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Israeli Arabs & Jews Don’t Agree on What Equality Means or How To Achieve it

Compared to Arab Israelis, Jewish are nearly 40% more likely to believe that Jews and Arabs already have equal rights in Israel, a study by the Abraham Initiatives has found

A coexistence program run by the Abraham Initiatives. (Photo: Courtesy)
By Yaniv Sharon

Israeli Jews are much more likely than Israeli Arabs to believe that Arabs and Jews in Israel have equal rights, a new study by the Abraham Initiatives has found. According to the study, which surveyed a representative sample of 720 respondents, 85% of Arabs believe there is a gap between the opportunities available to Arabs and Jews in Israel, compared to just 62% of Jews. Similarly, 91% of Jews believe Arabs have equal rights on an individual level, compared to 69% of Arabs.

“The Jewish society is aware of the gap and lives in peace with it,” Abraham Initiatives co-CEO Amnon Be’eri-Sulitzeanu told Davar. “This is a clear stance of a privileged society.”

The majority of respondents in the survey said that joint activities, education for equality, and government policy promoting equality were key tools for improving the relationship with Arab citizens. However, Jewish respondents placed more emphasis on meetings and joint activities, while Arabs highlighted the importance of education for equality.

When Jews think about government initiatives aimed at Arab society, they’re likely to focus on improving relations and individual connections between Jews and Arabs, whereas Arabs are more likely to focus on material improvements to Arab quality of life, Be’eri-Sulitzeanu said.

In the question focusing on government policy to improve the social situation of Arab citizens, Jews prioritized education and coexistence activities over legislation and economic support to Arab localities. Arab respondents, on the other hand, placed economic support and legislation as their top priorities, followed by education and coexistence activities.

Jews are more likely to propose setting up a joint orchestra and Arabs are more likely to propose a joint industrial zone, Be’eri-Sulitzeanu said by way of example.

“Jews need to want to improve the situation of Arabs,” he said. “Arabs are willing to live together, but not without improving their situation.”

One change to Arab-Israeli politics over the past several years has been the presence of the United Arab List in the coalition. In 2021, it became the first independent Arab party to sit in the government.

More than half of the Israeli Arab citizens surveyed said they support the participation of Arab parties in the coalition. The majority of those expressing support for the idea said their reasoning was that the government should represent all parts of society.

In contrast, more than half of Jewish respondents oppose the participation of an Arab party of a joint Arab-Jewish party in the coalition. Most respondents said that they believed an Arab party would weaken their preferred bloc.

Be’eri-Sulitzeanu said that Arab voters recognize that Jewish politicians see Arab parties as illegitimate and that that sense has driven down Arab voter turnout. (According to the Moshe Dayan Center, the voter turnout rate among Arab Israelis in 2022 was just 53%, compared to a nationwide rate of 71%.) “Low voter turnout is a result of the understanding that Arab Knesset members are not legitimate partners in the eyes of the Zionist center-left,” he said. “Only 7% of Arab voters boycott the elections for ideological reasons.”

Ultimately, more partnership between Jewish and Arab society in Israel is needed in order to make change, Bari-Soliziano said. “A change of government in Israel to promote shared life and peace will not happen without partnering with Arab society,” he said.

This article was translated from Hebrew by Leah Schwartz. 

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