While several ministries face budget cuts under the new state budget, Minister of Public Security Yitzchak Aharonovitch was granted a budget increase. On Thursday, Aharonovich said he plans to use NIS 100 million in newly pledged funding to hire new police officers – preferably, Arab police officers.
Aharonovitch explained that he would prefer Arabs and other minorities when hiring police because “I feel that there aren't enough of them in our ranks.”
The new funding will suffice to hire roughly 300 new officers, police officials say. Aharonovitch hopes to find recruits primarily in the north and south, in primarily Arab areas where unemployment is high.
"It's important to integrate minorities into the police force,” he said. “This will strengthen us and help us move forward, and help to reduce tension in sensitive areas.”
Arab representation in the police force has historically been significantly lower than the percentage of Arabs in the general Israeli population, a fact that some officers fear could increase Arabs' alienation from police.
Jewish police commanders working with minority populations have also noted that many minorities have their own code of justice. Commanders and officers who understand the unique minority culture may be best suited to deal with crime in the community, some have said.