Last update - 00:00 05/12/2006
State to create NIS 140 million fund to invest in Arab sector
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent
The government will create a NIS 160 million fund designated for investment in the Israeli Arab sector, the Prime Minister's Office announced on Tuesday.
Speaking at a business conference at the Dan Acadia hotel in Herzliya, PMO Director-General Ra'anan Dinor said the initiative's objective was to battle poverty in the Arab sector.
"We want to prevent a situation in which there are two separate economies with different participation levels in the work force and unequal opportunity," Dinor said. "The government's policy must provide the tools promising the participation of the Arab sector in the Israeli market."
Half of the fund's money will be provided by the government while the other half will be raised from investors by a private company.
The PMO also said it was considering creating an additional authority to develop the Arab sector, focusing on assisting Israeli Arab municipalities, the inclusion of women in the workforce and improving education.
The PMO added, however, that the plan was still in its first stages.