An Arab couple is suing the Israeli government because they are eligible for a somewhat smaller mortgage than those who have served in the military. In Israel, military service in mandatory for Jews and Druze but voluntary for Arabs. Few Arabs, other than Bedouins, volunteer, but those who volunteer get the same benefits as Israeli Jews.
I have no doubt that there is a great deal of discrimination against Arabs in Israel; perhaps I’ll express my views on the Arab situation in Israel some other time. However, I’ve never understood the argument that it’s “discrimination” to deprive them of benefits that accrue to military veterans, given that Arabs are free to volunteer for the military; indeed, they could volunteer for other national service if serving in the military is too much to ask. Military veterans spent at least three years of their lives in the military, often in dangerous assignments. They then have to serve as reservists for a month every year for another two decades. Getting a slightly higher mortgage, among other perks, hardly seems like unfair compensation for bearing this burden. If the Arabs of Israel, and their Jewish supporters, want to successfully fight for equal rights, they should insist on not only getting equal benefits to Israeli Jews, but on bearing equal responsibilities. But it’s a little too cute to argue that one should be eligible for the same state benefits as those who serve the state.
UPDATE: My colleague Ilya Somin writes in:
I just thought I’d point out that the Arab suit about housing preferences for veterans in Israel is structurally very similar to the Feeney case decided by the US Supreme Court in 1979 (upholding veterans preferences in the Massachusetts civil service against a challenge that they discriminated against women). I think, however, that the Israeli Arabs’ argument is weaker than Feeney’s because in 1979 (and even to a lesser degree today) women were legally barred from many military specialties, especially the ones most relevant for advancement in rank. By contrast, the IDF does not categorically bar Arabs from any branch of the service, though of course there is probably informal discrimination against them. Moreover, as you point out, Israeli Arabs can get the same benefits by doing civilian governmentt service, while the Massachusetts statute did not give any similar credit for civilian service.
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