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CHAPTER 7. PERCEPTIONS OF THE ARAB-JEWISH CONFLICT IN ISRAEL
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10 Perceptions of the Arab-Jewish Conflict in Israel Arab and Jewish intervenors and participants in the encounters responded differently when asked about their perceptions of the most important issues, solutions, and changes that relate to the conflict between Arabs and Jews in Israel. Although intervenors held similar roles, nevertheless they held different perceptions that stemmed from their opposing realities. These differences are explored in terms of each program's intervenors and participants. INTERVENORS' CONFLICT PERCEPTIONS zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgf What Are the Issues ? When asked to list the three most important issues involved in the ArabJewish conflict in Israel, both Arabs and Jews listed self-determination (national identity, sovereignty, etc.) for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, equal rights for Arabs in Israel, the Jewish state, and cultural differences. However, there are several differences in the content and language used to describe these issues. These differences reflect varied perceptions of the causes and the desired settlements of the conflict between the two groups. For instance, for an Arab intervenor there is an issue of a direct and intended discrimination policy against Arabs in Israel. But, for a Jewish interviewee, the Arabs' social and economic conditions are an ultimate result of minority-majority relations or of a natural competition for resources between two communities. For an Arab there is an issue of occupation ; but for a Jewish intervenor, it is the Palestinian problem, assuming that it is caused only by the Palestinians, thereby being their problem. In addition, some Jewish intervenors use the term "Israeli Arabs" or "Arab 99 Perceptions of the Arab-Jewish Conflict in Israel zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgf 100 minority" when referring to Arabs in Israel. But most Arab interviewees refer to the Arab community as "Palestinians in Israel" or "Palestinians." These distinctions reflect a perceptional difference between Arabs and Jews in Israel, in which the majority of the Arabs associate their national identity with the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, while most Jews prefer to perceive the Arabs first as Israeli citizens and then as Arabs or Palestinians. Such an outcome was also supported in the research of Smooha (1992) and Rouhana (1988). In addition to these essential and linguistic differences, there are two types of perceptions in terms of the issues. Each type includes a set of issues listed according to their importance. These types exist among both Arabs and Jews, (a) One set includes those who consider the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over land, national and civil rights to Arabs in Israel (which are influenced by definition of the Jewish state), and issues of cultural differences as the main components of the Arab-Jewish conflict in Israel, (b) The other set includes those who consider the issues to be a Jewish state definition and status of Arabs in Israel, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and cultural differences. Basically, both sets include the same issues; however, the priorities and preferences of these issues are different. Several interviewees, both Arabs and Jews, ignored the cultural components of the conflict, arguing that these are not important issues in this conflict. But, interviewees who considered the cultural issues to be an important issue were divided according to two categories: 1. Those who addressed the conflict in terms of Jewish cultural dominance and the lack of representation and expression of the Arab culture in official offices or in the media. 2. Those who perceived the religious, language, and social differences as the source of conflict without addressing the dominance of the Jewish culture as the issue. On both sides, Arabs and Jews considered the definition of Israel as a Jewish state an issue and a cause of Arabjewish conflict in Israel. A Jewish interviewee explains the status of an Arab in Israel: "The problem that this is not their state nor their people, and they sympathize with our [i.e., Israel's] enemies." A similar idea was expressed by Abdol Aziz Zugbi, the first Arab to become a deputy minister: "My state is in war with my people." An Arab facilitator described this issue of discrimination and Jewish states: "A Jew in Brooklyn has more rights than me. We are discriminated against not only because we are Arabs, but because we are not Jews." Those Jewish interviewees who rejected the notion that the Jewish definition of Israel is an issue in the conflict between Arabs and Jews argued that this is a basic assumption and axiom for any Jew in Israel. One Jewish [34.236.152.203] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 12:14...