Israeli Arab Finds No Welcome Mat in Jewish Town

[David__77]

BAKA AL GHARBIYA, Israel (Reuters) - By now Adel Kadaan was sure he would be living in the house of his dreams -- nine years after responding to an advertisement for a plot of land in Israel.

But the dream has turned into a nightmare for the Israeli Arab nurse, who blames prejudice for the delay in moving from the rundown Arab town of Baka Al Gharbiya to the more modern Jewish suburb of Katzir in northern Israel.

The saga began back in 1995, when Jewish officials in Katzir summarily rejected Kadaan's housing application. "Let's be frank, we don't accept Arabs here," Kadaan quoted one of the officials as telling him.

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http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=ourWorldNews&storyID=4195091

[David__77]

1. Question of the Israeli Arab minority...

Israel is of course a bastion of liberal democracy especially in relation to its neighbors. Jewish people have always played an special, exceptional role of the struggles for human freedom. But, can the claim of liberal democracy and pluralism which is upheld by Israel be maintained if the minority Israeli Arabs are seen as an inherent menace to the State of Israel itself? It seems that they are viewed as such by many people. It seems that there are only two long-term solutions: either this minority is incorporated fully into the life of the State of Israel on the basis of full equality, or they are expelled from Israel and deprived of their citizenship.

From the article:

"Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked new anger in December by calling Israeli Arabs a worse "demographic problem" than the Palestinians, citing that their growing numbers could transform Israel from a Jewish to a binational state.

"'Soon they will start spraying us with spermicide,' to keep down the birth rate, Israeli Arab legislator Ahmed Tibi said in response to Netanyahu's remarks."

[plurality]

2. ah yes, the flower of democracy in the Middle East

"But few Arabs live with Jews in the towns and communal farms built since then, and virtually all their children attend separate school systems.

Integration is particularly anathema to places like Katzir, one of a string of communities built to boost the Jewish population in the north, where Arabs far outnumber Jews.

Katzir, a fenced-in hilltop community with a fortress-like aura, is surrounded by Israeli Arab villages. And while some local Arabs have moved into a lower-income section of Katzir, none has been welcomed in the upmarket area where Kadaan wants to live.

"Some people here are paranoid, they are suspicious and afraid that (Arabs) would seek to take over the community," said 35-year-old Asnat Riffkin of Katzir. "