This study aims to examine barriers to digital government service usage among Israel's Arab population, an Indigenous ethnic minority comprising 21% of the country's population. Despite similar Internet usage rates between Arab (88%) and Jewish (93%) populations, a significant disparity exists in digital government adoption: 36 versus 60%, respectively.
Using data from the Central Bureau of Statistics' Social Survey (2018–2022), this research analyzed a sample of 6,204 Israeli Arab citizens aged 20 and above.
Three main conclusions emerged: (1) The “digital divide approach” was confirmed, demonstrating that societal inequalities (education, occupation, area of residence, Hebrew proficiency, religion, age and gender) are mirrored in the digital sphere. (2) A new class of mobile-only users has emerged, facing limitations in exploiting the Internet's full potential. (3) Contrary to expectations, COVID-19 exacerbated rather than reduced digital inequality within Arab society in Israel.
The uniqueness of this research is reflected in two aspects. First, it focuses exclusively on Israel's Arab population, treating it as a heterogeneous group. Second, it examines the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the use of digital government services.
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-10-2024-0669
