remained firmly grounded in the principles of social equality embodied in Israel's Declaration of Independence, which have guided government policy and parliamentary legislation ever since. This basic value is driven home forcefully in the country's very first Voluntary National Review (VNR) recently submitted to the United Nations with a view to its upcoming high-level political forum on sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Of course, Israel is no different than any other society grappling with closing the gap between vision and reality. This has been the case most notably when it comes to absorbing millions of immigrants, empowering a minority community now comprising 20% of our total population of nine million, and bridging a growing socio-economic divide.
Indeed, the OECD has concluded that while Israel's economic growth is strong, sharp socio-economic gaps remain among its various communities. In confronting these challenges head-on, Israel has emerged a stronger – and better – society.
Sustainable development in Israel is not a luxury or a catch phrase – it is vital to improving the well-being of present and future generations. As a society with a broad social, cultural, ethnic, religious and economic mix, Israel's governments across seven decades have recognized their responsibility to provide equal opportunities for all.
It is therefore no coincidence that Israeli governments include a high number of robust ministries dealing with societal challenges, from the Ministry for Labor & Social Affairs to the Ministry for Social Equality. Bolstered by partnerships with a forward-looking private sector, social impact investors and an abundance of non-profit organizations, the country's official bodies are working to meet our citizenry's just expectation of social equality.
Known for at least the past two decades as the "Start-up Nation," Israel is transitioning toward a new socio-economic identity: "Impact Nation." Simply put, there is a growing recognition in the country that its technological innovation prowess needs to be harnessed for the wider good.
Nowhere is this understanding more apparent than in the Economy Ministry's Israel Innovation Authority, which collaborates with other government entities to create tailor-made R&D support tracks. Examples include the Diverse Startups Program for minority entrepreneurs; the Assistive Technology for the Disabled Program to improve the quality of life for the disabled; and the GCI Grand Challenges Program focused on humanitarian health, agritech and water challenges in developing nations.
The Social Equality Ministry's "Digital Israel Initiative" strives to harness the potential of the digital revolution to reduce socio-economic gaps, promote economic prosperity, and create a smarter and more accessible government. One of its most prominent initiatives is "Campus," an online learning platform with over 150 open and free courses aiming to reduce social gaps, increase the equality of opportunities for different segments of the population, and to provide flexible training solutions for an ever-evolving labor market.
The Council for Higher Education, which is fully funded by the Israeli Government, has made particularly great strides in fueling the country's transition to Impact Nation as it upgrades efforts to empower women and minorities. Thanks to a long-term plan seeking to ensure that women will make up at least 35% of all students enrolled in high-tech bachelor’s degree programs, the number of female computer science bachelor’s degree students has doubled since the start of the decade.
The Council's figures for Israel's minority communities are especially impressive. Indeed, the targets set for 2022 to expand the representation of Arabs in higher education commensurate with their share of the population (20%) have already been achieved this year: bachelor’s degree – 17% (in accordance with the target); master’s degree – 14% (exceeds the established target of 12%); doctoral degree – 6.7% (close to the target of 7%).
These positive developments have not occurred in a vacuum; in late 2015, the government parted ways with years of policy that lacked clarity and adopted a five-year, NIS 15-billion "Economic Development Plan for the Arab Community." Since its adoption, proportional budgeting by government ministries is being channeled not only to education but also to employment, transportation, housing, child-care, policing and more.
Israel's Justice Ministry also operates the National Anti-Racism Unit, whose objective the Prime Minister recently highlighted. Speaking at the annual state ceremony in memory of the Jews of Ethiopia who died en route to Israel in the 1980s, he said:
“I also recognize the problems, the racism and discrimination which Ethiopian Jews suffer, and we will not tolerate this phenomenon in the democratic State of Israel.”
Such oversight units are important. In Israel, as elsewhere, the government must work pro-actively to guarantee that the intention of judicial and legislative edicts permeates to the level of citizenry.
“to create a strong basis for the partnership between us, we will have to ensure an accessible ‘Israeli dream’ that can be realized by each and every young person, judged only on the basis of their talents, and not according to their ethnic or social origins.”
Nothing could emphasize better Israel's commitment to the UN's SDGs and eagerness to share our experience with the international community. We are confident that, together, we can turn this dream into reality.