Of Israel's 5 or 6 million citizens, about 1 million are Arabs. Most are
Muslim Palestinians but there are also Christian Palestinians, Muslim
Bedouin, and Druse. At the founding of Israel the Arab anti-semites fled
the country (along with many other refugees who were not racist, of
course) so those who stayed were the ones most willing to get along with
Jews; they and their descendents have been citizens ever since.

There are quite definitely Arabs in the Knesset and always have been (I
remember back in the 1980's reading that at that time there were only 2
members of the Knesset left who had been members since the founding of
Israel, and one of the 2 was an Arab from the Communist Party). Also,
there are Israeli Arabs in other government positions--in the 1980s the
Israeli consul in Atlanta was an Arab; in the 1990s Israel appointed its
first Arab ambassador (to Finland).

A few months ago the first suicide bombing by an Israeli citizen took
place; ironically, the bomber came from an Israeli Arab village which
just 2 or 3 weeks earlier had been celebrating because another Arab from
the same village had just been promoted to General in the Israeli army.

Israeli Arab citizens who are Palestinian (whether Christian or Muslim)
need special permission to join the army, but the Bedouin (who are of
course Muslim), the Druse, and the Circassians (who are Muslim but not
Arab) all (like the Jews) routinely serve in the army.

Of course, the Israeli army is committing brutal war crimes (so is the
Russian army, the American army, the Colombian army, etc. etc.) and it
is immoral to serve in it or support it. But the picture on the ground
is a LOT more complicated than the simplistic view most people in other
countries--especially those who are neither Palestinian nor Israeli--
understand. Will Rogers used to say "all I know is what I read in the
papers" and the press coverage (whether "balanced" or whether aimed at
apologising for the past & present war crimes of Sharon or for the past
& present terrorism of Arafat) never tells the whole story.

The Law of Return merely says that Jews who settle in Israeli have the
right to immediate citizenship--as ethnic Germans, for example, have the
right to immediate citizenship in Germany, even if their ancestors have
all lived in Russia since the 18th century; or as I have the right as
an Armenian to Armenian citizenship (my brother has taken an Armenian
passport, although he continues to live in New York; when he visits
Armenia he doesn't need a visa!) even though my ancestors probably never
lived in what is now Armenia. I'm not justifying this--I think states,
passports, and distinctions of citizenship (and restrictions on anyone's
free movement anywhere on the planet of their birth) are a big mistake.
I'm just explaining what the facts actually are. And by the way, the Law
of Return doesn't define a Jew according to the religious definition
(which says you're only Jewish if your mother was Jewish), but applies
to anyone with at least 1 Jewish grandparent.

shalom & salaam,
-Jay Dobkin




----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Rogers <[log in to unmask]>
> its my understanding that Palestinians can not be
> members of
> the Knesset. Although Palestinians make up something like 23% of the
> population, only 'citizens' are allowed to serve in the
> government, and
> since ...???
>
> Bob
>