Barriers to the use of digital government among the Arab population in Israel – A case study of digital divide

Purpose – 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. Design/methodology/approach – 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. Findings – 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. Originality/value – 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. Peer review – The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-10-2024-0669