Arab citizens of Israel[2] is a phrase used to describe Arabs or Arabic-speaking people who are not Jewish, but are citizens of the State of Israel.[3][4] Arab citizens of Israel are often called Arab Israelis, a term with which some identify but the majority reject. (See 'Notes on terminology' below)
The majority identify themselves as Palestinian by nationality and Israeli by citizenship.[5] Many Arab citizens hold many ties, including family ties, to Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jordan. There has been relatively greater emphasis on their identity as Israelis among the Bedouin[6] and Druze, with all of the Druze drafted into compulsory military service [7][8] and a dwindling number of Bedouin volunteering.[9]
Special cases are Arabs living in East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, occupied and administered by Israel since the Six Days War of 1967. The residents of East Jerusalem became permanent residents of Israel shortly after the war. Only a few of them accepted Israeli citizenship, and most of them keep close ties with the West Bank,[10] though they are allowed to vote for municipal services. The mostly Druze residents of the Golan Heights are considered permanent residents under the Golan Heights Law of 1981. Few of them have accepted full Israeli citizenship, and the vast majority consider themselves to be citizens of Syria.[11]
Terminology
Terms used to refer to Arab citizens of Israel in the Arab media or Arabic cultural lexicon are "the Arabs of '48", "the Palestinians of '48"[15] or "the Arabs within" (عرب الداخل). These terms do not include the East Jerusalem Arab population or the Druze in the Golan Heights since these territories were occupied by Israel in 1967. Many Arab citizens of Israel prefer to call themselves simply "Palestinians in Israel' or the term 'Palestinian citizens of Israel'.
"Arabs of Israel", "Arab sector," "Arab population of Israel", or "Arab inhabitants" are terms used by Israeli authorities and Israeli Hebrew-speaking media to refer to non-Jewish Arabs that are citizens and/or residents of the State of Israel.[16][17][18]
The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, for example, therefore includes Arab permanent residents of Israel who do not hold Israeli citizenship in its census figures. As a result, the number of Arabs in Israel is calculated as 1,413,300 people or 19.7% of the Israeli population (2006).[1] These figures include about 250,000 Arabs in East Jerusalem, and about 19,000 Druze in the Golan Heights.
Other terms used to describe Arab citizens of Israel include “Arab Israelis",[19] and "Palestinian Arabs in Israel".[20][21]
Yemenite Jews and certain specific communities of Mizrahi Jews who emigrated or were expelled from their historic areas of habitation throughout the Arab world, largely following the establishment of Israel in 1948 (see Jewish exodus from Arab lands), or their Israeli-born descendants, are not usually identified as Arabs, though they and their ancestors were traditionally Arabic-speaking. The state of Israel has never accounted for them as Arabs, but rather, Jews of all backgrounds are officially accounted for collectively and without distinctions solely as Jews, while only persons of Arab cultural and linguistic heritage of any faith other than Jewish are accounted for as Arabs. Still, there are some Yemenite and Mizrahi that do self-identify as Arab Jews.[22][23]
History
1948 Arab-Israeli War
- See also: Palestinian Exodus
- See also: List of villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
Most Israelis refer to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War as the War of Independence, while mostcitation needed Arab citizens refer to it as the Nakba (catastrophe), a reflection of differences in perception of the purpose and outcomes of the war.
In the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, former British-Mandate Palestine was de facto divided into three parts: State of Israel, Jordanian-held West Bank, and Egyptian-held Gaza Strip. Of the estimated 950,000 Arabs that lived in the territory that became Israel before the war,[15] most were expelledcitation needed or fled; some 156,000 remained.[24] Arab citizens of Israel are largely composed of these people and their descendants. Others include some from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank who procured Israeli citizenship under family-unification provisions that were recently made significantly more stringent.[25]
Arabs who had left their homes during the period of armed conflict, but remained in what had become Israeli territory, were considered to be "present absentees". In some cases, they were refused permission to return to their original homescitation needed, which were expropriated and turned over to state ownershipcitation needed, as was the property of other Palestinian refugees. Some 274,000, or 1 of every 4 Arab citizens of Israel are "present absentees" or internally displaced Palestinians.[26][27] Notable cases of "present absentees" include the residents of Saffuriyya and the Galilee villages of Kafr Bir'im and Iqrit.[28] The legal efforts by residents of Kafr Bir'im and Iqrit to be allowed to return to their homes have continued into the 21st Century.
