There
is a popular perception that Israeli Arabs and Jews hate each other, and that Arabs
do not support the State of Israel while Jews do. However, evidence shows that is not the
case. The relationship between Arab Israelis
and Jewish Israelis has blurred lines.
There are Israeli Jews who support the actions of their government in
their abhorrence of Israeli Arabs; there are also Israeli Arabs who abhor
Jewish Israelis and the government it represents. Yet some Israeli Jews, and Israeli Arabs,
dislike the actions of their own government and fight for the liberty of Arab
Israelis.
Israeli
Arabs and Israeli Jews sometimes have different opinions about the government;
some Israeli Arabs tend to reject the government and Jewish Israelis as
rightful entities, while Israeli Jews tend to support the government and hate
Arabs. For this reason, the Pew Religious
Forum website titled Israel’s Religiously Divided Society is
appropriately named. For instance, 64%
of Arab Israelis say that Israel cannot be a democracy and a Jewish state
simultaneously (Pew Report, Table: Most Arabs say Israel cannot be both a
democracy and Jewish state). A minority
of 36% Arab Israelis believe that democracy is possible with a Jewish state,
which supports the idea that not all Israeli Arabs reject the State. The statistic shows that Muslim, Christian,
and Druzi populations agree that the principle of a Jewish Israeli state is not
ideal or feasible. Additionally, 79% of
Arab Israelis state that there is a lot of discrimination against Muslims
specifically, whether it is by security personnel, while traveling, or by other
citizens (Pew Report, Tables: Vast majority of Arabs see ‘a lot’ of
discrimination against Muslims; Roughly one-third of Muslims report having
experienced at least one incident of discrimination in the past 12 months). In her book Ordinary People in an
Extraordinary Land: The Israelis, Donna Rosenthal provides information that
supports that the popular simplistic notion is wrong. Rosenthal explains that as religious devotion
increases, Israeli Arabs are less accepting of the State of Israel and
coexistence (Rosenthal, Chapter 12). Additionally,
Rosenthal provides the account of Sheik Salah, a devout Muslim Arab leader who despises
Jews, and the existence of a Jewish state.
The extent of his hatred for Jews is supported by the fact that Sheik
Salah celebrates suicide bombings and deems the Knesset, Israel, and Zionism as
illegal. The Pew Report also states that
Jews tend to support the State of Israel as well as a Jewish government. For example, about 91% of all Jews claim that
a Jewish state is vital for the long-term survival of the Jewish nation (Pew
Report, Israeli Jews united on need for Jewish homeland). Dati, Masorti, Hiloni, and Haredi Jews agree
that Israel is a religious haven for the Jewish people, a country where Jews
can escape anti-Semitism. Furthermore,
79% of the Jews who were surveyed stated that Jewish citizens deserve
preferential treatment by the government (Pew Report, Table: Most Jews Say that
Israel should give preferential treatment to Jews). The Pew Research Center describes its
position and mission here and here. It is described as a ‘nonpartisan fact tank’
with the goal of reporting data that are empirically researched with little
conflict of interest. The Pew Report is
run by President Michael Dimock, who is an expert in the subjects of politics,
foreign policy, and economy, with a staff of more than 130 people. The Pew Research is based in Washington D.C.,
seems to be reliable and is not inclined toward either Israeli Jews or Israeli
Arabs. Thus the Pew Report has a third
party point of view and is not influenced by the internal politics of Israel
proper.
Nevertheless,
there are other sources which explain that Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs not
only have harmonious relationships, but may also oppose certain government
policies together. Rosenthal explains
that the relationship between Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews is not one of
complete hatred. For instance, Rosenthal
provides the account of a few Arabs who live in the mixed city of Haifa, a city
that has a coexisting population of both Jewish Israelis and Arabs Israelis
(Rosenthal, 260). She includes the
testimony of Yasser Mansour, a secular Sunni Muslim, who is tolerant of his
Jewish neighbors, coworkers, and patients, and accepts the existence of the
State of Israel. In addition, Naama Riba
explains that Jewish and Arab Israelis protested acts of the Israeli government
in her recent Haaretz article titled “Hundreds of Arab and Jewish Architects Call for End to Arab Home Demolitions”. She explains that an Arab-Jewish Planners
Forum was created in order to fight the state-run demolitions in Kalansua and
Umm al-Hiran. In a letter sent to the Knesset
members, distinguished architects, planners, and engineers, Jewish and Arab
alike, decried the Israeli government policy which destroyed houses built by
Arabs, houses which were deemed illegal.
The letter describes that destroying these homes does not solve the
housing needed for the growing Arab population.
The protestors believe that the Israeli government is committing a
discriminatory act undermining the rights of the Arab communities. Riba sites another Haaretz article, Tough Bill on Illegal Construction Set to Get OK from Knesset Panel, which
supports the information Riba provides, and also has strong suggestions that
the policy is unjust. The author, Or
Kashti, explains that the Arab population has been neglected by the Israeli
government, and the government has created policies which curb the building of Arab housing; thus
the Arab population has a severe housing shortage. Consequently, the Arab communities had to
build their own homes without permits.
Kashti also explains that a new bill is being discussed by the Knesset
which has strict policies against those who build the illegal housing, such as
two to three years of imprisonment. Another
Haaretz article, written by Kashti and Jack Khoury, describes another
protest by thousands of Tel Aviv residents, Jewish and Arab Israelis, who
united against the Israeli government in hopes of creating civil equality in
the Israeli government. Haaretz does not
provide information about Naama Riba’s qualifications; however, her personal Facebook page offers a description of her qualifications. She is a former architecture and design
reporter for Xnet, an Israeli media and news source with degrees in
architecture from Tel Aviv University and NB Haifa School of Design. Riba’s information seems to be factual for
there are other Haaretz news sources which support her claims. Additionally, an article in the Times of Israel provides detailed accounts of the protests in Tel Aviv, which
decried the racist treatment in which the government is treating the Arab
minorities. The author, Dov Lieber
states that the 5,000 protesters were Jewish and Arab Israelis who were angered
about the state ordered demolitions in Umm al-Hiran and Kalansua. Both Riba and Lieber’s articles include similar facts, although
Dov Lieber provides a detailed account of the events, such as the testimony of the
wife of a Bedouin man who was shot during a demolition. Additionally, the link which Riba provides, and the
links which Haaretz includes in the article, seems to be overtly
anti-government in the description of the events. The articles use statements such as “tough
bill,” “racist,” and “discriminatory” in describing the government policies and
actions. Naama Riba, Or Kashti, and Jack
Khoury make it seem as if there is a growing population which supports the
coexistence of Jewish and Arab Israelis and who desire a shift in the politics
of the current government.
As
shown, the love-hate relationship between the Israeli Jews, Israeli Arabs, and
the Israeli government does not have a clearly defined boundary.
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