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We are all 'mixed' By Akiva Eldar Tags: Israeli Arabs, Acre  Once again the left will rummage through the budgets of the local authorities and talk about the sense of deprivation that is causing unrest in Acre. And once again the right will present statistics about the involvement of Israeli Arabs in terror attacks and warn against the nationalist feelings that cause them to rebel. The left will demand that money be poured on the flames in Acre, before the fire spreads to other mixed cities. The right will demand that the instigators from Acre receive harsher treatment, as an example to the residents of Jaffa. As always, both camps are making their lives too easy. You don't have to be a professor of sociology to understand that the chronic discrimination against Israel's Arab citizens when it comes to services, infrastructure, education and employment does not contribute to reconciliation between them and the Jewish majority. But the first intifada, which erupted in the territories at the end of 1987, exposed the limitations of the carrot and stick method. Israel learned the hard way that neither the dramatic decline in infant mortality nor the considerable improvement in living standards, compared to the situation that prevailed there during the period of Jordanian rule, turned the Palestinians into lovers of Zion. The substantial increase in support for Hamas in East Jerusalem is a testament to the limited, if not negligible, influence of freedom of movement and other advantages, such as National Insurance Institute allowances, that the residents of East Jerusalem enjoy. The systematic assassination of Hamas leaders in the West Bank and Jerusalem, the mass arrests of the movement's activists and the closing of its charitable institutions have increased its attraction, primarily among the younger generation. The case of Jerusalem shows, however, that land annexation and formal control over a population - including a tough policy incorporating the separation fence, administrative detention and immigration restrictions - are not a recipe for security, not to mention coexistence. After all, there have been 104 detainees held on suspicion of terror involvement up to the end of September, compared to 37 in all of 2007. Advertisement The battle cries of Effi Eitam and his friends on the extreme right, in which they are railing against Israeli Arabs in the wake of the riots in Acre, will not calm the atmosphere in the city; they will only turn those who foment strife into the heroes of the hour. Nor will the left's cries of woe regarding the shortchanging of the Arab minority prevent the next outburst, although a more just division of national resources would not hurt relations between the majority and the minority. A fairer attitude to master plans for construction in the Arab communities could somewhat alleviate the alienation between the Israeli establishment and the younger generation, which is the main victim of the shortage of land for building. But no money in the world will turn an Arab/Palestinian public, be it Muslim, Christian or secular, into an organic part of a country that defines itself, based on the nationality of the majority, as a Jewish state. Excluding Israel's Arab citizens from the country's identity and national symbols - and turning them into a "demographic problem" - spurs them to search for their identity in other places. Their national affiliation, along with the blurring of the Green Line, creeping annexation and the close social and family ties to the Palestinians living on the other side of the border, have turned all the territory between the Acre coast and the banks of the Jordan River into a "mixed" country. As far as Israel's Arab citizens are concerned, the Greater Land of Israel/Palestine has already become a binational and semi-democratic entity. A survey conducted in 1976 found that 45 percent of Israeli Arabs included a Palestinian component in their self-definition. But between 1985 and 1999, that percentage reached almost two-thirds of those polled. Many reject the label "Israeli Arabs" and demand to be called Palestinians. The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, the disappointment with the Oslo Accords and the second intifada just exacerbated this tension. They intensified the identification of Israeli Arabs with the residents of the territories and strengthened chauvinistic trends, mainly among the younger generation. The members of the Or Commission investigating the events of October 2000 noted this does not mean that the entire Arab population supports all the Palestinian means of struggle, and said the vast majority consistently favors the peace process. But at the same time, the majority identifies completely with the desire to establish a Palestinian state and sees Israeli policy as the main obstacle to its realization. The important and neglected Or Commission report cited the painful statement by MK Abdelaziz Zoubi (Labor-Mapam Alignment): "My country is in a state of war with my people." As long as their country is in a state of war with their people, one ember on Yom Kippur is enough to start a conflagration. No NII allowance or administrative detention will extinguish it. