Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Jaffa section of Tel Aviv, Haifa, Acre, Nazareth, Umm-al-Fahm, the Bedouin town of Rahat,
and a number of largely Arab small towns and villages.
Muslim Arabs, with their relatively high birthrates, have a low median age: around eigh-
teen. Religious practices among Muslim Arabs vary widely, ranging from completely secular to
very religious. Since the 1980s, there has been a rise in the number of adherents to the Islamic
Movement, which seeks to replace Israel with an Islamist state.
Christian Arabs live mostly in cities and villages in the northern part of the country; Naza-
reth is an important center for them. Their birthrate is lower than that of both Muslims and
Jews. They tend to be more modernized and westernized than the Muslims are. Although
some have taken up the causes of Communism or Arab nationalism, they tend to be politically
moderate. Their Christianity, like the Islam of Muslim Arabs, is extremely varied; Eastern Or-
thodox, Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, and Protestant faiths are all represented. At times,
there are frictions between Christian and Muslim Arabs, notably in recent years over the ex-
pansion of a mosque in Nazareth into a Christian-owned area.
Arabic is an offi cial language of Israel; government forms and documents are published
in both Hebrew and Arabic. The most important internal issue among Israeli Arabs has been
over their identity in a Jewish state. One choice, which up to 50 percent have made, judging by
voting patterns, is to affi rm the basic social framework in either a traditionalist or a pragmatic
mode.
Traditionalists give their primary loyalty to clan (
hamula
) and family, whereas pragmatists
make accommodations with the state as they try to maximize benefi ts for the Arab sector, with
the association of Arab mayors being the key leadership group lobbying for Arab interests.
These groups are not necessarily satisfi ed with Israel's status as a Jewish state, but they judge
the situation unlikely to change and are aware of the relative benefi ts they enjoy — including
democracy, higher living standards, and a more stable society — compared to Arabs in other
countries or those living under PA or Hamas rule.
The other basic choice is to support a political course intended to change the structure of
society and produce an Arab-dominated country. Since three contending movements — Com-
munist, Arab nationalist, and Islamist — seek that solution, Arab power has been divided even
further. Earlier in Israel's history, the Communist Party — originally a Jewish-Arab organiza-
tion that supported the 1947 Partition Plan —was the most infl uential. Over time, however, the
party became overwhelmingly Arab, and after the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Marxist-
Leninist ideology faded. The party is now a vaguely leftist factor in the Arab community.
By the late 1960s, Pan-Arab nationalism had gained a foothold among Israeli Arabs. Those
who supported this doctrine might also back Palestinian nationalism — supporting the PLO
and especially Fatah —but they might also see themselves as Arabs fi rst and foremost. Most
Israeli Arabs never accepted subordination to the PLO directly, nor did they join in its armed
struggle, except for a small number who mostly left Israel for that purpose.
The third choice for Israeli Arabs who seek Israel's destruction is Islamism. That move-
ment, which arose within Israel during the 1980s, has a dual appeal for those who not only
espouse traditional religious practices but oppose modern social change and the kind of cor-
ruption that has sometimes tainted its competitors. This movement is split into two groups,
