the israeli incorporation regime65 multifaceted system of control and expulsion outside this area.38 For the most part, as in the other arenas of Israeli public and civic life, the presence of Arab citizens on the Supreme Court has been extremely minimal. Only two Arab male justices have served in the Court, Abd-er-Rahman Zoabi in 1999, and Justice Salim Joubran who has been serving since 2003 and today remains the only Arab justice out of a total of 15 Supreme Court justices. All in all, Arabs are systematically denied employment in senior positions in Israeli society and government, and are excluded from the centres of public, social, economic and military power.39 At the same time, special Israeli institutions have been created and assigned the specific task of dealing with Arab affairs and policy-making.40 And, for the most part, these committees view Arab citizens through a security lens and highlight the potential security risks allegedly associated with the ethnic, national and religious identities of the Arab community. Indeed, explicit expression of distaste and contempt for Palestinian-Arabs in Israel is not uncommon among academic, journalistic, political and religious figures in Israeli society. Too many to list here, it is suffice to say that contrary to common 38 On this point, see Sultany (2007). 39 In August 2012, the Netanyahu-Lieberman administration discussed reforming Israel’s draft law, The Tal Law, which deals with the special exemption from mandatory service in the Israeli military given to ultra-Orthodox Jews and Arab citizens. In the past, Arab citizens could volunteer for different forms of national service. In fact, the number of Arab youth choosing to perform national service increased by 60 percent from 2011 to 2012, reaching 2,400 Arab volunteers. Under the new law, national service would be compulsory in a range of social service and health-care institutions, including schools, cultural and community centres and hospitals. Theoretically, such national service could then also qualify Arab citizens to the benefits provided to those Jewish-Israelis performing military service, such as access to scholarships, reduced mortgages, financial aid and accommodation at Israeli universities, among others. However, as it stands, major Arab parties and most Arab civil society leaders oppose compulsory civilian national service for Arab youths, viewing it as a stepping stone for future legislation imposing compulsory military service on the population. Many argue that until Israel becomes ‘a state for all its citizens’ and begins to seriously implement policies and practices placing Arab citizens on equal footing with their Jewish counterparts, compulsory national service further violates and infringes upon the rights and legitimate demands of the Arab citizenry. See Meirav Arlosoroff, “National Service official: Israeli Arabs are more pragmatic than their leaders,” Haaretz, June 27, 2012, http://www.haaretz.com/business/national-service-official-israeli -arabs-are-more-pragmatic-than-their-leaders-1.444263. 40 For instance, the General Security Services (GSS; Sherut haBitachon haKlali), known outside the country as the Israeli Security Agency or Shin Bet is believed to have three operational wings divided into Arab Affairs, Non-Arab Affairs and Protective Security Department. Monitoring and repression of Israel’s Arab citizenry is often incorporated in the mandate of the Arab Affairs Department of the GSS. See BBC News, “Profile: Israel’s Shin Bet agency,” January 30, 2002, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1791564.stm; Sultany (2004, 76–77).