Arab citizens of Israel generally hold separate marches on Israel's Independence Day, a day they and other Palestinians have termed al-Nakba, meaning "the catastrophe". In Israel, Independence Day takes place on 5 Iyar according to the Hebrew calendar, which means it falls on different dates every year under the Gregorian calendar. Arab citizens of Israel generally mark al-Nakba both on this day, and on the 15 May, as do other Palestinians.[29] Druze soldiers, however, were present at Israel's first Independence Day Parade in 1949,[30] and there have since been parades for Druze and Circassians, as well as special events for Bedouins on Independence Day. [31]
Martial law (1949-1966)
While most Arabs who remained inside what became Israel were granted citizenship, this population was subject to a number of controlling measures, beginning in 1949, that amounted to martial law.[32] This required that they apply for permission from the military governor to travel more than a given distance from their registered residence. It also included the use of curfew, administrative detentions, expulsions, and other activities. Martial law was lifted from the Arab population living in predominantly-Jewish cities some years later, but remained in place in Arab areas until 1966.
A variety of legal measures in effect during this period facilitated the transfer of land abandoned by Arabs to state ownership. These included the Absentee Property Law of 1950 which allowed the state to take control of land belonging to land owners who emigrated to other countries, and the Land Acquisition Law of 1953 which authorized the Ministry of Finance to transfer expropriated land to the state. Other common legal expedients included the use of emergency regulations to declare land belonging to Arab citizens a closed military zone, followed by the use of Ottoman legislation on abandoned land to take control of the land.[33]
In 1965, the first attempt was made to stand an independent Arab list for Knesset elections, with the radical group al-Ard forming the United Arab List. The list was, however, banned by the Israeli Central Elections Committee.
In 1966, martial law was lifted completely, and the government set about dismantling most of the discriminatory laws, while Arab citizens were, theoretically if not always in practice, granted the same rights as Jewish citizens.[34]
1967-2000
The Six Day War marked a dramatic turning point in the lives of Israel's Arab citizens. For the first time since Israel's establishment, Arab citizens now had contact with Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This along with the lifting of military rule, led to increased political activism among Arab citizens.[35] In 1974, a committee of Arab mayors and municipal council chairmen was established which was able to play an important role in representing the community and bringing its pressure to bear on the Israeli government.[36] This was followed in 1975 by the formation of the Committee for the Defense of the Land, which sought to prevent continuing land expropriations.[37]That same year, a political breakthrough took place with the election of Arab poet Tawfiq Ziad, a Maki member, as mayor of Nazareth, accompanied by a strong communist presence in the town council.[38] In 1976, six Arab citizens of Israel were killed by Israeli security forces at a protest against land expropriations and house demolitions. The date of the protest, March 30, has since been commemorated annually as Land Day.
The 1980s saw the birth of the Islamic Movement. As part of a larger trend seen throughout the Arab World, the Islamic Movement emphasized moving Islam into the political realm. The Islamic movement built schools, provided other essential social services, constructed mosques, and encouraged both prayer and conservative Islamic dress. The Islamic Movement also began to have an impact on electoral politics particularly at the local level.[39]
Many Arab citizens supported the First Intifada and assisted Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, providing them with money, food, and clothes. A number of strikes were also held by Arab citizens in solidarity with Palestinians in the occupied territories.[39]
The years surrounding the Oslo Peace Process were a time of optimism for Arab citizens. During the time of Yitzhak Rabin's government, Arab parties played an important role in the formation of a governing coalition for the first time ever. Increased participation of Arab citizens was also seen at the civil society level. However, tension continued to exist with many Arabs calling for Israel to become a state of all its citizens therefore challenging the state's Jewish Identity. During the 1999 elections for Prime Minister 94% of all Arabs voted for Ehud Barak partly due to the hope that an Arab party would be included in the coalition agreement for Barak's government as a continuation of what had started with Yitzhak Rabin. However, Barak chose to form a broad left-right-center government without consulting any Arab parties, a decision that deeply disappointed Israel's Arab community.[35]
October 2000-present
Tensions between Arabs and the state rose to a boiling point in October of 2000 when 12 Arab citizens and one Palestinian from the Gaza Strip were killed while protesting the government's response to what became known as the Al Aqsa Intifada. In response to these events the Or Commission was established to investigate the causes of these incidents and the subsequent police response to them. Many Arabs also chose to boycott the 2001 Israeli Elections as a means of protest.[35]
Tensions between the Jewish and Arab populations were also seen during the 2006 Israel Lebanon Conflict. Arabs complained of not having enough bomb shelters in their towns and villages, of there being a lack of basic emergency information in Arabic, and of political and public incitement against them.[40] On the other hand, Israel's Jewish population viewed the Arab population's opposition to government policy and sympathy with the Arabs in Lebanon as a sign of disloyalty.[41]
