Disparities Between Jewish and Arab Students During COVID-19 Crisis

This short paper summarizes the main findings of a special online survey which was conducted during June 2020 to assess the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on Israeli students. The survey was carried out by the Aaron Institute for Economic Policy and the Israel Democracy Institute, and sampled 675 students who are enrolled in the Israeli higher education system.

Arab students face multiple barriers which hinder their integration and achievement in Israeli academia, as well as their integration into the job market upon graduation. Even during ordinary times, Arab students approach academia from a disadvantaged position compared to their Jewish counterparts. The causes for this underprivileged position include an education system which discriminates against them in every step of their schooling process; the fact that most of them are first generation students and thus do not have any role models to look up to; and their lack of fluency in Hebrew and insufficient grasp of English. They are required to manage in an environment which is culturally and mentally foreign to them, and often they lack sufficient emotional maturity – many of them begin their academic studies before the age of twenty, and are not equipped to cope with the challenges of higher education in Israel.

Israel's Arab population has been hit hardest by the crisis, since it has the highest rate of unskilled workers with low educational attainment – the sector which has suffered the highest unemployment rates in the wake of the pandemic. The economic ramifications of the crisis have not spared the student population, and the switch to remote learning throughout the Israeli higher education system at the outset of the pandemic raised additional difficulties and challenges, which are particularly pronounced among the Arab students who hail from a lower socioeconomic background and suffer from severe disparities in terms of infrastructures and digital literacy.

Our survey reveals that in academia, just like in the job market, the COVID-19 crisis amplified the gaps between Jews and Arabs: one fifth of Arab students fear they may have to terminate their studies due to the crisis, which is twice as high as the rate among Jewish students. Also, 74% of Arab students reported that their households have suffered economically due to the crisis, compared to 43% of Jewish students. The economic crisis experienced by students and their families is harsher and deeper in Arab society, on top of the substantial gaps which already existed prior to this crisis. Additional disparities were evident in regards to Internet infrastructure and digital capabilities, impacting the students' overall preparedness to the remote learning scheme and undermining learning conditions for Arab students in particular.

The major concern is that we will see a massive dropout of Arab students in the coming year, in an era in which higher education is the most significant tool for social and economic mobility. In order to nurture the economic integration of Israel's Arab citizens, the state must help them to withstand the current crisis and reduce the dropout rates which the COVID-19 crisis threatens to increase. Without such aid, the important steps taken in recent years to integrate Arab society into higher education might all go to waste.