4 | JANUARY 4 • 2024 

A

fter Hamas’ onslaught 
on Oct. 7 when they 
killed at least 1,200 
Israelis and 
kidnapped over 
250 people, and 
in the midst of 
the devastating 
war we are cur-
rently seeing 
in the Gaza 
Strip, many 
have feared another escalation 
in violence between Israel’s 
Jewish and Arab citizens in 
Israel proper.

Indeed, after the violence 
we saw in Israel’s Jewish-Arab 
mixed cities during the Gaza 
war in May 2021, one may 
have assumed that we would 
see another outbreak of ethnic 
violence between Jews and 
Arabs in Israel. However, after 
three months of war, not only 
has the relationship between 
Israel’s Jewish and Arab citi-
zens been one of the few 
arenas of relative calm in 
Israeli society, but we are 
actually witnessing a historic 
desire for a renewed coexis-

tence between them.
Shortly after Hamas’ attack 
on Oct. 7, a poll conducted by 
the Israel Democracy Index 
(IDI) found that roughly 70% 
of Israel’s Arab citizens said 
they feel they are a part of 
the State of Israel — an all-
time high in the last 20 years. 
In addition, a poll conducted 
by the Konrad Adenauer 
Program for Jewish-Arab 
Cooperation at Tel-Aviv 
University revealed that more 
than one-third of Israel’s Arab 
citizens said that “Israeli” is 

the most important part of 
their personal identity — the 
highest it’s ever been.
At the same time, polls 
indicate an increased desire 
among Israel’s Jewish citi-
zens to create a more equally 
shared society with their Arab 
counterparts. For example, 
another recent poll conducted 
by the IDI found that 56% of 
Israel’s Jewish citizens want 
to amend Israel’s controversial 
nation-state law that was 
passed in 2018, “so that it 
includes the principles of 
full equality for non-Jewish 
citizens of the state.”
These statistics may come 
as a pleasant surprise after the 

PURELY COMMENTARY

for openers
Happy (?) Ending 
A

nyone who is aware 
of word structure 
(and you know that 
I am) should notice that there 
are some common endings 
that manifest 
themselves. Let 
me educate you 
by giving some 
examples.
Never under-
estimate how far 
someone would 
go to partici-
pate in criminal 
activity. There are those who 
prevaricate so often that you 
begin to speculate as to their 
trustworthiness.
Want to terminate some-
one? You may try to decapitate 
or asphyxiate them. If you are 
unsuccessful, they may try to 
retaliate in a way that you may 
not calculate. Never under- 
estimate the lengths that some 
may go to for revenge. No one 

will congratulate you but they 
may try to incarcerate you.
If you wish to purchase 
something at a fair, you may 
negotiate. The seller will con-
template your offer, anticipate 
his profit and facilitate a com-
promise. Selling an item to 
you may stimulate more sales. 
Be sure to authenticate any 
antique.
If you feel that you have a 
latent talent, create something. 
If it takes planning, meditate a 
while; this may dictate a pos-
itive result. Emancipate your 
latent talent. Do not get irate 
if results are not quickly forth-
coming. If your anger does not 
abate, this will alter your cre-
ativity. By the way, no one will 
appreciate temper tantrums.
Anyone who tries to indoc-
trinate you should be avoided. 
Do not try to debate them; 
it will only aggravate you 
both. You may then start to 

hyperventilate, accelerate your 
heart rate and do other phys-
ical damage. Your opponent 
will not commiserate, merely 
demonstrate his insensitivity 
and abdicate any responsibili-
ty for your condition.
I would like to accommo-
date your submissions for 

many of the words you feel I 
neglected. However, I would 
need to have someone sedate 
me to read them all; so do not 
activate your email system. I 
will, however, leave you with a 
riddle. Why was six afraid of 
seven? Because seven ate nine, 
of course. 

SY 
MANELLO 
Editorial 
Assistants

opinion
New Hope for a Shared 
Arab-Jewish Future

Jonah Naghi
Times of 
Israel 

continued on page 8