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Source: http://jcpa.org/article/coexistence-jerusalem-local-elections/
Jewish-Arab Coexistence in Jerusalem and Local Elections
(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Nadav Shragai - A new survey by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion shows that 60% of east Jerusalem's Arab residents believe they should participate in Jerusalem municipal elections, which will be held next in October 2018, after many years of boycotting the elections. The survey's results show a growing trend toward "Israelization" among many east Jerusalem Arabs as a consequence of living in a unified city for the past 50 years. At the same time, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas consider any cooperation with Israel as a "betrayal" of the goal of establishing the capital of a Palestinian state in east Jerusalem and have announced that they are opposed to participation in municipal elections. In past years, Arabs wanting to run for the city council have been threatened and physically harmed by Hamas or Fatah operatives. Most of Jerusalem's population don't remember a divided city. Some 85% of Jerusalem's Arabs and 75% of its Jews were born into a unified city. This has been translated into a fabric of normal coexistence that is a blend of different lifestyles. Jewish and Arab doctors and nurses work together to serve both populations in the city's hospitals and health clinics. Arab and Jewish drivers drive the city's taxis and buses, and the light railway serves both communities. Jews and Arabs mix at Jerusalem's restaurants, cafes, and shopping malls, both as consumers and employees. A growing number of families in east Jerusalem are currently choosing to send their children to schools where they follow the Israeli curriculum. Seven years ago, a survey of east Jerusalem Arabs found that 35% preferred to live as citizens with equal rights under Israeli sovereignty. In the latest survey, that figure had reached 52%. The writer, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center, is a journalist and commentator who has documented the dispute over Jerusalem for 30 years.