Later that year in October tensions between the Jewish and Arab communities were further inflamed when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert decided to include the right wing Yisrael Beitenu in his coalition government. This decision proved to be controversial due to a proposal by Yisrael Beitenu Party leader, Avigdor Lieberman to transfer a heavily populated Arab area to the Palestinian Authority as part of a peace proposal.[42] However, several months later in January 2007 the first Arab minister in Israel's history, Raleb Majadele, was appointed a minister without portfolio (Salah Tarif, a Druze Israeli, had been appointed a minister without portfolio in 2001). However, this appointment received criticism from both left wing members of Knesset who felt it was an attempt to cover up the Labor Party's decision to sit with Yisrael Beitenu in the government and from right wing members who felt that it threatened Israel's status as a Jewish state.[43][44]
Ethnic and religious groupings
In 2006, the official number of Arab residents in Israel - including East Jerusalem permanent residents many of whom are not citizens - was 1,413,500 people, about 20% of Israel’s population.[45] According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (May 2003), Muslims, including Bedouins, make up 82% of the entire Israeli Arab population, with around 9% Druze, and 9% Christians.[46]
The national language and mother tongue of Arab citizens, including the Druze, is Arabic and the colloquial spoken language is of the Palestinian Arabic dialect. Knowledge and command of Modern Standard Arabic varies.[47]
The relationship of Arab citizens to the State of Israel is often fraught with tension and can be regarded in the context of relations between minority populations and state authorities elsewhere in the world.[48] Arab citizens consider themselves to be an indigenous people,[49] though this has been disputed by some pro-Israel advocates, like Joan Peters in her book From Time Immemorial. The tension between their Palestinian Arab national identity and their identity as citizens of Israel was famously described by an Arab public figure as, "My state is at war with my nation".[50]
Muslim Arabs
Outside of the Bedouin population, traditionally settled communities of Muslim Arabs comprise about 70% of Israel's Arab population. They are not required to serve in the Israeli military, and very few (around 120 a year) volunteer.[46]
Muslims in Israel have the highest birthrate of any group: 4.0 children per woman, as opposed to 2.7 for Jewish Israelis, a natural reproduction rate of 3% compared to 1.5%.[51] Around 25% of the children born in Israel today are Muslim. The Muslim population is mostly young: 42% of Muslims are children under the age of 15, compared with 26% of the Jewish population. The median age of Muslim Israelis is 18, while the median age of Jewish Israelis is 30. The percentage of people over 65 is less than 3% for Muslims, compared with 12% for the Jewish population.[46]
According to forecasts, the Muslim population will grow to over 2,000,000 people, or 24-26% of the population within the next 15 years. They will also comprise 85% of the Israeli Arab population in 2020 (Up 3% from 2005).[52] (See the section on Demographics below for more on this issue.)
According to the 2008 National Resilience Survey, which was conducted by Tel Aviv University, Israeli Muslims are the least patriotic, with 43% referring to themselves as "Palestinian-Arabs"; only 15% defined themselves as "Arab-Israelis" and four percent of those surveyed said they considered themselves "Muslim-Israelis".[53]
Bedouin:
- See also: Negev Bedouins and Bedouin
Bedouin Trackers in the Israeli Army
The term "Bedouin" or "Badawi" in Arabic defines a range of nomadic desert-dwelling ethnic groups spanning from the western Sahara desert to the Najd desert including one of its arms, the Negev. Through the latter half of the 19th century, the traditionally pastoral nomadic Bedouin in Palestine began transitioning to a semi-nomadic pastoral agricultural community, with an emphasis on agricultural production and the privatization of tribal lands.[54]
Prior to the establishment of Israel in 1948, there were an estimated 65,000-90,000 Bedouin living in the Negev.[54] The 11,000 who remained were relocated by the Israeli government in the 1950s and 1960s to an area called the "siyag" (closure) made up of relatively infertile land in the northeastern Negev comprising 10% of the Negev desert.[54] Negev Bedouins, like the rest of the Arab population in Israel, lived under military rule up to 1966. Seven government developed cities and towns were established in the "siyag" area where roughly half of Israel's Bedouin population live today.[54] According to the Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel, 110,000 Bedouins live in the Negev, 50,000 in the Galilee and 10,000 in the central region of Israel.[55]
The largest Bedouin locality in Israel is the city of Rahat. The Israeli government encourages Bedouin to settle as permanent residents in these development towns, but some 76,000 continue to live in tens of "unrecognized villages," some of which pre-date the existence of Israel.[54] These villages do not appear on any Israeli maps, and are denied basic services like water, electricity and schools. It is forbidden by the Israeli authorities for the residents of these villages to build permanent structures, though many do, risking fines and home demolition.[54]
Until 2000, each year between 5%-10% of the Bedouin population of draft age volunteer for the Israeli army, although today the number may be less than 1% (unlike Jewish, Druze, and Circassian Israelis they are not required by law to do so).[56] The legendary Israeli soldier, Amos Yarkoni, first commander of the Shaked Reconnaissance Battalion in the Givati Brigade, was a Bedouin (born Abd el-Majid Hidr).
