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Sammy Smooha Many believe that in Israel the Jews are drifting to the right and religion, the State is increasingly entrenched in its Jewish-Zionist mission and occupation, and the Sammy Smooha Palestinian-Arab citizens are steadily undergoing Palestinization and Islamization. The outcome is a long-term process of mutual alienation and radicalization of all sides. Annual surveys of the attitudes of Arabs and Jews toward each other and toward the state can shed light on the validity of this radicalization approach. This is what the Index of Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel aims to accomplish since its launch Still Playing by the Rules in 2003. It is based on representative national surveys and provides a nuanced, | detailed and complex picture of the stands of Israeli Jews and Arabs. It is unique for by the Rules Still Playing Index of Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel 2015 being the only Index drawing on public opinion polls taken every year and focusing exclusively on these two deeply divided populations. Some of the questions posed to Arabs in the survey: Do you want your children study in Jewish schools? Does Israel have a right to exist? Are you reconciled to Israel today as a state with a Jewish majority? Do you fear mass deportation (transfer) of part of Arab citizens? To what extent is your identity Israeli or Palestinian? To what extent do you trust Arab leaders? Which steps should Arabs in Israel take in order for the state and Jews to treat them with equality, respect and trust? And some of the questions Jews are asked: Are you ready to let Arabs study in the schools in which your children study? Are you ready to have an Arab as superior in your job? Is it possible to trust most Arab citizens? Do you fear that Arab citizens 2015 in Israel Relations of Arab-Jewish Index endanger the state by starting a popular revolt? Do Arabs have a right to live in Israel as a minority with full civil rights? Which steps should Jews take in order for Arab citizens feel that Israel is their state and they citizens of it with equal rights? This publication in English reports the findings of the 2015 surveys on 16 key issues and presents a systematic comparison with surveys since 2003 and to some extent earlier surveys. A full coverage of the study appears in the Hebrew book published by Pardes Publishing. Prof. Sammy Smooha is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Haifa and the Israel Prize laureate for sociology in 2008. He studies Israeli society and state in a comparative perspective, with a focus on Arab-Jewish relations. He is the founding director of the Index of Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel. The conduct of the 2015 Index project was made possible by grants from The Alan B. Slifka Foundation, The Fohs Foundation, The Pratt Foundation, The Marc Rich Foundation for Education, Culture and Welfare, Israel Institute, PEF — Israel Endowment Funds, and Chen and Orni Petruschka. The publication of this book in English and Hebrew is supported by a special grant from the Neubauer Family Foundation. STILL PLAYING BY THE RULES Sammy Smooha STILL PLAYING BY THE RULES Index of Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel 2015 Sammy Smooha Still Playing by the Rules: Index of Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel 2015 A full report in Hebrew was published by Pardes Publishing (Haifa) סמי סמוחה לא שוברים את הכלים: מדד יחסי ערבים־יהודים בישראל 2015 חיפה: פרדס הוצאה לאור 2017 Fieldwork Supervision: Survey of the Arabs — Dr Nohad Ali, Western Galilee College; Survey of the Jews — Dr Mina Zemach, Midgam Institute Copy-editing: Rebecca Wolpe Book Design and Typesetting: Kristina Mordukhovich Cover Design: Uri Zur Cover Illustration: Plant Growing in Mud, Leigh Prather, dreamstime.com First published 2017 ©All rights reserved to Sammy Smooha, 2017 This publication can be downloaded freely in part or full from Internet websites http://pardesbooks.com/Sammy_Smooha/Still_Playing_by_the_Rules.pdf https://www.academia.edu/31576103/Still_Play_by_the_Rules_Index_of_Arab- Jewish_Relations_in_Israel_2015 The publication does not necessarily reflect the views of the funding foundations and the University of Haifa Contents Acknowledgments . 11 Chapter One About the Index . 13 Chapter Two Main Findings . 17 Chapter Three Conclusions . 77 2015 Survey: Arabs . 93 2015 Survey: Jews . 