[Peace-discuss] Democracy in Israel

[David Green]

Subsequent to the interview with Nathan Scharansky on
Focus 580, it would seem that Israel has developed a
curious notion of democracy:

Subject: New Poll: 46% of Israeli Jews Favor Transfer

The following appeared in Haaretz on November 19:
 

More Israeli Jews favor transfer of Palestinians,
Israeli Arabs - poll finds 

By Amnon Barzilai

Some 46 percent of Israel's Jewish citizens favor
transferring 
Palestinians out of the territories, while 31 percent
favor transferring 
Israeli Arabs out of the country, according to the
Jaffee Center for 
Strategic Studies' annual national security public
opinion poll.

In 1991, 38 percent of Israel's Jewish population was
in favor of 
transferring the Palestinians out of the territories
while 24 percent 
supported transferring Israeli Arabs.

When the question of transfer was posed in a more
roundabout way, 60 
percent of respondents said that they were in favor of
encouraging 
Israeli Arabs to leave the country. The results of the
survey also reveal 
that 24 percent of Israel's Jewish citizens believe
that Israeli Arabs are 
not loyal to the state, compared to 38 percent who
think the Arabs were 
loyal to the state at the beginning of the intifada.

The poll, overseen by Prof. Asher Arian, also finds
that Jewish public 
opinion is Israel has become more extreme on issues of
foreign affairs 
and defense as well as on possible concessions by
Israel during peace 
talks in particular.

A representative sample of 1,264 Jewish residents of
Israel were polled 
for the survey last month in face-to-face interviews.

Israeli-Arabs pose a threat to Israel's security,
according to 61 
percent of the Jewish population, while around 80
percent are opposed to 
Israeli-Arabs being involved in important decisions,
such as delineating 
the country's borders, up from 75 percent last year
and 67 percent in 
2000.

Some 72 percent of Jewish Israelis are opposed to Arab
parties being 
part of a coalition government, compared to 67 percent
last year and 50 
percent in 1999. 

This overall shift to the right has been coupled by a
significant fall 
in support for the Oslo process; down from 58 percent
last year, to 35 
percent this year. Support for the establishment of a
Palestinian state 
has also dropped from 57 percent last year to 49
percent this year.

Only 40 percent of Jewish Israelis support transfering
control of Arab 
areas of East Jerusalem to the Palestinians as part of
a peace 
agreement, compared with 51 percent last year. There
has also been a fall in 
the number of people willing to leave the settlements
as part of an 
agreement with the Palestinians: 49 percent are in
favor of Israel leaving 
the settlements, apart from large blocs, under a
permanent status 
agreement, compared to 55 percent last year.

Around 41 percent of those polled said that the acts
of Palestinian 
violence have made them less open to compromise, while
just 10 percent 
said that the on-going violence has had the opposite
effect. 

 



		
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