Some Arab Bedouins from the village of Dahaniya in the Gaza Strip were evacuated along with Jewish Israelis during the unilateral disengagement of 2005. Dahaniya was constructed by Israeli authorities after the Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai in 1979, to house Egyptian Bedouins evacuated from the Sinai region who had informed on their fellow Arabs during Israel's occupation there. Good relations with the Israelis allowed these Arabs to enjoy freedom of movement within Israeli areas in the Gaza Strip. Residents of the Jewish settlement of Kfar Yam referred to the Dahaniya community as their "neighbours."[57] The village was also commonly known to both Palestinians and Israelis as the "village of traitors". Residents of Dahaniya had themselves requested that the Israeli military pull them out, claiming that without the presence of Israeli security forces to protect them, their lives would be in danger.[58][59]
Druze
The Druze are members of a sect residing in many countries, although predominantly in mountainous regions in Israel, Lebanon and Syria. Druze in Israel live mainly in the north, notably in Carmel City near Haifa. There are also Druze localities in the Golan Heights, which were captured in 1967 from Syria and annexed to Israel in 1981 .
It is in keeping with Druze religious practice to always serve the country in which they live.[60] So while the Druze population in Israel are Arabic speakers like their counterparts in Syria and Lebanon, they often consider themselves Israeli and unlike the Arab Muslims and Arab Christians in Israel they rarely identify themselves as Palestinians.[61] As early as 1939, the leadership of one Druze village formally allied itself with pre-Israeli militias, like the Haganah.[7] A separate "Israeli Druze" identity was encouraged by the Israeli government who formally recognized the Druze religious community as independent of the Muslim religious community in Israeli law as early as 1957.[62] A study conducted by the Tel Aviv University found that 94% of polled Druze identified themselves as "Druze-Israelis".[53]
The Druze are defined as a distinct ethnic group in the Israeli Ministry of the Interior's census registration. While the Israeli education system is basically divided into Hebrew and Arabic speaking schools, the Druze have autonomy within the Arabic speaking branch.[62]
The Druze of British Mandate Palestine showed little interest in Arab nationalism that was on the rise in the 20th century, and did not take part in the early Arab-Jewish skirmishes of the era either. By 1948, many young Druze volunteered for the Israeli army and actively fought on their side. Unlike their Christian and Muslim counterparts, no Druze villages were destroyed in the 1948 war and no Druze left their settlements permanently.[27] Unlike most other Arab citizens of Israel, right-wing Israeli political parties have appealed to many Druze. Ayoob Kara, for example, represented the conservative Likud in the Knesset, and other parties such as Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu have likewise attracted Druze voters. Currently, a Druze MK, Majalli Wahabi of the centrist Kadima, as Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, is next in line to the acting presidency.[63]
Druze are required to serve in the IDF per an agreement made between their local religious leaders and the Israeli government in 1956. Opposition to the decision among the Druze populace was evident immediately, but was unsuccessful in reversing the decision.[64] It is estimated that 85% of Druze men in Israel serve in the army.[65] In recent years, a growing minority from within the Druze community have denounced this mandatory enrollment, and refused to serve.[66][67] In 2001, Said Nafa, who identifies as a Palestinian Druze and serves as the head of the Balad party's national council, founded the "Pact of Free Druze", an organization that aims "to stop the conscription of the Druze and claims the community is an inalienable part of the Arabs in Israel and the Palestinian nation at large." [68]
According to the 2008 National Resilience Survey, conducted by Tel Aviv University, more than 94% of Druze youngsters classify themselves as "Druze-Israelis" in the religious and national context.[53]. Christian Arabs have been prominent in Arab political parties in Israel and these leaders have included Archbishop George Hakim, Emile Toma, Tawfik Toubi, Emile Habibi and Azmi Bishara.
Some Christian Arabs, like their Muslim and Druze counterparts, are active in Israeli politics and civil life. The only non-Jewish Arab judge to receive a permanent appointment to preside over Israel's Supreme Court is a Christian Arab, Salim Jubran. Notable Christian religious figures in Israel include the Melkite Archbishops of the Galilee Elias Chacour and Boutros Mouallem, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Michel Sabbah and Munib Younan of the Lutheran Church of Palestine and Jordan.
