Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit appears to be dissatisfied with a great many things lately. After pouring out his wrath on the human rights organizations that inform the U.S. Congress of the dimensions of human trafficking in Israel, he complained that the police are not using enough force against offenders and that the courts mete out overly lenient punishments. Now, judging by Sheetrit's remarks to Haaretz, the Arab-Israeli public can expect uneasy times.
Israel's Arab minority is linked to the government through a system of delicate and complex ties. In public or personal matters, many of these ties pass through the Interior Ministry. Here, in a 1950s Jerusalem building, every few years a new minister takes his seat and dictates policy that can seal the fate of many families.
Thus, for example, last week Sheetrit informed local council heads that he had decided to give them the funds remaining in "the minister's reserves" at the end of the fiscal year. "How are you? How did the holiday go?" he asked the Arabs in Arabic, in short, succinct telephone conversations to announce the transfer of hundreds of thousands of shekels.
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Sheetrit began the interview by defining the demands and rights of the more than 1 million Arabs in Israel. These remarks will almost certainly render any human rights organization or Arab political party fit to be tied.
"It's very simple," he said. "The State of Israel arose as a Jewish state, in order to be a home for the Jewish people. We must preserve it as a state with a clear Jewish majority and as a democratic state. It is clearly important that all the minorities in the Jewish state be ... equal in terms of rights and obligations."
The Arab public insists that rights do not need to be contingent on obligations.
"I don't accept this. Everyone has to be equal. If you exempt someone from military service, you are discriminating, and this also applies to the ultra-Orthodox. There are no free lunches. An Arab who goes to the United States does not say he is not prepared to observe the law, live in public housing projects or pay income tax. That doesn't happen in properly run countries. Israel has to decide, after 60 years, that it is a state and not the Jewish community committee."
But you don't really want the Arabs to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces, do you?
"In my opinion, they have to go to the army. The fact that they haven't so far has harmed them. The army is an extraordinary melting pot. I don't want them to become Jews, but serving will give them the tools to be part of this state. Anyone who enlists will receive training, independence, knowledge, belief and trust in the country. So what if their hair stands on end at this? I still say what I think.
"Anyone who lives here has to be loyal to the state, and if he doesn't want to be loyal then he can live in any country he chooses, and there are lots of other countries in the world. The alternative is national service, and we are seeing that Arab youngsters are voting with their feet and signing up, where they meet new people from their communities, at the hospital, at the school, and get another angle on life."
Israel is for Israelis
The interview with Sheetrit was held the week that Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Right in Israel announced it was changing its line with respect to Israel. For the first time, a major Arab-Israeli organization was calling for the establishment of a supranational regime "in all of historic Palestine" - from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. The organization explained that this means a single regime that could cover a number of states, but it is clear that this is essentially one state for two peoples.
Adalah's announcement is one of several published over the past year. "The Future Vision of the Arab-Palestinians in Israel," which was formulated by working groups under the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee in Israel, demands Arab representatives be given veto rights on government decisions and calls for a just allocation of resources.
The government has declared it is ignoring these demands. But in practice, they have led the decision-makers to reconsider their policy toward the Arab public. Sheetrit has stated he does not recognize the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee at all, but only the national committee of Arab local authority heads, and has responded sharply to all the demands presented this year.
What is your opinion of the various demands calling for changing the character of the state?
"With all due respect, I personally reject all the nationalist and national ideas outright. There is nothing to be said about this; the topic is not up for discussion. The nationality here is Israeli. This isn't a religion. We are not one religion, but anyone who lives in the State of Israel has to belong here. Does an Arab who lives in America say he belongs to a different nationality? France has a large Muslim minority - are they a different nationality? They are French. But here the state is Jewish, and this is what defines the nationality. This is because the state arose as a Jewish state; true, we are the Jewish state. I am not ashamed to say so."
'Every illegal building will be demolished'
One of the most burning issues facing Sheetrit is illegal building in Arab locales. Most Arabs who build illegally say they cannot obtain permits because there are no master plans regulating construction in those communities, which have tens of thousands of illegal structures.
"Every illegal building will be demolished," Sheetrit said, adding that in many cases, the Arab inhabitants refrain from regularizing their construction in order to avoid paying standard fees.
In a move designed to impose order, the Interior Ministry is in the midst of a move to approve master plans for all the Arab locales, at its own expense. Sheetrit says the Arabs must change the character of their construction and start building high-rises in order to better use the land.
The Interior Ministry's policy is arousing a great deal of anger among Arabs, and Wadi Ara has become a focus of tension in recent months. In the wake of a court decision, a road in the Dar al-Hanoun neighborhood was demolished, and additional demolition orders are pending against other construction in the area. In response, residents have established a public action committee, authorized by the Monitoring Committee, to handle the issue. Violence could ensue if the government insists on demolishing the houses, Wadi Ara residents say.
Are you not concerned that this policy might lead to an Arab uprising in Israel?
"There is not going to be any uprising. People need to know how to respect the law. When they don't respect the law and there is no enforcement, people build without a permit. This doesn't happen among only the Arabs, it's also among the Jews. Thus far more than 20 illegally built event halls have been demolished. If there is no deterrence, there is no reason to build in accordance with the law."
Will you lead a line that will bring the state into conflict with the Arab citizens?
"No conflict. I am not afraid of conflicts. The State of Israel needs to look out for its existence, with all due respect. It doesn't matter who says what, there are matters that touch upon the existence of the state and there should be no concessions on them. There is nothing that should be avoided."
What about the Arabs' demand for autonomy in education?
"This is unacceptable. If we want to establish a state with equal rights and obligations, and to promote one nationality for all, generations of children cannot be raised with different educations. They are in effect demanding a model similar to that of the ultra-Orthodox. This, too, I find unacceptable. This, too, will change when I am running the country. When I reach the place I want, you will see how quickly this will change."
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