The Arabs In Israel

To Be an Arab in Israel fills a long-neglected gap in the study of Israel and the contemporary Arab world. Whether for ideological reasons or otherwise, both Israeli and Arab writers have yet to seriously consider Israel's significant minority of non-Jewish citizens, whose existence challenges common assumptions regarding Israel's exclusively Jewish character. Arabs have been a presence at all levels of the Israeli government since the foundation of the state. Laurence Louër begins her history in the 1980s when the Israeli political system began to take the Arab nationalist parties into account for the political negotiations over coalition building. Political parties-especially Labour-sought the votes of Arab citizens by making unusual promises such as ownership and access to land. The continuing rise of nationalist sentiments among Palestinians, however, threw the relationship between the Jewish state and the Arab minority into chaos. But as Louër demonstrates, "Palestinization" did not prompt the Arab citizens of Israel to set aside their Israeli citizenship. Rather, Israel's Arabs have sought to insert themselves into Israeli society while simultaneously celebrating their difference, and these efforts have led to a confrontation between two conceptions of society and two visions of Israel. Louër's fascinating book embraces the complexity of this history, revealing the surprising collusions and compromises that have led to alliances between Arab nationalists and Israeli authorities. She also addresses the current role of Israel's Arab elites, who have been educated at Hebrew-speaking universities, and the continuing absorption of militant Islamists into Israel's bureaucracy. To Be an Arab in Israel is a discerning treatment of an enigmatic, little known, but nevertheless highly influential people. Their effect on the balance of power in the Middle East seems destined to grow in the twenty-first century.

An analysis of Arab Israeli integration into the State of Israel, probing the conflicts of identity that the minority feels and comparing it historically to developments in Arab countries. Stendel (former deputy to the Prime Minister's Advisor on Arab Affairs) draws the political map of the Arab minority in Israel bringing it into focus by synthesizing demographic trends, geographic distribution, the configuration of the religious communities, social conditions, and the status of women. By examining Arabic-language literature, the press, and the relations of Israeli Arabs with the PLO, readers are given a complete portrayal of cultural identity in conflict with the realities of political and ideological policies. Paper edition (unseen), $24.95. Distributed by ISBS. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This study examines how the Israeli legal system copes with two major issues. The first is the tension between the constitutional definition of Israel as both a Jewish state and a democracy committed to equal rights for all of its citizens. The second issue is the delicate position of a national minority in a state that since its establishment has been involved in a bitter conflict with the Palestinian nation to which that minority belongs.

This book, first published in 1969, presents a comprehensive survey and analysis of the political behaviour of the Arabs in Israel, covering the period from the founding of the State to the Six-Day War in 1967. While the socio-economic background is outlined, the chief emphasis is on the political attitudes of this minority and its reactions to the modernization of political structures. The main chapters deal with adaptation versus alienation; cultural change and its reflection in politics; political organizations; voting behaviour in parliamentary, local, and trade union elections; leadership and the foci of political activity. Materials used for research included the Israeli press, both in Arabic and Hebrew, the literature produced by the Arabs in Israel, official publications and private reports, as well as interviews conducted with Arabs from all over the country.

In late summer 1929, a countrywide outbreak of Arab-Jewish-British violence transformed the political landscape of Palestine forever. In contrast with those who point to the wars of 1948 and 1967, historian Hillel Cohen marks these bloody events as year zero of the Arab-Israeli conflict that persists today. The murderous violence inflicted on Jews caused a fractious - and now traumatized - community of Zionists, non-Zionists, Ashkenazim, and Mizrachim to coalesce around a unified national consciousness arrayed against an implacable Arab enemy. While the Jews unified, Arabs came to grasp the national essence of the conflict, realizing that Jews of all stripes viewed the land as belonging to the Jewish people. Through memory and historiography, in a manner both associative and highly calculated, Cohen traces the horrific events of August 23 to September 1 in painstaking detail. He extends his geographic and chronological reach and uses a non-linear reconstruction of events to call for a thorough reconsideration of cause and effect. Sifting through Arab and Hebrew sources - many rarely, if ever, examined before - Cohen reflects on the attitudes and perceptions of Jews and Arabs who experienced the events and, most significantly, on the memories they bequeathed to later generations. The result is a multifaceted and revealing examination of a formative series of episodes that will intrigue historians, political scientists, and others interested in understanding the essence - and the very beginning - of what has been an intractable conflict.

Arabs & Israel For Beginners covers the Middle East from ancient times to the present, tells the truth in plain English, and is one of the few non-scholarly books that is relentlessly fair to both Jews and Arabs. If you want to continue to believe fairy tales about Arabs in Israel, don’t touch this book – it will surely be hazardous to your closed mind. If you want the truth about 12,000 years of Middle Eastern History, then Arabs & Israel For Beginners is the perfect place to start.

(Foreword by Eugene H. Merrill) A compelling call for Christians to rethink the role of Arabs—also descendents of Abraham and recipients of his blessing.