As regards military service, IDF figures indicate that in 2002 and 2003, Christians represented 0.1 percent of all conscripts. In 2004, the number of conscripts had doubled. Altogether, in 2003, the percentage of Christians serving had grown by 16 percent over the year 2000. The IDF does not publish figures on the exact number of conscripts by religious denomination, and it is estimated that merely a few dozen Christians currently serve in the IDF. [69]
According to the 2008 National Resilience Survey, conducted by Tel Aviv University, 24% of Israeli Christians said they defined themselves as "Arab-Palestinians", 24% referred to themselves as "Arab-Israelis" and an equal number of respondents said they considered themselves "Christian-Israelis". [53]
Spatial distribution
Arab citizens of Israel form a majority of the population (52%) in Israel's Northern District [1] and about 50% of the Arab population lives in 114 different localities throughout Israel.[70]In total there are 122 primarily if not entirely Arab localities in Israel, 89 of them having populations over two thousand.[71] The seven townships as well as the Abu Basma Regional Council that have been constructed by the government for the Bedouin population of the Negev,[72] are the only Arab localities to have been established since 1948, with the aim of relocating the Arab Bedouin citizens (see above section on Bedouin).
46% of the country’s Arabs (622,400 people) live in predominantly-Arab communities in the north.[1] Nazareth is the largest Arab city, with a population of 65,000, roughly 40,000 of whom are Muslim. Shefa-'Amr has a population of approximately 32,000 and the city is mixed with sizable populations of Muslims, Christians and Druze.
Jerusalem, a "mixed" city, has the largest overall Arab population. Jerusalem housed 209,000 Arabs in 2000 and they make up some 33% of the city’s residents and together with the local council of Abu Ghosh, some 19% of the country’s entire Arab population.
14% of the Arab population live in the Haifa District predominantly in the Wadi Ara region. Here is the largest Muslim city, Umm al-Fahm, with a population of 43,000. Baqa-Jatt and Carmel City are the two second largest Arab population centers in the district. The city of Haifa has an Arab population of 9%, particularly in the Wadi Nisnas neighborhood.
10% of the country's Arab population resides in the Center District of Israel, primarily the cities of Tayibe, Tira, and Qalansawe as well as the mixed cities of Lod and Ramla which have primarily Jewish populations.[46]
Of the remaining 11%, 10% live in Bedouin communities in the northwestern Negev Desert. The Bedouin city of Rahat is the only Arab city in the South District and it is the third largest Arab city in Israel.
The remaining 1% of the country's Arab population lives in cities that are almost entirely Jewish such as, Nazaret Illit with an Arab population of 9% and Tel Aviv-Yafo, 4%.[70][46]
In February 2008, the government announced that the first new Arab city would be constructed in Israel. According to Haaretz, "[s]ince the establishment of the State of Israel, not a single new Arab settlement has been established, with the exception of permanent housing projects for Bedouins in the Negev." [73]
Major Arab localities
-
Arabs make up the majority of the population of the "heart of the Galilee" and of the areas along the Green Line including the Wadi Ara region. Bedouin Arabs make up the majority of the northeastern section of the Negev Desert.
Significant population centers
| Locality |
Population |
District |
| Nazareth |
64,300 |
North |
| Umm al-Fahm |
41,100 |
Haifa |
| Rahat |
38,900 |
South |
| Tayibe |
33,000 |
Center |
| Shefa-'Amr |
32,800 |
North |
| Baqa-Jatt |
31,000 |
Haifa |
| Shaghur |
28,500 |
North |
| Tamra |
26,000 |
North |
| Sakhnin |
24,400 |
North |
| Carmel City |
24,000 |
Haifa |
| Tira |
20,700 |
Center |
| Arraba |
19,600 |
North |
| Maghar |
18,700 |
North |
| Kafr Kanna |
17,600 |
North |
| Kafr Qasim |
17,200 |
Center |
citation needed
Perceived demographic threat
In the Northern Part of Israel the percentage of Jewish population is declining[74] to the concern of Jewish leaders. The phrase demographic threat, (or demographic bomb) is used in Israeli politics to describe the perceived threat the growth of its Arab citizenry poses to its maintenance of its status as a Jewish state.
The term was famously used by Benjamin Netanyahu in 2003[75] when he noted that if the percentage of Arab citizens rises above its current level of about 20 percent, Israel will not be able to remain both Jewish and democratic. Netanyahu's comments were criticized as racist by Arab Knesset members and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.[76] Even earlier allusions to the "demographic threat" can be found in an internal Israeli government document authored in 1976, and known as The Koenig Memorandum.
