Most of the Jewish public in Israel supports the establishment of an
apartheid regime in Israel if it formally annexes the West Bank.
A majority also explicitly favors discrimination against the state’s
Arab citizens, a survey shows.
The survey, conducted by Dialog on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, exposes
anti-Arab, ultra-nationalist views espoused by a majority of Israeli
Jews. The survey was commissioned by the Yisraela Goldblum Fund and is
based on a sample of 503 interviewees.
The questions were written by a group of academia-based peace and civil
rights activists. Dialog is headed by Tel Aviv University Prof. Camil Fuchs.
The majority of the Jewish public, 59 percent, wants preference for Jews
over Arabs in admission to jobs in government ministries. Almost half
the Jews, 49 percent, want the state to treat Jewish citizens better
than Arab ones; 42 percent don’t want to live in the same building with
Arabs and 42 percent don’t want their children in the same class with
Arab children.
A third of the Jewish public wants a law barring Israeli Arabs from
voting for the Knesset and a large majority of 69 percent objects to
giving 2.5 million Palestinians the right to vote if Israel annexes the
West Bank.
A sweeping 74 percent majority is in favor of separate roads for
Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank. A quarter – 24 percent –
believe separate roads are „a good situation“ and 50 percent believe
they are „a necessary situation.“
Almost half – 47 percent – want part of Israel’s Arab population to be
transferred to the Palestinian Authority and 36 percent support
transferring some of the Arab towns from Israel to the PA, in exchange
for keeping some of the West Bank settlements.
Although the territories have not been annexed, most of the Jewish
public (58 percent ) already believes Israel practices apartheid against
Arabs. Only 31 percent think such a system is not in force here. Over a
third (38 percent ) of the Jewish public wants Israel to annex the
territories with settlements on them, while 48 percent object.
The survey distinguishes among the various communities in Israeli
society – secular, observant, religious, ultra-Orthodox and former
Soviet immigrants. The ultra-Orthodox, in contrast to those who
described themselves as religious or observant, hold the most extreme
positions against the Palestinians. An overwhelming majority (83 percent
) of Haredim are in favor of segregated roads and 71 percent are in
favor of transfer.
The ultra-Orthodox are also the most anti-Arab group – 70 percent of
them support legally barring Israeli Arabs from voting, 82 percent
support preferential treatment from the state toward Jews, and 95
percent are in favor of discrimination against Arabs in admission to
workplaces.
The group classifying itself as religious is the second most anti-Arab.
New immigrants from former Soviet states are closer in their views of
the Palestinians to secular Israelis, and are far less radical than the
religious and Haredi groups. However, the number of people who answered
„don’t know“ in the „Russian“ community was higher than in any other.
The Russians register the highest rate of satisfaction with life in
Israel (77 percent ) and the secular Israelis the lowest – only 63
percent. On average, 69 percent of Israelis are satisfied with life in
Israel.
Secular Israelis appear to be the least racist – 68 percent of them
would not mind having Arab neighbors in their apartment building, 73
percent would not mind Arab students in their children’s class and 50
percent believe Arabs should not be discriminated against in admission
to workplaces.
The survey indicates that a third to half of Jewish Israelis want to
live in a state that practices formal, open discrimination against its
Arab citizens. An even larger majority wants to live in an apartheid
state if Israel annexes the territories.
The survey conductors say perhaps the term „apartheid“ was not clear
enough to some interviewees. However, the interviewees did not object
strongly to describing Israel’s character as „apartheid“ already today,
without annexing the territories. Only 31 percent objected to calling
Israel an „apartheid state“ and said „there’s no apartheid at all.“
In contrast, 39 percent believe apartheid is practiced „in a few
fields“; 19 percent believe „there’s apartheid in many fields“ and 11
percent do not know.
The „Russians,“ as the survey calls them, display the most objection to
classifying their new country as an apartheid state. A third of them –
35 percent – believe Israel practices no apartheid at all, compared to
28 percent of the secular and ultra-Orthodox communities, 27 percent of
the religious and 30 percent of the observant Jews who hold that view.
Altogether, 58 percent of all the groups believe Israel practices
apartheid „in a few fields“ or „in many fields,“ while 11 percent don’t
know.
Finally, the interviewees were asked whether „a famous American author
[who] is boycotting Israel, claiming it practices apartheid“ should be
boycotted or invited to Israel. About half (48 percent ) said she should
be invited to Israel, 28 percent suggest no response and only 15 percent
call to boycott her.
© Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. All Rights Reserved
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/23/israeli-poll-majority-apartheid-policies
Israeli poll finds majority in favour of ‚apartheid‘ policies
Two-thirds say Palestinians should not be allowed to vote if West Bank
was annexed, while three in four favour segregated roads
Email
Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 23 October 2012 21.14 BST
Israeli soldiers walk past a settlement in the West Bank. Almost six in
10 Israeli Jews said the country already practised apartheid.
Photograph: Majdi Mohammed/AP
More than two-thirds of Israeli Jews say that 2.5 million Palestinians
living in the West Bank should be denied the right to vote if the area
was annexed by Israel, in effect endorsing an apartheid state, according
to an opinion poll reported in Haaretz.
Three out of four are in favour of segregated roads for Israelis and
Palestinians in the West Bank, and 58% believe Israel already practises
apartheid against Palestinians, the poll found.
A third want Arab citizens within Israel to be banned from voting in
elections to the country’s parliament. Almost six out of 10 say Jews
should be given preference to Arabs in government jobs, 49% say Jewish
citizens should be treated better than Arabs, 42% would not want to live
in the same building as Arabs and the same number do not want their
children going to school with Arabs.
A commentary by Gideon Levy, which accompanied the results of the poll,
described the findings as disturbing. „Israelis themselves … are openly,
shamelessly and guiltlessly defining themselves as nationalistic
racists,“ he wrote.
„It’s good to live in this country, most Israelis say, not despite its
racism, but perhaps because of it. If such a survey were released about
the attitude to Jews in a European state, Israel would have raised hell.
When it comes to us, the rules don’t apply.“
The poll was conducted by a public opinion firm, Dialog, which
interviewed 503 people out of an Israeli Jewish population of just under
6 million.
Talk of the possible annexation of the West Bank, or the main settlement
blocks within it, has increased in recent months as expectations of a
negotiated settlement to the conflict have sunk to an all-time low.
Israel’s defence minister, Ehud Barak, recently argued for the
annexation of land between the internationally recognised Green Line and
the Israeli-built separation barrier.
The poll results will bolster the claim of Israel’s Arab citizens, who
make up 20% of the population, that they suffer from racist
discrimination. Almost half the poll’s respondents said Israeli Arabs
should be transferred to the Palestinian Authority, and a third said
that Arab towns in Israel should be moved to the PA’s jurisdiction in
exchange for Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
According to the Haaretz report, the survey found that ultra-Orthodox
Jews held the most extreme views about Arabs, with 70% supporting a
legal ban on voting rights and 95% backing discrimination against Arabs
in the workplace.
© 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All
rights reserved.
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