War affects all citizens of Israel and missiles and rockets do not distinguish between Jews and Arabs. Yet when we examine living conditions, infrastructure and socio-economic structures, it becomes clear that not all citizens enter this reality on equal footing. During wartime, Arab society in Israel is confronted with structural gaps in sheltering, economy, employment and access to state services that have accumulated over time.

The most visible gap concerns physical protection. According to the State Comptroller report published in January 2026, only 37 of Israel’s 11,775 public shelters — about 0.3% — are located in Arab municipalities, and eight of those are unfit for use. The report also found that about 3.2 million residents in Israel – roughly one-third of the population – live without accessible safe spaces. Although this figure applies to the country as a whole, the absence of sufficient protective spaces is particularly pronounced in Arab communities.

Additional data indicates that about 46% of Arab citizens live in homes without a safe room compared to 26% in the general population. In nearly two-thirds of Arab municipalities, there are no public shelters at all. In such circumstances, when sirens sound, most people have nowhere to go, and the few shelters that do exist are often inadequate.

Alongside the physical gap there is also a gap in awareness and perception. For many years — at least until the Second Lebanon War in 2006 —Arab society did not see itself as a........

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