The increasing population of Arabs within Israel, and the majority status they hold in two major geographic regions — the Galilee and the Triangle — has become a growing point of open political contention in recent years. Dr. Wahid Abd Al-Magid, the editor of Al-Ahram Weekly's "Arab Strategic Report" predicts that "The Arabs of 1948 (i.e. Arabs who stayed within the bounds of Israel and accepted citizenship) may become a majority in Israel in 2035, and they will certainly be the majority in 2048."[77] Among Arabs, Muslims have the highest birth rate, followed by Druze, and then Christians.[78]
Some Israeli politicians advocate land-swap proposals in order to assure a continued Jewish majority within Israel. A specific proposal is that Israel transfer sovereignty of part of the Arab-populated Wadi Ara area (west of the Green Line) to a future Palestinian state, in return for formal sovereignty over the major Jewish settlement "blocks" that lie inside the West Bank east of the Green Line.)[79]
Critics of the Wadi Ara land swap plan have argued that this measure will not be enough since "The number of Arab Israelis would drop by 116,000-148,000, or a total of 8.2-10.5 percent of the Arab population of Israel, and just 2.1 percent of the population in general," while most Arab citizens of Israel object to trading Israeli citizenship for Palestinian citizenship.[80]
Israeli historian Benny Morris states:
The Israeli Arabs are a time bomb. Their slide into complete Palestinization has made them an emissary of the enemy that is among us. They are a potential fifth column. In both demographic and security terms they are liable to undermine the state. So that if Israel again finds itself in a situation of existential threat, as in 1948, it may be forced to act as it did then. If we are attacked by Egypt (after an Islamist revolution in Cairo) and by Syria, and chemical and biological missiles slam into our cities, and at the same time Israeli Palestinians attack us from behind, I can see an expulsion situation. It could happen. If the threat to Israel is existential, expulsion will be justified[…][81]
Avigdor Liberman of Yisrael Beiteinu, the fourth largest faction in the 17th Knesset, is one of the foremost advocates the transfer of large Arab towns located just inside Israel near the border with the West Bank (e.g. Tayibe, Umm al-Fahm, Baqa al-Gharbiyye), to the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority in exchange for Israeli settlements located inside the West Bank.[82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89] As the London Times notes: "Lieberman plans to strengthen Israel’s status as a Jewish state by transferring 500,000 of its minority Arab population to the West Bank, by the simple expedient of redrawing the West Bank to include several Arab Israeli towns in northern Israel. Another 500,000 would be stripped of their right to vote if they failed to pledge loyalty to Zionism."[90]
In October of 2006, Yisrael Beiteinu formally joined in the ruling government's parliamentary coalition, headed by Kadima and also made up of the Labour Party and Gil. After the Israeli Cabinet confirmed Avigdor Lieberman's appointment to the position of Minister for Strategic Threats, Labour Party representative and Science, Sport and Culture Minister Ophir Pines-Paz, resigned his post.[91][42] In his resignation letter to Ehud Olmert, Pines-Paz wrote, "I couldn't sit in a government with a minister who preaches racism"[92]
A January 2006 study by the American-Israel Demographic Research Group rejects the "demographic time bomb" threat based on statistical data collected since 1995 that shows that Jewish births have increased rapidly while Arab births have begun to drop.[93] The study noted shortcomings in earlier demographic predictions (for example, in the 1960s, predictions suggested that Arabs would be the majority in 1990). The study also demonstrated that Christian Arab and Druze birth rates were actually below those of Jewish birth rates in Israel. The study used data from a Gallup poll to demonstrate that the desired family size for Arab and Jewish Israelis were the same. The study's population forecast for 2025 predicted that Arabs would comprise only 25.0% of the Israeli population.
Nevertheless, the Bedouin population in particular, with its extremely high birth rates, continues to be perceived as a threat to the Jewish demographic majority in the south, and a variety of Jewish-only development plans such as the Blueprint Negev compete to address these concerns.[94]
Legal and political status
- See also: Arab members of the Knesset
Israel's Declaration of Independence called for the establishment of a Jewish state with equality of social and political rights, irrespective of religion, race or sex. This, however, has no legal status in regard to the rights of minorities. [95] Palestinian Arabs sat in the state's first parliamentary assembly; currently, 12 of the 120 members of the Israeli Parliament are Arab citizens, most representing Arab political parties and one of Israel's Supreme Court judges is a Palestinian Arab.[96]
Israel does not a have written constitution but the rights of citizens are guaranteed by a set of Basic Laws.[97] Although this set of laws does not explicitly include the term "right to equality", the Israeli Supreme Court has consistently interpreted "Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty"[98] and "Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation (1994)"[99]as guaranteeing equal rights for all Israeli citizens.[100]
Arabic is one of Israel's official languages, but its use is largely confined to Arab citizens themselves. Hebrew is the standard language of communication at places of work except in the Arab sector, and among recent immigrants, foreign workers, and with tourists. Government ministries publish all material intended for the public in Hebrew, though local offices often independently provide written material or services for languages for which a need is perceived. The country's laws are published in Hebrew, and eventually English and Arabic translations are published. [47]
Many Arab citizens feel that the state, as well as society at large, actively discriminates against them. [101] The Minorities at Risk (MAR) group notes that Arabs citizens in Israel "suffer political discrimination based on decades of social exclusion." They characterize Israel's system of governance to be an "ethnic democracy" and further note that "the nationalism inherent in Israel’s foundation as a 'Jewish state' is at odds with its political basis of democratic governance vis-à-vis the Arab minority." On the other hand, the group also states that despite such factors, "Israeli Arabs are relatively much better off economically than neighboring Arabs."[102]
The website for the Israeli government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that "Arab Israelis are citizens of the Israel with equal rights." It further states that "The only legal distinction between Arab and Jewish citizens is not one of rights, but rather of civic duty. Since Israel's establishment, Arab citizens have been exempted from compulsory service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)." [103] Druze and Circassians are drafted into the Israeli army, while other Arabs may serve voluntarily.
