The Dilemma of Israeli Arabs

Los Angeles Times January 8, 2003

The Dilemma of Israeli Arabs

As long as the state remains 'Jewish in essence,' they cannot be equal
citizens.

By Azmi Bishara

JERUSALEM -- The cornerstone of liberal democracy is citizenship, not
ethnicity, religion or race -- even that of the majority -- a fact
the civil rights movement made evident in the United States. But in
Israel, where bitter arguments still rage over the question "Who is a
Jew?" the question "Who is a citizen?" has yet to be seriously
addressed.

Israel's Arab citizens, who make up nearly 20% of the population, are
effectively prohibited from participating in this debate. In fact,
thanks to a decision last week by the Israeli Central Elections
Committee, even Arab citizens who serve in the parliament, or
Knesset, cannot run for reelection Jan. 28 if we dare to suggest that
Israel should become a state for all its citizens.

I am an Arab citizen of Israel and have been a member of the Knesset
for six years. Over the last year and a half, Israel's attorney
general has indicted me for voicing political opinions, lobbied to
have my parliamentary immunity revoked and, most recently, requested
disqualification of the party I represent from participating in the
upcoming elections. In agreeing, the Central Elections Committee
cited an amendment to the elections law that says that no party or
candidate can challenge the Jewish and democratic nature of Israel.
The Israeli Supreme Court is scheduled to rule Thursday on our appeal.

Israeli Supreme Court Justice Menachem Elon once said, "Israel is
Jewish in essence and democratic in character." How can a state that
defines itself as essentially Jewish also characterize itself as a
democracy when it has a sizable non-Jewish minority? This is a
question that many Israeli liberals and their supporters abroad do
not like to ask. An honest liberal would say that Israel should be
democratic in essence and Jewish in character, given that it has a
Jewish majority that defines itself in national terms.

Having lost our Palestinian homeland in 1948, we Arabs became a
minority in our own country and were granted citizenship, which we
did not choose, in a state that does not define itself as ours but
says it is the state of the Jewish people. If we demand that the
citizenship we received in place of our homeland be full citizenship,
we are accused of "threatening the Jewishness of the state."

Increasingly, Arabs and Jews have come to understand that Israel
cannot separate religion from state or grant full equality to its
non-Jewish citizens unless it defines itself as the state of all its
citizens. And just as we recognize the Jewish majority's right to
self-determination despite our disagreement over the historical
processes that brought it about, we demand that the Palestinian
people receive similar recognition: self-determination in the part of
their homeland occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank
and Gaza.

One need not be Arab to identify with the Palestinian struggle
against Israeli occupation. Resisting occupation is a legitimate,
internationally recognized right, which many Jewish and Arab members
of the Knesset before me have affirmed from the podium of the
occupying state's parliament without it being considered "support for
terror." It is our civic and moral duty to oppose violence against
civilians, even in an anti-occupation struggle. Still, it is not our
place to dictate to the Palestinians how to conduct their struggle
against that occupation, when what is needed is an end to the
occupation itself.

Since we raised the demand that Israel become a citizens' state, the
Israeli establishment has regarded the Arab population with increased
suspicion. Many interpret the idea as opposition to the Jewish
character of the state or as a cover for an "Arab nationalism" bent
on destroying Israel "from within." They cannot fathom that one might
be, simply, both Arab and democrat. And maybe that's the real threat:
demanding a citizens' state challenges Israel's regional monopoly on
"democracy."

Since the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, an Israeli prime minister
who dared to rely on Arab votes to form a parliamentary majority, the
Israeli right began a systematic campaign to delegitimize the Arab
vote. They do not include Arab parties in their coalitions, despite
the fact that we are natural allies on peacemaking. The official
consensus, it is clear, does not include the Arab minority. They
insist that any political settlement be based on a "Jewish majority."

This is how the disenfranchisement of Arabs started, and, like any
racist incitement against minorities in a time of political crisis,
it developed a dynamic all its own.

The biggest threat to Israeli democracy is the racist and violent
political culture engendered by the occupation itself. Disqualifying
those of us who are struggling to democratize Israel from
participating in free and fair elections means barring a liberal
democratic worldview that posits that a state should serve and stand
for all of its citizens equally.


Azmi Bishara is a member of the Knesset from the Balad Party.