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On
October 1, 2000 the Arab citizens of Israel began a rebellion against
the state. In the lexicon of the laundered words of the media, this
rebellion was termed “demonstrations,” “disturbances” and similar
expressions which obscured the true facts.
The pretext for the rebellion was the visit
of Ariel Sharon, then an opposition Knesset member, to the Temple Mount in
Jerusalem on September 28, 2000. The Muslim Arabs all over the Middle East,
but in particular the Palestinians, dubbed this visit to the holiest spot on
earth for the Jewish people, an act of “provocation” which “defiled” the
Muslim holy place. Yassir Arafat and his gangs of terrorists had been
waiting for the occasion to begin a new, full-scale war of terror against
Israel. They immediately seized the opportunity and the next day, September
29, a wave of terror attacks began, accompanied by a frenzy of incitement of
the Muslims in the country. Significantly, they called this new round of
terror “The Aqsa Intifada” giving it a symbolic, religious connotation.
On October 1st the Arabs of
Israel, incited by their leaders who included Knesset members, joined in by
launching a rebellion against the state. Arab mobs from towns and villages
all over the country blocked major arteries in the country, in particular
the main route traversing Wadi ‘Ara, which connects the center of the state
to the north. They burnt branches of the post-office, petrol stations,
police stations, banks, and other public institutions as well as private
Jewish businesses. Many innocent Jewish travelers, who fell into the hands
of inflamed Arab youngsters, were almost beaten to death and one elderly Jew
was killed by a stone thrown at his car. It took the police 3 days to
overcome the first wave of violence, which was rekindled on October 7th
and continued for another 3 days.
Only 13 Arabs were killed in crushing this
rebellion, mainly because the police displayed great restraint in dealing
with the rebels. Later, when a special committee of investigation was
established by the government to investigate the events, it blamed the
police for not showing more restraint!
These events and the Israeli reaction to
them represent the main problem of the State of Israel in a nutshell: Since
its establishment it has hidden its head in the sand, refusing to face the
fact that a mighty enemy has been growing within it, threatening its very
existence.
Israel was established, first and foremost
as a Jewish state but also as a democratic state. If the Arabs living in
Israel were to accept the Jewish state as their home, its Jewishness
and democracy would have been a blessing for them. However, the Arabs of
Israel see themselves as part of the Arab world and more particularly as
“Arabs in occupied Palestine.” They enjoy every benefit that a democratic
state has to offer, but they, together with Israel’s enemies, share the hope
that this Jewish state, in which they have achieved conditions no other
Arabs in the Middle East enjoy, will cease to exist.
The committee that investigated the “Events
of October” concluded, among other things that they were the outcome of the
state’s discrimination against the Arabs. The truth of the matter is that in
comparison to the Arabs in Israel, the Jews are the ones who are suffering
from discrimination. The Arabs, now more than 20 percent of the population
in the country do not go to the army. Officially they are “exempt” but the
truth of the matter is that they refuse take part in any national service,
as peaceful as it may be, even for the benefit of their own society, because
they do not feel that they have either to defend the state or to contribute
to its success in any way. Their attitude to Israel can be summed up in one
of the popular sayings: “take whatever you can and give nothing.” For this
reason they avoid paying true taxes, either to the municipalities or the
state. However, at the same time they enjoy all the services and benefits
which the state offers its citizens. Since they pay very little income tax,
they are regarded statistically as belonging to the low-income, namely the
poor, sector of the society. But anybody who travels through all the Arab
villages and towns in Israel is astonished by the wonderful villas in which
these “poor people” live. Not one of all the “liberal humanitarians” who
shed tears because of the “poverty” of the Israeli Arabs thinks for a moment
to question the source of the funds needed to build these stately homes.
The Israeli Arabs are represented by three
parties in the Knesset that are elected in free, democratic elections. One
of them is officially communist, one officially Islamic, and one
“national-democratic” but as far as their attitude to Israel as a Jewish
state is concerned, there is no difference between them. They all openly
wish for its disappearance although all of them swore allegiance to “the
State of Israel and its laws” when they joined the Knesset. The following
examples will suffice to demonstrate the point.
Wasil Taha is a Knesset member and
represents the “National Democratic Alliance.” He openly supported the
kidnapping of Israeli soldiers by the Lebanese Hizballah terror group and
Hamas terrorist group from Gaza in July this year. More than five years ago,
his colleague, and the head of his party, the Christian Azmi Bisharah,
traveled to Syria, and, standing next to Nasrallah the leader of the
Hizballah and Syrian President Bashir Assad, openly called for the
continuation of the war against Israel. “The Arab world should unite,” – he
said – “and together forge a pan-Arab struggle instead of mere local
Palestinian or Lebanese uprisings. The present situation calls for Arab
unity, which does not exist.” He followed the same line after the present
war.
Bishara’s declared policy is that Israel
should change from being a Jewish state and become a state “of all its
citizens.” In other words he wants to see the end of the only Jewish
homeland in the world, together with all its symbols including its flag and
anthem. And this man is a member of the Israeli parliament!