Amendment #9 to the 'Basic Law: The Knesset and the Law of Political Parties' passed on July 31, 1985, changed section 7(a) to state that a political party "may not participate in the elections if there is in its goals or actions a denial of the existence of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people, a denial of the democratic nature of the state, or incitement to racism."[104][105] One party currently banned under this law is the right-wing Jewish Kach party.[106]
An Israeli Central Elections Committee ruling which allowed the Progressive List for Peace to run for the Knesset in 1988 was challenged based on this amendment, but the committee's decision was upheld by the Israeli Supreme Court, which ruled that the PLP's platform calling for Israel to become "a state of all its citizens" does not violate the ideology of Israel as the State of the Jewish people, and thus section 7(a) does not apply.[107]
On December 2005, member of Israeli Knesset Azmi Bishara told an audience in Lebanon that Arab citizens "[…]are like all Arabs, only with Israeli citizenship forced upon them […] Return Palestine to us and take your democracy with you. We Arabs are not interested in it."[108] Bishara, at the time a member of the Knesset, and his party were banned by the Israeli Central Elections Committee in December 2002, for refusing to recognize Israel as a "Jewish democratic state"[109] and making statements promoting armed struggle against it. The Supreme Court overruled the decision in January 2003.[110]
In the public employment sphere, by the end of 2002, Arabs comprised 6.1% of the civil service workers in Israel; that is, of a total of 56,362 civil servants in Israel, only 3,440 were Arab.[111] Inequality in funding between Jewish and Arab towns, and widespread discrimination present significant hurdles for Arab citizens of Israel.[112]
According to the 2004 U.S. State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for Israel and the Occupied Territories, the Israeli government "did little to reduce institutional, legal, and societal discrimination against the country's Arab citizens."[113]
In January 2004, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared that every state-run company must have at least one Arab Israeli on its board of directors.[114] Salah Tarif, an Arab-Israeli, was a member of Sharon's cabinet until being convicted of corruption.
Political parties
There are three mainstream Arab parties in Israel: Hadash (officially a joint Arab-Jewish party, though largely dominated by Arabs), which includes Maki, the Israeli communist party, Balad and the United Arab List, which is a coalition of several different political organizations including the Islamic Movement. In addition to these, Ahmed Tibi's Ta'al faction has been elected to the last two Knessets as part of alliances with Hadash and the United Arab List. Two Arab parties contested Israel's first election in 1949, with one, the Democratic List of Nazareth, winning two seats. Until the 1960s all Arab parties in the Knesset were affiliated with Mapai, the ruling party.
A minority of Arabs join and vote for Zionist parties; in the 2006 elections 30% of the Arab vote went to such parties, up from 25% in 2003,[115] though down on the 1999 (30.5%) and 1996 elections (33.4%).[116] Left-wing parties (i.e. Labor Party and Meretz-Yachad, and previously One Nation) are the most popular parties amongst Arabs, though some Druze have also voted for right-wing parties such as Likud and Yisrael Beitenu, as well as the centrist Kadima.[117][118]
A poll published in the Nazareth-based Arab newspaper A-Sinara in 2007, revealed that the majority (78%) of Arab citizens of Israel would prefer to remain under Israeli rule rather than become part of a future State of Palestine.[119]
Other political organizations
Abna el-Balad
Abnaa el-Balad[120] is a political movement that grew out of organizing by Arab university youth, beginning in 1969, that has experienced harassment by the Israeli authorities.[121][122] It is not affiliated with the Arab Knesset party Balad. While participating in municipal elections, Abnaa al-Balad firmly reject any participation in the Israeli Knesset. Political demands include " the return of all Palestinian refugees to their homes and lands, [an] end [to] the Israeli occupation and Zionist apartheid and the establishment [of] a democratic secular state in Palestine as the ultimate solution to the Arab-Zionist conflict."[123]
Ta'ayush
Ta'ayush is "a grassroots movement of Arabs and Jews working to break down the walls of racism and segregation by constructing a true Arab-Jewish partnership."[124]
Regional Council of Unrecognized Villages
The Regional Council of Unrecognized Villages is a body of representatives of the 40-something "unrecognized villages" throughout the Negev Desert region in the south, whose residents have little representation as compared with those in recognized municipalities.
