If she didn`t tell them that they could or should move to the Palestinian state to realize their national aspirations, there would be no controversy. In fact, she would have seemed liberal in terms of the status of the Arab citizens of the State of Israel. No
"Israel Arab" has any interest in living in the West Bank or Gaza. There are three reasons for this, 1. Because the conditions of life in Israel are better and more advantageous, 2. Because they are not from those parts of Palestine and unlike so many other Palestinians, they did manage to stay on the land and in their villages, and 3. Culturally, their exposure to the Israeli experience changed them, made them more open minded, and more used to democratic freedom, even if it is not fully realized in their case. Although they sympathize with the cause of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, they themselves understand that their identity is different and irreconcilable with other Arabs, Palestinian and otherwise. |
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