Israeli Arabs Prefer Israel To Living In Any Other Country In The World

That sentiment was expressed by 77% of those surveyed in a poll done by Harvard University.

David Hazony responds:

This is a shockingly high number: One wonders whether so many Israeli Jews would answer the same way if asked. This, combined with another poll showing that over 70 percent support Arab participation in Israeli national service, seems to make the point fairly incontrovertible. But still the question remains: When will their own leaders reflect their feelings?

It's not clear how Israeli Jews would respond to living in Israel, but it the Harvard poll does reveal how they feel about Arab Israelis:

The findings also revealed that a great majority of Israel's citizens (73% of the Jews and 94% of the Arabs) want to live in a society in which Arab and Jewish citizens have mutual respect and equal opportunities.

The study went on to show that 68% of Jewish citizens support teaching conversational Arabic in Jewish schools to help bring Arab and Jewish citizens together, and 69% believe contributing to coexistence is a personal responsibility.

Sixty-six percent of Jewish citizens and 84% of Arab citizens believe the Israeli government investments should begin now, and not wait until the end of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Apparently, this study should not only be read by Arab leaders. Critiques of Israel whose knee-jerk response is to act as apologists for Palestinian terrorism and issue boilerplate condemnations should take a look at how Israelis actually feel.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Israeli Arabs.