Recent political developments
Some Arab Members of the Knesset (MKs), past and present, are under police investigation for their visits to countries designated as "enemy countries" by Israeli law. This law was amended following MK Mohammad Barakeh's trip to Syria in 2001, such that MKs must explicitly request permission to visit these countries from the Minister of the Interior. In August 2006, Balad MKs Azmi Bishara, Jamal Zahalka and Wasil Taha visited Syria without requesting nor receiving such permission, and a criminal investigation of their actions was launched. Former Arab Member of Knesset Muhammed Miari was questioned 18 September 2006 by police on suspicion of having entered an "enemy country" without official permission. He was questioned "under caution" for 2.5 hours in the Petah Tikva station about his recent visit to Syria. Another former Arab Member of Knesset, Muhammed Kanaan, has also been summoned for police questioning regarding the same trip.[125] The Arab Association of Human Rights has described these investigations as "a pure political decision not a legal decision […] part of the political policy by the State towards the Arab minority and their representatives."[126]
According to a study commissioned by the Arab Association of Human Rights entitled "Silencing Dissent," over the past three years, eight of nine of these Arab Knesset members have been beaten by Israeli forces during demonstrations. Most recently according to the report, legislation has been passed, including three election laws [e.g., banning political parties], and two Knesset related laws aimed to "significantly curb the minority [Arab population] right to choose a public representative and for those representatives to develop independent political platforms and carry out their duties"[127]
In February 2007, the New York Times reported that "A group of prominent Israeli Arabs has called on Israel to stop defining itself as a Jewish state, and become a 'consensual democracy for both Arabs and Jews,' prompting consternation and debate across the country." The call comes in a report, The Future Vision of the Palestinian Arabs in Israel, published by the Committee of Arab Mayors in Israel.[128] The article further notes that, in a poll of Arab citizens of Israel conducted for the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation,[129] "57 percent said they wanted a change in the character and definition of the state, whether to become a “state for all its citizens,” a binational state, or a consensual democracy."
On April 29, 2007 Haaretz reported that an Israeli Democracy Institute (IDI) poll showed that 75% of "Israeli Arabs would support a constitution that maintained Israel's status as a Jewish and democratic state while guaranteeing equal rights for minorities."[130] Among the 507 people who participated in the poll, some 75 percent said they would agree with such a definition while 23 percent said they would oppose it.[130]
Examples of political, judicial and military representatives
Knesset: Arab citizens of Israel have been elected to every Knesset, and currently hold 12 of its 120 seats. Two Arabs have served as full government ministers: Salah Tarif, a Druze, served as a Minister Without Portfolio for ten months in 2001;[131] and Raleb Majadele was appointed as minister without portfolio on 28 January 2007.[132][43] The appointment of Majadele was criticized by Yisrael Beiteinu MK Esterina Tartman who said that the appointment was "a lethal blow to Zionism," and that it damages "Israel's character as a Jewish state." Tartman's comments drew condemnation across the mainstream Israeli political spectrum.[44] Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Liberman explained that they had no problem with the appointment of an Arab but "The problem here is the timing and the fact that a minister in the State of Israel (Amir Peretz who chose the appointment) is using the tools he has wrongfully in order to promote himself politically".[133] Meanwhile Arab lawmakers called the appointment an attempt to "whitewash Israel's discriminatory policies against its Arab minority".[134]
Nawaf Massalha, an Arab Muslim, has served in various junior ministerial roles, including Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs since 1999.[135] The first female Arab MP was Hussniya Jabara, a Muslim Arab from central Israel, who was elected in 1999.[136]
Supreme Court: Abdel Rahman Zuabi, a secular Muslim from northern Israel, was the first Arab on the Israeli Supreme Court, serving a 9-month term in 1999. In 2004, Salim Jubran, a Christian Arab from Haifa descended from Lebanese Maronites, became the first Arab to hold a permanent appointment on the Court. Jubran's expertise lies in the field of criminal law.[137]
Foreign Service: Ali Yahya, an Arab Muslim, became the first Israeli Arab ambassador in 1995 when he was appointed ambassador to Finland. He served until 1999, and in 2006 was appointed ambassador to Greece. Other Arab ambassadors include Walid Mansour, a Druze, appointed ambassador to Vietnam in 1999, and Reda Mansour, also a Druze, a former ambassador to Ecuador. Mohammed Masarwa, an Arab Muslim, was Consul-General in Atlanta. In 2006, Ismail Khaldi was appointed Israeli consul in San Francisco, becoming the first Bedouin consul of the State of Israel.[138]
Israel Defence Force: Arab Generals in the IDF include Major General |
