The Arabs in Israel

Abstract

Representative national surveys of Arab and Jewish populations and leaderships in Israel within the pre-1967 borders conducted in 1980 make it possible for the first time to examine in detail Arab-Jewish differences in attitudes toward the Israeli-Arab conflict. It was confirmed that Israel's Arabs as a whole reject the Israeli national consensus of opposing the Palestinians as a nation, withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders, recognition of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) as representative of the Palestinians, formation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, repeal of the annexation of East Jerusalem, and the right to repatriation of the Palestinian refugees. They equally object to the Rejection Front ideology which calls for the replacement of Israel by a democratic-secular state in all Palestine. They subscribe instead to the world operative consensus on these issues. In addition to the dissidence that the conflict engenders in Arabs, it reinforces their unequal status in Israeli society. On the other hand, the Arab minority has not as yet been a party to the Israeli-Arab conflict either as a fifth column, a bridge to peace, or a pressure group. The implications for peacemaking in the region are discussed.