The Supreme Court, in a two-to-one decision, affirmed claims put forth in a petition by the Adallah organization, ruling that all-Hebrew municipal signs in cities with a significant Arab population are unfair. Consequently, the Court ordered the cities of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Upper Nazareth, Ramla and Lod to include Arabic in all new signs put up in the cities. The ruling gives the cities 2-4 years to add Arabic to the currently existing signs.
The petition had claimed that the current practice is discriminatory and ignores the fact that Arabic is an official language in Israel. Dissenting Justice Michael Heshin wrote that the petitioners were asking the Court to adopt a clear political position according to which Israeli-Arabs are a national and cultural minority and demanding that the State help in advancing their independent identity.