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The "Arab Spring" and the Demise of Land Day
(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs-Hebrew) Pinhas Inbari - On the background of the dramas in the Arab world, it is significant that this year's protests by Israeli Arabs and Palestinians on Land Day (March 31) - an annual day of protest for Israeli Arabs against Israeli governmental policies dating back to the 1970s - kept a low profile, maybe the lowest ever. It turns out that Arabs in Israel have the lowest level of motivation in the Arab world to initiate changes to their situation. This does not mean that their situation is perfect. There is a lot of work to do to make them feel completely part of Israeli society, but when they look around the region, they know their situation is good. Land Day was quiet in Ramallah and Gaza as well, but for different reasons. In Gaza, Hamas does not support events that do not possess a religious flavor. In Ramallah, the government did not want to "waste ammunition" before the planned declaration of independence in September, which it wants to accompany with huge demonstrations.