re: #4 Gus 802

Yes, although this is technically a news article describing Dan Schueftan’s book and interviewing the author, both the author and to some extent the article are expressing an opinion. It should be noted that this is an opinion not necessarily or fully shared by most Israelis (or myself). The article does, nonetheless, raise for discussion the issue of how the Arab minority in Israel - which is in many cases explicitly hostile to Israel as a Jewish state - can or cannot be fully integrated going forward.

In case there is any doubt about the hostility of many Israeli Arabs to the state of Israel, all one need do is read any anything written or said by Israeli Arab MK Hanin Zoabi about the subject (e.g., “MK Zoabi: I hope Arabs launch Intifada” - ynetnews.com). She and her fellow party members consistently support the enemies of Israel, while at the same time benefiting from their positions as freely elected members of Israel’s parliament. They make no bones about the fact that they would like to see the state of Israel as it is constituted destroyed, which - whether you agree with them or not - is an explicitly treasonous point of view.

But those critical of this article have a point - not all Arab citizens of Israel are overtly hostile to the state, while in fact there are more than a few Jewish citizens who are. On the other hand, military service for Arabs is not compulsory, and only a small percentage do serve in the Israeli army. The notable exception, of course, are the Druze, who for the most part consider themselves as loyal citizens of Israel and are generally viewed as such.

The inevitable comparison to the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany is wrong as usual, and shameful as well. Jews in pre-war Germany generally considered themselves loyal citizens - Germans first - and were mostly highly assimilated. There is no record that I know about of any Jewish group or individual calling for the destruction of the German state prior to Hitler’s rise to power, and none afterward either, albeit for different reasons. The Jews of Germany who could or would not escape went to their deaths often unable to comprehend why they were being persecuted and ultimately murdered. Many had served in the German in WWI, and even those who had medals to prove their loyalty went to their deaths, all the while considering themselves loyal Germans. In fact, even those who had converted to Christianity were murdered as Jews, so please lets drop this point altogether.

For a well-informed but different take on the subject of Israeli Arabs, this essay by the always outstanding Khaled Abu Toameh is worth reading (“Israeli Arabs: Not “Fifth Column”” -hudson-ny.org). I’m not totally convinced by all of his points either, but Toameh is an Israeli Arab who is a staunch supporter of the State of Israel and a scrupulously honest journalist whose opinion is always worth taking seriously. In other words, highly recommended.