May 15, 2012- Yom HaNaqba, Cell Phone Rates Drop

A new survey about relations between Jews and Arabs in Israel indicates that a decisive majority of Arab citizens would like to be integrated into the State of Israel on the basis of full and inclusive citizenship, including mandatory civil service. The survey reveals that Arab citizens are interested in being equal and integrated Israelis within the state, even though it defines itself as Jewish and democratic, as long as the state does not discriminate against them on civil matters of citizens' rights. The survey also reveals that most Jews are interested in granting equal citizenship to Arab citizens and are even willing to grant them some degree of collective rights based on their national minority status.

The survey was initiated by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies in cooperation with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty and was carried out on their behalf by the Smith Research Institute, which surveyed a representative sample of 500 Jews and 500 Arabs in Israel. The aim of the survey was to explore the positions of the Arab public and the Jewish public regarding 16 action proposals for promoting the equality and integration of Arab citizens within the state. The proposals were presented in a document produced by an inter-disciplinary academic think-tank that was headed by Prof. Yitzhak Reiter and composed of Jewish academics. The document proposed a way to strike a balance between Israel's two values as a Jewish state and as a democratic state in such a way that Israeli citizenship would encompass Israel's Arabs on an equal basis, while reinforcing the democratic nature and Jewish character of the state. (The document, entitled "Towards Inclusive Israeli Citizenship," is available on the websites www.jiis.org and www.fnst-jerusalem.org.)

The document proposes an inclusive approach according to which each side would recognize the essential needs of the other community: Arabs would participate in civil service, which would gradually (within five years) become mandatory service; they would recognize Israel as a Jewish and democratic state with Hebrew as the primary (first) official language; and they would accept the continued existence of the Law of Return for Jews. The Jews, for their part, would recognize Arabs as a national minority; they would grant equality to Arabs in civil matters, in addition to the rights and status derived from recognizing them as a national minority. This approach can be regarded as a "package deal" of sorts in which each side concedes on matters that are less crucial to its interests in order to construct a shared and inclusive system of citizenship and keep internal relations stable.

The survey found that a decisive majority of Arabs -80%- accepted the 16 action proposals as a "package deal" while a minority of 14% opposed it. The number of Jews who support the package deal exceeds the number of those who oppose it (48% vs. 43%, respectively). Overall, 73% of Arabs and 72% of Jews agree that Israel is defined as and will continue to be a Jewish and democratic state, provided that the definition of the state as democratic will ensure equality of citizenship, non-discrimination against Arabs, and progressive human rights.

One of the surprising findings of the survey is that a majority of Arabs -62% (and 61% of Jews) - responded affirmatively to the following question: "Do you agree [with the proposal] that Arab citizens participate in voluntary civil service that within five years would become mandatory"(receiving the full rights that Jews who complete service receive)? Only 31% of Arabs surveyed (and 35% of Jews surveyed) responded negatively to this question. This finding clashes with the position of the Arab leadership, which calls for the boycotting of civil service, and it indicates that a large gap exists between the Arab leadership and the general public on all matters related to integrating into the social fabric of life in the state. In previous surveys only a third of Arabs surveyed was prepared to have civil service become mandatory. It should be noted that Arab support for mandatory civil service rises to 74% when it is proposed that administration of the civil service be transferred from the Prime Minister's Office to a social services government ministry in cooperation with the local Arab authorities.

A surprising finding on the Jewish side is the relatively widespread support for equal citizenship for Arabs. Most Jewish respondents -68% -agreed with the proposal that a statutory body be established within the Ministry of Justice to oversee equality of citizenship; 50% supported (while 45% opposed) the appropriate integration of Arabs in senior public service positions; a larger majority (57%, with 38% opposed) accepted appropriate integration of Arabs in all areas of the media and all levels of employment therein. In addition, a larger majority -60% - accepted the teaching of Arab culture in Jewish schools, and 69% agree that the Arabic language be taught in Jewish schools.

At the same time, however, support within the Jewish sector was lower for those proposals that were based on recognition of the Arabs as a national minority: 45% agreed while 48% opposed; 36% accepted while 54% rejected the implementation of a progressive immigration law along the lines of Western European policy in addition to the Law of Return; and 38% accepted while 56% rejected the granting of a more independent standing to the Arab educational system, comparable to that of the national-religious education; 39% accepted while 48% rejected recognition of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel as an elected leadership. Nevertheless, a majority of 51% of Jewish respondents (with 46% opposed) agreed that the status of the Arabic language as the second official language be reflected in the public sphere.

The survey reveals that within the Arab sector, 47% believe that Arab-Jewish relations within Israel will improve in the future, as opposed to 14% within the Jewish sector. At the same time, 74% in the Jewish sector and 87% in the Arab sector think that relations can be improved. Only 22% of Jews and 9% of Arabs claimed that relations are on a collision course and that nothing can be done about this.

In Prof. Reiter's opinion, the survey's findings indicate that the Jewish public is interested in integrating Arab citizens when it comes to civil matters but opposes any change in matters of identity, that is, when it comes to issues that the respondents see as challenging or threatening to the Jewish character of the state. The fact that only 43% of Jews surveyed opposed the collection of proposals as a package deal is encouraging. This means the government could enact policy reforms integrating Arab citizens without significant loss of political support among Jewish citizens. The survey's findings allow the government to make gradual progress towards an Israeli citizenship that would encompass Arab citizens as equals. A starting point could be the implementation of those proposals that a clear majority of Jewish respondents support: teaching the Arabic language and Arab culture in Jewish schools; establishing a commission for equal citizenship within the Ministry of Justice; and making civil service for Arabs mandatory within five years. It is also proposed that administration of the civil service be transferred to a social services government ministry in coordination with local Arab authorities. Such a measure would greatly reduce opposition to civil service among Arabs.