123 Tables 1. Collective Social Integration, Arabs and Jews, 2003, 2012- 2015 2. Collective Cultural Integration, Arabs and Jews, 2003, 2012- 2015 3. Image of Jews among Arabs, 2003, 2012-2015 4. Image of Arabs among Jews, 2003, 2012-2015 5. Feelings of Unease When Arabs and Jews Happen to Be in the Same Area at the Same Time, Arabs and Jews, 2011, 2015 6. Feelings of Dissatisfaction with the State, Arabs and Jews, 2003, 2012-2015 7. Rejection of the Other Side, Arabs and Jews, 2003, 2012- 2015 8. Feelings of Alienation from the Other Side in the Aftermath of Recent Events, Arabs and Jews, 2015 9. Distrust of the Other Side and State and Public Institutions, Arabs and Jews, 2003, 2012-2015 10. Evaluation of Government Policy toward Arab Citizens, Arabs and Jews, 2003, 2012-2015 11. Personal Experiences, Arabs and Jews, 2003, 2012-2015 12. Designation of Statements Made during the 2015 Election Campaign as Racist, Arabs and Jews, 2015 13. Fear of Collective Threats, Arabs, 2003, 2012-2015 14. Fear of Collective Threats, Jews, 2003, 2012-2015 15. Narratives, Arabs and Jews, 2011-2015 16. Acceptance of Coexistence, Arabs and Jews, 2008, 2012-2015 17. Reconciliation with Israel as a Jewish State, Arabs, 2011-2015 18. Israel’s Right to Exist as a Jewish and Zionist State, Arabs, 2003, 2012-2015 19. Arabs’ Right to Live in Israel as a Minority with Equal Individual Rights, Jews, 2003, 2012-2015 [7] 8 Still Playing by the Rules: Index of Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel 2015 20. Restrictions of Arabs’ Citizenship Rights, Jews, 2003, 2012-2015 21. A Jewish State versus Democracy, Jews, 2003, 2012-2015 22. Solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, Arabs and Jews, 2003, 2012-2015 23. A Peace Agreement with the Palestinians that Disregards Arabs in Israel, Arabs, 2012-2015 24. Belief that Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians Will Lead to a Permanent Settlement, Arabs and Jews, 2013, 2015 25. Regional Developments, Arabs, 2015 26. Da’ash (Islamic State), Arabs, 2015 27. Israel’s Regional Integration, Arabs and Jews, 2003, 2012- 2015 28. The Most Important Component of Personal Identity, Arabs and Jews, 2003, 2012-2015 29. Personal National Identity, Arabs, 2003, 2012-2015 30. Affinity of Arabs in Israel with Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, Jews, 2003, 2012-2015 31. Personal Identity as Palestinian-Arab versus Israeli-Arab, Arabs, 2013-2015 32. Personal Identity as Israeli versus Jewish, Jews, 2013-2015 33. Confidence in Arab Leadership Institutions in Israel, Arabs and Jews, 2003, 2012-2015 34. Distrust of Arab Leadership in Israel, Arabs and Jews, 2011- 2015 35. Joint List, Arabs and Jews, 2015 36. Autonomy for Arabs, Arabs and Jews, 2003, 2008, 2012-2015 37. Means of Struggle, Arabs and Jews, 2003, 2012-2015 38. Participation in Protest Actions and Commemoration Events, Arabs, 2003, 2012-2015 39. Steps Arabs Are Ready to Take in Order for the State and Jews to Treat Them with Equality, Respect and Trust, Arabs, 2009-2015 40. Steps Jews Are Ready to Take in Order for Arab Citizens to Feel That Israel Is Their State and They Are Citizens of It with Equal Rights, Jews, 2009-2015 Tables 9 41. Evaluation of the State of Arab-Jewish Relations, Arabs and Jews, 2003, 2012-2015 42. Internal Differences in Militancy Scale, Arabs, 2012-2015 43. Selected Militant Attitudes, Arabs, 1976-2015 44. Selected Rejectionist Attitudes, Arabs, 1976-2015 45. Selected Rejectionist Attitudes, Jews, 1980-2015 Acknowledgments The Index of Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel was inaugurated in 2003 under the aegis of the University of Haifa and in the years 2012 and 2013 was conducted jointly by the University and the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI). It seeks to contribute to the study of relations between Arab and Jewish citizens in Israel, to Arab-Jewish coexistence, and to the resilience of democracy in Israel. Dr. Nohad Ali of the Western Galilee College was responsible for carrying out the fieldwork for the survey in the Arab sector and Dr. Mina Zemach, co-director of the Center for Survey Research Midgam, was in charge of the fieldwork for the survey in the Jewish sector. Both provided assistance in formulating some of the questions and I wish to express my thanks for their contribution. The 2015 index was supported by the following foundations, to which I am profoundly grateful: The Fohs Foundation, The Alan B. Slifka Foundation, The Marc Rich Foundation for Education, Culture and Welfare, the Pratt Foundation, Israel Institute, PEF- Israel Endowment Funds, and Chen and Orni Petruschka. The publication of the 2015 Index also includes selected findings from the 2003 Index, the 2012 Index, the 2013 Index, and other indexes that were supported by funds from the office of the President of the University of Haifa, The Alan B. Slifka Foundation, The Fohs Foundation, The Charles H. Revson Foundation, The Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, The Naomi and Nehamiah Cohen Foundation, The Ford Foundation, received through Israel Foundations Trustees, PEF-Israel Endowment Funds, and the Beracha Foundation. [11] 12 Still Playing by the Rules: Index of Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel 2015 The publication of this book in Hebrew and English is supported by a grant from the Neubauer Family Foundation, to which I am grateful. Thanks are due to the scores of interviewers who performed valuable work and to the thousands of respondents who shared with us their views on the sensitive issues that are the focus of this research.
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