Arabs in Israel are excluded from technology jobs

When Wassim Abu Salem was a fourteen-year-old boy living in Nazareth, he wanted to learn programming more than anything else. But there was no room for that in his city, and he did not know anyone in the Arab community who worked in the computer field.

He is now 30 years old, and holds degrees in computer science and another in law. He is the founder of the “Loop” Academy, which specializes in teaching young people how to code. He is currently working in the education of Arab children in Israel from the age of seven to 18 years, as he has developed a program for that for the current generation, because he did not have this when he wanted it. Abusalem also co-founded El Toro, a startup whose platform is to mobilize and train software developers. "I like the idea of ​​creating something new that can offer something of value and solve problems," says Abu Salem, sitting in a conference room in a high-rise building in Tel Aviv. This building is owned by Google and provides offices for startups.

Abu Salem is one of the very small minority of high-tech workers in Israel who are Arab citizens. According to Israeli government data, 2% of workers in the modern technology sector, which last year brought in $25.6 billion in investments, have become businessmen themselves.

Sitting with Abu Salem in the same hall was Ahmed Gbeili, 26, a software developer for the El Toro company, who conducted about 50 interviews before he was able to enter the industry six years ago. "I didn't have the right connections," Gbeili said. I was not part of the tech industry community.”

Untapped resource

Israel prides itself on being referred to as an “emerging country,” but the high-tech industry that fuels its economy excludes the largest minority, the Palestinian Arab citizens who make up 21% of the population. This is being done despite the fact that Israel faces a significant shortage of computer engineers and other workers in this field, which equals 6% of the workforce in the field of modern technology.

As elsewhere, relationships are important in Israeli tech culture. News of the jobs spreads through the social and professional networks dedicated to Israeli Jews, who know each other from the elite units of modern technology in the army, and the military service that gives them a very valuable experience before entering the civilian work force.

But that is starting to change now, as an organization called "Etiworks" has brought 4,500 Arab workers into high-tech jobs since 2008. The "Tsofen" organization, which is run by Arabs and Jews, is making efforts to introduce technology companies to Arab cities and towns, most of which are Far from the center of the high-tech industry in Tel Aviv.

Remarkably, the budget issued by the new Israeli government with a wide political spectrum allocated $188 million for a five-year plan to add Arab engineers to the high-tech sector, with the hope of increasing the standard of living of the Arab sector and promoting coexistence in Israeli society.

Although the high-tech sector constitutes less than 10% of the labor force in Israel, it represents about 15% of Israel's GDP and 43% of exports. The average earnings of workers in this sector are about $98,000 annually, twice what is customary in other sectors.

Bigger piece of cake

The changes in the Arab sector proceeded apace, which for several decades was isolated from the Israelis, geographically and socially, and was often viewed with suspicion. Finally, however, the Palestinian citizens of Israel are becoming increasingly integrated, economically and politically, and vocal in their demands for their rights.

The United Arab List party, the first Arab party in a government coalition, was calling for financing the integration of Arabs into the economy of modern technologies. More Arab university students are majoring in computer science and related fields, although middle-class students have been drawn to more traditional fields such as medicine, rather than the risky and hard-to-reach technology sector. Help came from entrepreneurs.

meet the demand

Lyan Mansour, from the village of Kawkab Abul-Haija, located in the Galilee region, helps graduates during their job search, advising them on how to convey confidence, negotiate for a good salary, and check companies for their opinions. “Many of the Arab graduates are very capable,” Mansour says, but they need support in order to get to the interview. She met graduates with very high rates who spend months trying to find work, even though the industry is short on manpower, and needs at least 21,000 computer engineers. Israeli companies are shifting work to countries like Ukraine and Poland in order to fill this shortage.

The Israeli communication consultant, Amir Mazrok, who works for Israeli technology companies, said after mentioning the billions of investments in the technology sector in Israel last year: “So far, it is breaking all numbers, but companies cannot grow, because they do not hire more employees, the question is how can they grow?

He bemoans that Israel has always relied on what he describes as the "narrow funnel" of the army as the main training ground and a fast-moving frontier in technology. The Israel Innovation Authority warned that without a rise in the number of tech workers, “the Israeli economy will come to a bad end.”

Changes in Arab society

Serene Njeim Kayal grew up as a student, excelling in mathematics and science subjects, in a small village in the city of Acre. She stunned her parents when she rejected their plans to become a doctor, which they considered a natural, socially acceptable choice for a student with her excellent grades, and chose instead to study engineering. There was no engineer in her village at that time.

Her father was so saddened by her choice that he refused to attend her graduation ceremony at the Technion Institute, which is the equivalent of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States. Her three brothers were medical professionals. "It has become a great challenge for me in front of everyone, to become part of the Israeli technology sector," said Kayal, who is now in her 30s.

With the help of the "Eighty Works" organization, she was finally able to get her first job, in a managerial position in a solar energy company. Her shares in the company enabled her to help her husband buy an apartment. She says her father is now proud of her success.

Abu Salem, founder of the Programming Academy, says he believes the Corona pandemic has helped change the way parents view their children's future prospects in the tech economy. He added, “Parents are beginning to understand the importance of technology, and that it is part of our lives. That is why they started encouraging their children to study computer science.” Marwa Agbaria, 25, from Umm al-Fahm, says she is grateful to her parents, who supported her when she left home to study computer science at Tel Aviv University. At the time, about 500 students were studying in this department, including 10 Arab women. She is now the only Arab in a startup company in Tel Aviv, working in software development.

• Changes in the Arab sector proceeded in full swing, after it had been isolated for several decades from the Israelis, geographically and socially, and was often viewed with suspicion.

• The Tsofen organization, which is run by Arabs and Jews, is making efforts to introduce technology companies to Arab cities and towns, most of which are far from the center of the modern technology industry in Tel Aviv.

Dina Kraft is Israel correspondent for the Science Monitor

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