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The Status Of The Arab Minority

Decent Essays

The status of the Arab minority (Palestinian Arab) in Israel has been a persistent question since the 1948 war, or as the Arab minority identifies it, “Al-Nakba” or “Catastrophe.” While Israel self-identifies as the nation state of the Jewish people, approximately twenty percent of people within its borders identify as Arab — yet, it often unclear what their rights and roles are in a state that has historically discriminated against them and treated them as second class citizens.The fight for collective rights has been a decades long struggle, hindered in part due to the divisions within the Arab community, which is made up of Druze, Christians, Bedouins, and Muslims, groups with different political interests and priorities. The lack of unification has kept them from gaining collective rights or significant political clout within Israel. Thus, to this day, Arab citizens are disproportionately impoverished, unemployed, and uneducated compared to their Israeli peers. However, the path to a solution is complicated by both external and internal Israeli security concerns and a desire to maintain the character of a Jewish State. Thus, while the alienated Palestinian minority poses a legitimate challenge to the future of Israel, the status quo is unlikely to change. Since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, the Arab minority has been subject to policies and attitudes, in the name of Israel’s security, that have engendered inequality, discrimination, and divisions

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