Muhammad Barakah, the head of the Arab
Communist, party has declared: “I am not loyal to a state that is Jewish and
Zionist … This is not a golden calf that I have to worship.” This man swore
allegiance to “the State of Israel and its laws” before he took his seat in
the Knesset.
Ahmad Tibi is a member of the combined party
of “The United Arab List” and “The Arab Movement for Renewal.” The party
represents the Islamic movement which sees itself as part of the Islamic
front. For Islam, the disappearance of Israel is a religious duty. He also
repeatedly demands the abolishment of all the Jewish symbols of the state,
first and foremost the flag, the anthem, and the Menorah. Referring to the
attempts of the Arabs to destroy Israel, the state in whose parliament he
serves, and from whose university he received his M.D., he has declared more
than once: “An Arab flag hoisted over any freed Arab land is a source of
pride. I have no doubt that this is the general feeling among the Arabs in
Israel. Whoever says anything else is not telling the truth.”
When Saddam Husayn attacked Israel with
missiles in 1991, many Arabs in Israel supported the Iraqi dictator and
openly demonstrated their sympathy for him. “We, the Arabs in this country,”
– said Tibi – “wish to see a strong Arab force… able to confront the axis of
the USA and Israel.” And these are among the mildest pronouncements of these
Arab members of the Israeli parliament who enjoy all the rights and
privileges that the Jewish Democracy can offer. Similar and worse
declarations can be gleaned from other Arab Knesset members who seem to
compete with each other in producing hostile pronouncements against Israel.
The most recent pronouncements coming from
Wasil Taha and Muhammad Baraka, while Israel was in the midst of a war on
two fronts against the Hizbollah and the Hamas, support the kidnapping and
killing of Israeli soldiers and furnish the legitimacy for these actions.
“Hizbollah and the others did what it is their right and duty to do: to act
against the Israeli occupier and drive him out.” Bear in mind that Israel
has not been in Lebanon since 2000 and for almost a year there has been no
trace of Israel’s “occupation” in Gaza.
When the State of Israel was established, it
declared that it would not discriminate between its citizens. The Arabs of
Israel enjoy the services and environment of a modern country. They enjoy
modern education, modern technology, modern medical services, and a high
birth rate coupled with a negligible rate of infant mortality. Over the past
57 years the Arab community in Israel has increased ten times in size. The
Arabs number 1,500,000 out of a little over the 7,000,000 inhabitants of
Israel. They enjoy a quality of life the like of which does not exist in any
of the Arab countries. Illiteracy has disappeared and the universities are
open to them as they are to any other citizen. They have their own
educational system which functions in Arabic, and they can participate in
any cultural activity they wish, in their own language. It would be a
mistake to think that they do not realize the benefits of living in Israel.
While their leaders incite against Israel, most of the Israeli Arabs are
terrified of the possibility of coming under Arab rule. They are very much
aware of the corruption, backwardness, poverty, illiteracy, and other
ailments of their nearest neighbors in the Palestinian Authority, and they
have no wish to join it. They need Israel, in spite of themselves.
One of the old-time Arab politicians
described the feelings of the Israeli Arabs saying: “Israel is like a
step-mother; we are happy that she looks after us but we wish she would
die.”
During the recent war of Israel against the
terrorists of the Hizbollah in Lebanon, the Arab parties in the Knesset
adopted the clear position of supporting the enemy. Most of the Israeli-Arab
media followed suit. When a Hizbollah missile killed two Arab children in
Nazareth, their father first condemned the Hizbollah, but following the
visit of the Arab Knesset members he appeared in the media condemning Prime
Minister Olmert for the killing!
While the war was going on, and thousands of
Hizbollah rockets were falling indiscriminately on towns and villages all
over the north of Israel, killing and maiming hundreds of civilians, the
Israeli-Arab parliamentarians openly conducted constant anti-Israeli pro-Hizbollah
propaganda, in every channel of the local and world media. All of them
supported the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers by both Hamas and Hizballah. In
all the Knesset sessions the Arab members of the House made it clear that
their loyalties were not with the nation to which they pledged loyalty when
they were sworn in as members of parliament.
When asked about this clear expression of
support for the enemy in time of war MK Lieberman said:
“The Prevention of Terror Ordinance is clear
and would permit the prosecution of most of the Arab Knesset members who
spoke out in favour of the Hizbollah and justified the kidnapping of Israeli
soldiers. The fact that the legal system does not deal with such cases is a
sign the bankruptcy of law enforcement in the country.”
After all is said and done, the danger for
Israel comes not only from the Arabs outside, but from the enemy within. The
Israeli Arabs are not only a demographic problem they are a geographic one
as well. They are concentrated in the Galilee, in the centre of the country,
and in the Negev. It is almost certain that within a few years the demand
for national autonomy will be raised in these places and after that,
separation. Incitement in this direction has already been voiced by some
Arab Knesset members. The potential of the state being destroyed from within
is, therefore, the real danger. And for this Israel has no answer.
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