Israel Matzav: 70% of 'Israeli Arab' schoolkids see themselves as 'Palestinians'

70% of 'Israeli Arab' schoolkids see themselves as 'Palestinians'

On Wednesday, I blogged an article by JPost 'Palestinian' reporter Khaled Abu Toameh, in which Abu Toameh raised concerns about discrimination against 'Israeli Arabs.' I argued that Abu Toameh's concerns are legitimate and that there is discrimination. But I questioned why if Abu Toameh is correct that 'Israeli Arabs' don't constitute a fifth column, they keep electing Knesset members whose loyalties are to the 'Palestinians' and Syria.

The survey I'm about to show you was a lead headline in Thursday morning's news. The lead headline was that bare majorities of Israeli schoolchildren aged 15-18 believe that Arab Israelis should not be granted rights equal to their Jewish counterparts (50%), Arab Israelis should be prevented from running for Knesset (56%) and Jewish youngsters who defined themselves as religious said they believe the “Death to Arabs” slogan was legitimate (50%).

What the headlines didn't tell us was the following:

The survey further showed that nearly 70% of Arab youngsters living in Israel defined themselves as being “Palestinian patriots,” and that 20% don’t feel a part of the country.

The survey did not elaborate.

If 70% of 'Israeli Arab' kids define themselves as 'Palestinian' patriots, does that make them a fifth column?

Curiously, most 'Israeli Arabs' have no desire to live in 'Palestine.' They railed against Avigdor Lieberman's plan to do a land and population exchange with a putative 'Palestinian state.' Moreover, since Israel started building the 'security fence,' 'Palestinians' from Judea and Samaria have tried moving into Jerusalem to be on the Israeli side of the fence.

So if they'd all rather live under Israeli rule than 'Palestinian' rule, what does it mean that they are 'Palestinian' patriots? I would argue that they want to destroy the Jewish state. But what would they gain from that if they would rather live under us than under the 'Palestinians'? Or could it be that the older generation is more sensible and wants to live under Israel, while the younger generation is much more radical and wants to live in 'Palestine'? If it's the latter, we have a growing problem on our hands, and very little prospect of solving it.

Israel Matzav: 70% of 'Israeli Arab' schoolkids see themselves as 'Palestinians'