Arabs & Jews Eliminate Hate

Flag of Israel with Flag of Palestine

Not all Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs hate each other, nor does one group wish to expel the other out of Israel entirely. Israeli Arabs are different than Palestinians living in the West Bank or Gaza Strip, because they are diversified by levels of religious observance and ideologies. According to the book, The Israelis, some Arab Israelis “dress no differently from their secular Jewish friends. In fact, they know more about the Jewish religion and customs than some secular Jews” (Rosenthal, 261). Israel's population is a predominantly Jewish, and the residents who are not Jewish are learning the customs and culture of the majority population. Through this acceptance of culture, it is evident that Israeli Arabs are indifferent and adjustable towards the customs and clothing of state of Israel.

Author: Donna Rosenthal

One viewpoint from the author is that Israeli settlers living near the West Bank permit violence on their Palestinian neighbors, however, “The Israeli government outlawed the Kach Party for preaching anti-Arab violence. Some settler leaders privately said the ban was long overdue” (Rosenthal, 220). The government appropriately advocated forpolicies that do not promote violence towards Arabs, and the hearsay evidence from the author suggests that Israelis agree that a policy is finally in place to protect Palestinians. Her viewpoint towards the settlers near the West Bank is negative, because she writes about the violence they initiate towards Palestinians. In her chapter, “The Muslims”, she views Arab Israelis as a strong nationalist community that is positive towards peaceful cooperation between Jews and Arabs. She mentions a Palestinian lawyer living in Israel that fights for equality between Arabs and Jews in a Jewish state. Rosenthal does not provide very reliable information; however, she does incorporate individual stories from citizens that convey their experiences of living in Israel. The author’s information is based on hearsay evidence, and an interpretation of facts due to the abundance of quotes from the people she interviews. She does have a strong sample size of citizens that she interviewed, however they are relative to regions and religious observance.

According to the “Poll:Jews/Arabs much less divided than Israeli politics lets on,” the Arab Israelis and Israeli Jews convey cooperation and collaboration rather than hatred and expulsion. The sample includes feedback from about 400 Arabs and 400 Jewish Israelis. One statistic from the poll explains that “Jewish respondents (53 percent) said that in their day-to-day lives, relations between Jews and Arabs are generally positive” (Dhalia Scheindlin). Aside from proximity factors, this data explains the overall message that Jews are accepting of Arabs as their neighbors. The poll continues to explain that “across the entire sample, between 55 and 58 percent said that cooperation would help advance issues” that are brought on by the Israel-Palestine conflict (Scheindlin). Nevertheless, polls regarding the recognition of existence for Palestinians and Jews in the region are positive (more than 50%). 

Statistics from +972 Magazine

It is apparent that the author is in favor of the positive statistics in this poll, stating that “one cannot factually say that Israeli Jews have no partner among Arab citizens. On a social and civic level, Jews too believe in cooperation and the inclusion of Jews and Arabs alike. Perhaps the day is not far off when that sentiment extends to political power as well” (Scheindlin).  The author is hopeful for the future, and notices that Israeli Jews do not overall hate their Palestinian and/or Arab Israeli neighbors. The poll is very reliable, because it is based on a large sample size (more than 800 respondents) and well-articulated and presented statistics. The author includes disclaimers between statistical evidence so that readers to not stray from the facts that are given. 

           The PEW Research Center “Israel’sReligiously Divided Society” portrays evidence that religious groups interviewed for this dataset prove a majority of Israeli Jews and Arab Israelis do not hate each other. In fact, “among the 8% of Jews who say they lean left, an overwhelming majority either disagree (25%) or strongly disagree (61 %) that Arabs should be expelled” (pg. 8). It is important to note that the religious Israeli Jewish groups, “Haredim [and] Datiim take right-leaning positions” in political ideologies that are more for Palestinian expulsion. Religious groups in Israel take up a small proportion of the entire Israeli population, so it is safe to conclude that the majority of Israeli Jews don’t wish to expel Palestinians from Israel.

Logo for the PEW Research Center

This research center is very reliable, because the “survey uses the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics’ definition of the Israeli population, which includes Jews living in the West Bank as well as Arab residents of East Jerusalem” (pg. 4). This is based on factual evidence from surveys of the people. There is no author attributed to this research center online, however the viewpoint is diverse and willing to explore the different social and political realms that Jews and Arabs confide in while living in this region. The writer of this research material does not convey any subjective opinion, and just reveals the statistics.