Inequality in the Ivory Tower: Sub-Representation of Arab Citizensin Israeli Universities

Abstract

Research on minority representation in academia has not receive serious scholarly attention until recently, apparently due to the belief that academia is a paragon of liberalism, openness and equal opportunity, however, the few studies that were conducted have completely contradicted this assumption. This paper deals with the representation of Arab citizens in Israel's academia, universities in particular. The Study 1 explores the representation/sub-representation of Arabcitizens in three main areas: The percentage of Arab students (from the BA to the Doctoral level); representation in faculties; and representation on permanent administrative staff. The paper offers up-to-date and precise data, which we received from the academic institutions themselves, and tries to lay the infrastructure for a broader and more in-depth study, which will deal with the barriers facing Arab citizens in Israeli universities.