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Seeds of the future An Israeli biofuel project using Africa's jatropha plant may end Mideast oil power. PFLP threat A Palestinian militant group vows to kill MK Lieberman to avenge Acre riots.   1.   Eldar`s feeble excuses 10:45  |  Tzfonit 13/10/08   2.   Mixed marriages 11:38  |  Akkawi 13/10/08   3.   Karl Marx:Reality on the ground 12:34  |  alexander 13/10/08   4.   Socially the right can be a walking disaster... 12:53  |  Dutch 13/10/08   5.   He`s right but for wrong reason 13:20  |  Ex-Syrian 13/10/08   6.   We have met the enemy... 14:19  |  Mikesailor 13/10/08   7.   Akiva Eldar avoids the real solution 14:42  |  Jerusalem Jew 13/10/08   8.   #5 14:53  |  Anthony 13/10/08   9.   There is no doubt 16:11  |  Danite 13/10/08   10.   Jerusalem Jew, you are as blind.... 16:14  |  Wiktor 13/10/08   11.   #8 Anthony - nice try 16:55  |  Boris 13/10/08   12.   Forging a common Israeli identity 18:30  |  Zeev 13/10/08   13.   Rethink your communication style might help 20:05  |  Edith 13/10/08   14.   Mix Them Up 20:20  |  P. J. Casey 13/10/08   15.   Post #7 hit it on the head 20:43  |  Ken Jurist 13/10/08   16.   the only way to.... 22:30  |  hergal 13/10/08   17.   Ken Jurist 22:58  |  kiwi girl 13/10/08   18.   Why not make Israel a state 00:28  |  kiwi girl 14/10/08   19.   Skirting Reality 00:42  |  Ron 14/10/08   20.   Eldar Does Deserve Some Credit 01:10  |  massaraksh 14/10/08   21.   #13 Edith: You May Have a Chance to Discover It Yourself 01:15  |  massaraksh 14/10/08   22.   What`s the matter Akiva,your grandaughter Tamar isn`t enough to a 01:16  |  Absolute Sweden 14/10/08   23.   correct amego;improved living standards will not make the arabs 02:51  |  glenna 14/10/08   24.   Eldar can`t be serious. 02:51  |  Robert 14/10/08   25.   What citizens in a democracy owe each other 03:23  |  Mark Lincoln 14/10/08   26.   SECOND TRY, HAARETZ 04:15  |  MR 14/10/08   27.   #5 Ex Syrian 06:04  |  Ex Lebanese 14/10/08   28.   What cluless people... Israeli officials 08:43  |  Dutch 14/10/08   29.   What a lot of rubbish! 09:43  |  harry 14/10/08   30.   What Eldar left out 09:51  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 14/10/08   31.   Until the Palestinian question is resolved there will be no peace 13:02  |  lakshmi 14/10/08   32.   Islam deceives the "Arabs" 13:07  |  lady from USA 14/10/08   33.   massaraksh 13:28  |  lady from USA 14/10/08   34.   massaraksh 13:31  |  lady from USA 14/10/08   35.   Mark Lincoln 13:39  |  lady from USA 14/10/08   36.   Even if Palestinian question were resolved there will be no peace 14:28  |  lady from USA 14/10/08   37.   lady from USA 14:43  |  The Teacher/Instruct 14/10/08   38.   #31 lakshmi and the peace prophecy 14:56  |  MR 14/10/08   39.   We are all actually mixed-up... 15:33  |  Esther 14/10/08   40.   What is your alternative? 19:30  |  Shalom Freedman 14/10/08   41.   Reply to #38 (Shalom) - Eldar`s Soft Anti-Zionism 20:48  |  Tod Zuckerman 14/10/08   42.   Does anyone expect the Arabs to love the Jews..? 23:35  |  Stephen. 14/10/08   43.   Population density 00:02  |  Troll 15/10/08   44.   Majority Jews or Arabs...There Will Always Be A Minority, Too 00:40  |  Jimmy 15/10/08   45.   RE POST #41 02:20  |  Human 15/10/08   46.   To #12 Zeev 11:19  |  Gershon Reed 15/10/08

Read & React Jesse Jackson: Obama will rid United States of 'Zionist' control Responses: 195 IDF troops kill Palestinian fire-bomber near West Bank settlement Responses: 40 'The war is over,' jailed Fatah activists tell Haaretz journalists Responses: 17 Editor dashes to Israel to get Brad film for Angelina breastfeeding pics Responses: 16 Meron Benvenisti: The Acre festival of hatred is underway Responses: 4 More Headlines 11:24 TASE opens with sharp gains, despite losses in global markets 11:05 Lebanon, Syria formalize ties for first time since independence 08:48 'The war is over,' jailed Fatah activists tell Haaretz journalists 12:02 Rights group: Border Policeman beat settler at West Bank outpost 00:09 Jesse Jackson: Obama will rid United States of 'Zionist' control 09:38 Australia drops threat to sue Ahmadinejad for inciting against Israel 11:13 Top Livni aide: We'll call early elections if Shas won't join gov't 12:13 Boy, 7, crushed to death by boulder in Galilee town 01:35 IDF troops kill Palestinian fire-bomber near West Bank settlement 12:17 Hezbollah hails 'heroic' Arab fight in Acre against 'barbaric' assaults 21:09 Israeli biofuel project could spell end of Mideast oil power 05:43 Fatah rejects Hamas request for bilateral negotiations 01:43 As economic crisis hits tourism, Israelis likely to stay put 05:25 Serbia prosecutor urges ban on neo-Nazis Previous Editions Select Day 14 oct 13 oct 12 oct 10 oct 09 oct 08 oct 07 oct 06 oct 05 oct 03 oct 02 oct 01 oct

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