Yael's Midterm

A paper written about the Palestinian national community in Israel, written as Yael's midterm.

“I, for one, am willing to state openly and out loud today: The Jews have a historic claim to part of Palestine. Your forefathers were here, along with our forefathers. Your suffering grants you rights, as does our suffering…Our respective disasters…have welded us together1.” These words of a Palestinian Israeli are generally assumed to represent a minority opinion among the Arab population of Israel. But though Jews and Arabs living in the state may disagree on the story of history, they are creating and participating in political systems that weld them together today. Here, I will argue that Palestinian involvement in Israel’s government has helped to ensure political attention is given to the minority population and that this system has helped to soothe tensions between the two nationalities. I will address the counter-argument asserting that Palestinian involvement in Israel’s government has been antagonistic and merely wrought more conflict. Throughout the paper, the term “Palestinian Israelis” will be used to refer to Israeli citizens of Arab background, and will be focused on Muslim Palestinians. The status of non-citizen Arab residents in Israel is another matter altogether and will not be addressed here.
From its beginnings, official Israeli policy and language has stated explicitly that it is a Jewish state for the Jews as a nation rather than the Jews as a religious group. Its Declaration of Independence never mentions God. The document further promises to “uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of race, creed, or sex,” “guarantee full freedom of conscience, worship, education and culture,” and “safeguard the sanctity and inviolability of the shrines and Holy Places of all religions.” Under law, there is no differential treatment between the Jewish and Arab citizens of the state of Israel. As a result, Palestinian Israelis are able to participate fully in the political process, voting, running for office, forming parties. A Palestinian could potentially be prime minister or president.
Though Israel has always had a parliamentary system and coalition government in place, the Labor party dominated the political platform for the first half of the state’s life, not truly falling until the 1977 elections2. Though the Likud attempted to move into place as the dominant party, it never truly succeeded, and by the ‘80s, it was clear that blocs of smaller parties would form the government3. When the Labor party was dominant, Palestinian Israelis were involved and even served as Knesset members (for example, ‘Abd al-Wahhab Darawasha4). Starting with the 1977 elections, though, the Arab minority in Israel began casting its vote for parties more explicitly focused on dealing with issues for the Palestinian community. The March 30, 1976 protests organized by the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (DFPE) that ended in the killing of six Israeli Arab citizens resulted in that party’s winning half the Arab electorate in the 1977 election – the same election in which the Labor Party fell decisively for the first time5.
After the ’77 elections, more and more predominately Arab parties and partnerships were formed, including the Arab Democratic Party (ADP), the Arab Movement for Change (AMC), Balad, Hadash, the Progressive List for Peace (PLP), and the United Arab List (UAL)6. Some Palestinian Israelis continue to be involved in larger parties, particularly Labor and Meretz, and have even held ministerial positions7. The number of Arab-based parties reflects the wide range of opinions held by Palestinian Israelis The adage “Anytime two Israelis are in a room, three opinions will be present” seem to be as true of Arabs as it is of Jews.
The incredibly low percentage of the vote required in order to form a party (2%8) enables Israel’s numerous minorities (whether religious, ethnic, or cultural or, in the case of Israel’s multiple Arab parties, subsets of these groups) to participate in the political process. The one-minute allotment given to Knesset members to share their concerns at the beginning of each session9 guarantees that many issues that would otherwise go unnoticed are heard on the political stage. These two factors – and the fact that the Arab minority in Israel makes up 20% of the population10 – allow Palestinian Israelis to influence Israeli identity and policy and, I believe, help to ease tensions between Arabs and Jews. By making the political system accessible to Palestinian Israelis, Jews have demonstrated their willingness to “promote the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants,” regardless of their ethnicity. (Indeed, many Palestinians acknowledge that they have greater political freedom in Israel than they would have in the Muslim countries to which some of them flee11. The same Palestinian Israeli quoted at the beginning of this paper stated: “We want to be an open, pluralistic, democratic society. And that is not about to happen so soon with Jordan…12”) By participating in that system, Palestinian Israelis have acknowledged the legitimacy of the Jewish state and demonstrated their willingness to work with the Jewish people. Furthermore, the daily interaction between Arab and Jewish politicians and activists helps both sides to better understand and appreciate the other.
But all is not well. Though there is de jure equality, a Palestinian party has never been invited to participate in a coalition government13. In part, this is because the identity conflict of Palestinian leaders involved in Israel’s government leads them to ideological beliefs and statements that are not taken well by their Jewish counterparts. Bishara, a former leader of the Balad party, will not step on Israeli soil because he would now face trial for abetting Israel’s enemies (including Hezbollah)14. Haneen Zoubi, currently the first female member of Balad, was on the flotilla into Gaza and has stated that she supports Iran’s acquiring nuclear weapons15. Some Knesset members have paid condolence calls on the families of Islamic suicide bombers16. And though many Palestinian parties advocate for a two-state solution, a few (including Balad) also campaign for the Palestinian right of return. This is a major divisive factor in Israeli government: Full enactment of the right of return would result in Israel’s becoming a Palestinian majority state17. Jewish government officials can understandably see their Palestinian equivalents as working towards a Palestinian state rather than finding their place in a Jewish one.
Because of this, a significant argument can be made that Arab involvement in the Israeli government has hindered relations rather than helping them. Each time a Palestinian official makes a speech advocating for a change in the Israeli flag and national anthem, campaigning for the right of return, or praising Israel’s enemies, negative stereotypes are reinforced. The voices of more liberally-minded Palestinian parties who work towards equal treatment in a Jewish state (more schools in East Jerusalem, equal treatment by the police, more integration in school and living) are easily dismissed in the light of the more extreme positions. 2003 saw the first time Arabs were not involved in Zionist parties, in part because of the defeat of the Labor and Meretz parties18. As a result, the government has become more polarized: The only Palestinian Israelis involved in politics are those representing “exclusively Arab” issues and concerns, and Jews and Arabs work together less closely.
And it is true that Palestinian involvement in the government can be polarizing. But I would argue that the involvement of Palestinians in the Israeli government, though not perfect, almost certainly makes the situation better than it would be without their participation, both because it allows Palestinian Israelis to feel they have a voice and forces the government to hear the issues and concerns of the large minority. Israel was founded to be the first Jewish majority state in two thousand years. Today, it is as culturally diverse as it is geographically. The Jews are now faced with the question of how they, having been the minority for so long throughout history, will treat the minority in their state. With the openness of the political system to Palestinian involvement, Israel is thus far doing a relatively good job of working towards, in the words of a peace advocacy organization, “the legitimate rights and justified claims of the Palestinian people…[who] are entitled to participate in the determination of their future19.”

