NYT libels Israel, implies banks charge higher interest to Israeli Arabs

The New York Times has an article about the opportunities for Israeli Arabs to do well with the UAE deal. 

In the middle of the article comes this pure libel:

At a minimum, Arab-Israeli experts say they hope the availability of gulf capital could help compensate for what they call a debilitating fact of life in Israel: difficulty in obtaining credit from mainstream financial institutions.

Ziyad Abuo Habla, an Arab banking expert, said that Arabs in Israel felt as though they had the word “risky” tattooed across their foreheads, and may be charged higher interest rates than Jews. But Emirati banks, he said, would appreciate that an Arab borrower’s family would step in to help if he or she was unable to repay a loan.

What evidence is there that Israeli banks charge higher interest rates to Arabs? It is against Israeli law to charge different interest rates to different people. 

This sounds uncomfortably like the Middle Ages-era view of the "usurious Jew" prevalent in Christian Europe. 

Beyond that, Israel Mercantile Discount Bank is one of the players behind the Sulam Fund, specifically created to help Israeli Arabs obtain loans for their businesses.

Moreover, the chairman of the board of Bank Leumi is Samer Haj Yehia, an Israeli Arab. It seems unlikely that this banking giant discriminates against Arabs. 

(h/t Tomer Ilan)

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