(Fathom-BICOM) Alexander Yakobson - The findings of the Israel Democracy Institute's "Israeli Democracy Index 2012" certainly reflect a critical attitude towards the Israeli reality, but they also reflect a huge gap between the responses of Arab-Israelis and the typical discourse of the Arab elite in the country. When asked, "Do you think that the Knesset Members from Arab parties are more radical than the general Arab public?," only 24% think so; almost half of the rest say the Arab MKs are actually more moderate than the Arab public at large. Some 45% of Arab citizens said they are "proud to be Israeli," while 51% were not proud. Nearly 82% of the Arab respondents "definitely agree" that under no circumstances should violence be used to achieve political goals. Some 78% of Arabs say they have confidence in Israel's Supreme Court. 63% of the Arab respondents estimated that the country will be able to defend itself militarily, and 68% say it will not lose its Jewish character. Some 60% of Arabs say they are "optimistic about the future of Israel." The writer is associate professor of ancient history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
2013-05-24 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive