Israeli Arab leaders yesterday pledged to fight a proposed 25%-30% cut in National Insurance Institute child benefits for those who have not served in the army or completed national service. The forum of Arab council heads is to meet tomorrow to draw up an action campaign aimed at thwarting the plan, part of a package of recommendations put forward by the Treasury for a NIS 13 million cut in government spending. 
	
	
 Shawqi Khatib, chairman of the monitoring committee of the Israeli Arab leadership, said Arabs would be hardest hit if the government approves the cutbacks in child benefits. Khatib, who also chairs the forum of Arab council heads, said the leadership is diametrically opposed to any cutbacks, particularly when those affecting the lower socio-economic strata of society. 
	
	
 His words were echoed by Muhammad Zaydan, head of the Kafr Manda Local Council. The town, with a population of 14,000, has been at the top of unemployment lists for the past few months. Zaydan said the proposed cut in child benefits would deal a body blow to all those already classed as being below the poverty line. "Those out of work now, who rely on benefits to support their families, will find themselves in an even worse situation," he said. "This is likely to have ramifications for the future, with children skipping school, going out onto the streets, and getting mixed up with crime, drugs, and violence. We already see that now because of the unemployment situation." 
	
	
 Officially, some 23% of the working population are registered as looking for work, but council officials believe the real figures are much higher. They maintain that there are many women and young people who have lost their jobs in the last year who are either no longer registered or did not sign as jobless in the first place. 
	
	
 "I remember when the late prime minister Yitzhaq Rabin did away with the discrimination that had existed for years and equalized child benefits regardless of whether parents had served in the army or not," Zaydan said. "We applauded this move because it was not only just, but it made us begin to feel that we, as Arabs, were an integral part of Israeli society. If this move goes through, we will once again feel that we are being discriminated against."