Jewish-Arab relations

Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel at a protest against the Jewish Nation-State Law in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, August 11, 2018. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Poll: Jews, Arabs much less divided than Israeli politics lets on

A ‘Local Call’ poll shows a broad range of areas where Jews and Arabs see the benefits of cooperation. But that doesn’t mean Jewish Israelis are ready to let Arabs hold positions of power, namely joining the government. The surprising bit: most Arabs would support their parties joining an Israeli government. Judging from the current…

By Dahlia Scheindlin April 3, 2019

Dorit Rabinyan. (Isaac Shokal)

The Jewish-Arab love story that threatened Israel’s national identity

‘All the Rivers,’ the latest book by Dorit Rabinyan, generated international headlines when it was banned from Israel’s high school curriculum for depicting a Jewish-Arab romance. On the occasion of its publication in English, +972 Magazine speaks with the author about the ban and its fallout, and about traversing boundaries. In December 2015, Israel’s Education Ministry…

By Dahlia Scheindlin May 1, 2017

Only a Mizrahi leader, who carries the heritage of Jewish-Arab partnership, can save the Israeli left. (Tal Weintraub)

Why Morocco can be a model for Jewish-Arab partnership

Throughout much of my life, I have been engaged in attempts to improve Jewish-Arab relations in Israel. But a recent trip to Morocco, where Jews and Muslims lived in harmony for centuries, filled me with hope for my country. Life after the conflict: Act One. By Ron Gerlitz Yes we can. We can imagine good…

By +972 Magazine April 18, 2016

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Palestinian citizens of Israel demonstrate against perceived changes to the status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sakhalin, northern Israel, October 13, 2015. (Omar Sameer/Activestills.org)

The Israeli media’s outsized influence on Jewish-Arab relations

Though every fifth Israeli citizen is Arab, most Jewish Israelis only know of them and their political thoughts and identity through the Israeli media, and only two polar opposite stereotypes are portrayed in the Hebrew media: the apolitical ‘good Arab’ and the terrorism-supporting ‘bad Arab.’ By Edan Ring Despite the fact that every fifth Israeli citizen…

By +972 Magazine November 16, 2015

Hundreds hold a funeral for Sami Ja'ar in the streets of Rahat. Ja'ar was shot by police officers last week during an operation in the city. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

WATCH: Following killings, will Bedouin boycott the elections?

Following the recent killing of two Bedouin men in the southern city of Rahat at the hands of Israeli police — along with years of discrimination in nearly every realm, dispossession and home demolitions — the younger generation of Bedouin are more reluctant to vote in the upcoming elections. Jews and Bedouin met in the Negev town…

By Social TV February 14, 2015

Border police officers stands in front of Palestinians as they wait to cross from Qalandiya checkpoint outside Ramallah, West Bank, into Jerusalem to attend the Ramadan Friday Prayers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, July 26, 2013.

Just another exclusionary democracy in the Mideast

This state has never truly recognized the injustices it is responsible for: the Nakba, the occupation or the poor treatment of Mizrahim. And yet, we still have an obligation to try and make this a place worth living in. Israeli society isn’t ready for a political party with “too many women,” said one female political…

By Samah Salaime February 3, 2015

Police arrest a young protester during clashes in Kafr Kanna. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

To fight police violence, address their racism

The killing of a young Bedouin man from Rahat and the death of another during the funeral have deepened the city’s lack of faith in the authorities. Only anti-racism education for police and young people alike can stop the landslide. By Kher Albaz The Or Commission, which investigated the shooting deaths of 13 Arab demonstrators…

By Haokets January 31, 2015

Palestinian workers with Israeli work permit stand in a line to broad a Israel bus line only for Palestinians, after they crossed the Eyal checkpoint, near the West Bank city of Qalqilya, March 4, 2012.

Majority of Israeli Jews support bus segregation, survey finds

Surveys by Israeli Democracy Index and Tel Aviv University find that most Israeli Jews prefer separate buses for Jews and Palestinians in the West Bank; one-quarter of Arab respondents support the torching of Jerusalem’s only mixed Jewish-Arab school. As Israel heads into election cycle, a shower of political punditry will yet again distract everyone from…

By Dahlia Scheindlin December 11, 2014

A Palestinian child stands in a destroyed house in the Shujayea neighborhood, which was heavily attacked during the latest Israeli offensive, east of Gaza City, September 4, 2014. During the seven-week Israeli military offensive, 2,101 Palestinians were killed, including 495 children, and an estimated 18,000 housing units have been either destroyed or severely damaged, leaving more than 108,000 people homeless.

Returning to Gaza’s devastation after summer peace camp

During Operation Protective Edge, dozens of Israeli and Palestinian children spent their days at a summer peace camp in the U.S. When one of those children returned to Gaza and found his family homes destroyed, he wrote a letter to the new Israeli friend he’d made at camp. By Orly Noy Just days before the…

By Orly Noy September 14, 2014

Palestnians living in Israel take part in a protest against the attack on Gaza in the city of Lod, Israel, August 3, 2014 (photo: Activestills)

Why are Palestinian citizens expected to be loyal to Israel?

Israelis on the Left and Right alike expect Palestinian citizens of Israel to display loyalty to the state, yet they never acknowledge Israeli crimes against Palestinians. It’s high time they took a long look in the mirror. “Is he also going to grow up to be an enemy of Israel like you?” A. asked as…

By Rami Younis September 5, 2014

Palestinians from the West Bank enjoy the Mediterranean Sea on the last day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, Tel Aviv, August 11, 2013. The three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. The Israeli army generally issues entry permits to Palestinians during Ramadan, allowing many to visit the beach for the first time. (Activestills.org)

There’s still room for optimism: A letter to Sayed Kashua

‘You were supposed to be optimistic, you were supposed to give us hope. Instead you are only proposing despair.’ A letter to Israel’s best known Hebrew-language Palestinian author, columnist and entertainer, who after the racism and violence of recent weeks wrote that he’s lost hope in coexistence. By Maisalon Dallashi Dear Sayed, You broke my heart…

By +972 Magazine July 14, 2014

Israeli policemen arrest a Palestinian protestor during clashes in Arara, in Israel's north, in the wake of the murder of 16-year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir. (photo: Activestills.org)

Not just escalation: A frightening new era of Jewish-Arab relations in Israel

Attacks by Jewish hooligans on Arabs, unprecedented incitement by right-wing politicians and clashes between Israeli Police and Arab youth. We’ve been here before, but never like this. By Ron Gerlitz This article is written at the height of an extensive, violent escalation in the Jewish-Arab conflict, both within Israel and between Israel and the Palestinians…

By +972 Magazine July 12, 2014