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from page 33
Knesset is considering a proposal to
limit the freedom of movement of leg-
islator Ahmed Tibi, formertop advis-
er to Palestinian Authority leader Yasser
Arafat, and legislator Azmi Bishara will
soon be tried for statements he made to
a rally that also included Hezbollah
leaders who were urging the Arab
world to unite and fight Israel.
Many Israelis, who note the incite-
ment by Israeli Arab political leaders,
wonder why the Arab community
doesn't seem to draw a causal connec-
tion between the actions of its members
and the reactions of the Jewish public.
Khatib, for example, is furious that
the authorities allegedly have down-
played the fact that only 100 Israeli
Arabs, out of a population of close to
one million, have been involved in
some form of terrorist activities against
Israel in the past two years.
But in fact, the small proportion has
been mentioned in numerous newspa-
per articles and editorials — along
with the fact that the numbers, while
still small, are growing exponentially
from year to year.
Politicians Blamed
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Ghaleb Majadllah, a Labor Party
activist, described an offensive of con-
tinuous disCrimination against the local
Arab community. Like many others,
Majadllah expressed disappointment
with Arab Knesset members who, he
says, are too involved in the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict rather than the
daily affairs of the community.
Critics say that by stirring up anti-
Israeli feelings — by repeatedly telling
Israeli Arabs that they are Palestinians
and not Israelis, for example, and by
urging terrorist groups to defeat Israel
militarily — Arab Knesset members
only add fuel to the fire.
Khatib, however, believes Arab
Knesset members are expressing the
popular view of Israel's Arab population.
Khatib denied charges that there has
been no real soul-searching among the
Israeli Arab leadership to check whether
it shares responsibility for the escalation.
"It is possible that we did not appre-
ciate enough the present atmosphere
among the Jewish population," Khatib
said, denying charges that Arab leaders
have actively stirred up animosity
toward the state.
But he added, "Can I do anything
alone? There is no one to talk to on the
Jewish side. The press is against us, and
the opposition on the left is too weak."
The views of Haifa University's
As'ad Ghanem reflect the complexity
of the situation. While Israeli Arabs
have long complained that they suffer
from institutionalized-discrimination
in Israel, the Palestinian intifada has
created a real breach of trust between
Israeli Arabs and Jews, he says.
Ghanem criticized Israeli Arabs' ten-
dency to play down the gravity of the
situation. But he, too, put the blame
solely on one side — the Jews.
Although the number of Israeli
Arabs directly involved in terrorist
attacks is small, ill will toward the state
does exist, he said — because of gov-
ernment policy against the Arab popu-
lation. The deterioration in relations is
likely to continue, Ghanem said.
The common denominator between
the Israeli right — which sees the
Arab minority as a fifth column —
and Arab radicals like Bishara is that
both understand that Arab population
growth will soon present a real chal-
lenge to the Jewish state.
The difference is in the consequences.
Bishara has called for the creation of
a "state of all its citizens," thus erasing
the Jewish character of Israel.
Shifting Population
Some right-wing Jewish leaders have
urged that all Arabs who do not vow
loyalty to Israel should be transferred
abroad. Even some voices in the Labor
Party, noting both the Arab popula-
tion growth and the growing extrem-
ism in the community, have proposed
that in a final peace agreement with
the Palestinians, the border be drawn
in such a way as to annex some locales
primarily settled by Israeli Arabs to a
Palestinian state.
A similar proposal was made in an
article last week by Shlomo Avineri, a
political scientist and former director
general of Israel's Foreign Ministry.
Avineri suggests that following an
Israeli-Palestinian agreement, residents
of the Wadi Ara area between Hadera
and Afula, which has a dense Arab
population, conduct a referendum.
The vote would determine whether
towns like Umm el-Fahm, which is
controlled by the radical Islamic
Movement, should be annexed to the
future Palestinian state.
Such a move, Avineri suggested,
could relieve the anxieties of Jews and
meet the nationalist feelings of parts of
the local Palestinian population.
-
Despite their complaints about the
Jewish state, the overwhelming majority
of Israeli Arabs are believed to oppose
such a move, which would cost them
the living standards, social benefits —
and political freedoms — they have
grown accustomed to in Israel. ❑