1. Oz, 177.
2. M. Aronoff, 8-9.
3. M. Aronoff, 15-16.
4-5. Freedman, 115.
6. Freedman and Y. Aronoff.
7. Y. Aronoff.
8. Y. Aronoff
9. Knesset.
10. Y. Aronoff.
11. Y. Aronoff.
12. Oz, 177.
1-15. Y. Aronoff.
16. Rosenthal, 281.
17. Y. Aronoff.
18. Freedman, 119.
19. M. Aronoff, 97.

Bibliography
Aronoff, Myron J. 1989. Israeli Visions and Divisions. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.
Aronoff, Yael. Summer 2010. Lecture and class notes from her MC 390: Israeli Politics and Society Course taught at Hebrew University.
Freedman, Robert O., ed. 2009. Contemporary Israel: Domestic Politics, Foreign Policy, and Security Challenges. Philadelphia: Westview Press.
----Primarily “Chapter 6: Israel’s Arab Parties” written by Hillel Frisch.
Knesset. 6 July 2010. Trip to view the Knesset in session with Yael Aronoff’s Israeli Politics and Society Course.
Oz, Amos. 1993. In the Land of Israel. Orlando: Harcourt Brace & Company.
“Proclamation of Israel Independence.” 14 May 1948. Tel Aviv.
Rosenthal, Donna. 2008. The Israelis: Ordinary People in an Extraordinary Land. New York: Free Press.