Israeli Arab at the ballot box.

The peace process has weakened rather than strengthened the link between Israel's Arab population and the Palestine Authority, says Dr. Elie Rekhess, a researcher at TAU's Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies. A survey conducted by the Center's Program in Arab Politics, sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and directed by Dr. Rekhess, indicates that Israeli Arabs are more concerned about integrating into Israeli society than they are about their Palestinian identity.

That is not to say that Israeli Arabs do not identify with Palestinian aspirations toward self-determination, says Rekhess, rather that issues related to their status within Israeli society are perceived as more important. When asked to rate issues according to national priority, the majority of those polled (41%) believed that attaining political equality was the most important issue, while only 5% were primarily concerned about the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The most probable explanation of the weakening of the Palestinian link among Israeli Arabs, Rekhess says, is that the issue of Palestinian statehood is being looked after by the Palestinian Authority through direct negotiations with the Israeli government. At the top of the scale of Israeli Arab priorities are issues related to the Israeli experience, notes Rekhess. Strong support (80%) was expressed for the appointment of an Arab minister to bear full responsibility for implementing the government's policies, and a surprising 24% of those polled strongly supported the idea of undertaking military service in exchange for full equality.

Support for democracy
"The study's findings indicate that the Israeli Arabs' desire for partnership in decision-making and for greater involvement in the political system is manifested in strong Arab support for democratic political activity at all levels - the result of modernization processes and the internalization of democratic values and civic equality," says Rekhess. More than half those polled favored achieving equality "by parliamentary activity in the Knesset," as opposed to only 1% who believed the most effective method was staging illegal protests.

Split in Arab politics
Arab and Druse politics are in a state of crisis that has been continuing for a number of years, says Rekhess. With splits along ideological, political, regional, religious, communal, tribal, family, social, cultural and personal lines, "the capacity for unity betwen these two groups is limited," he stresses.

This instability, together with increased religious observance, has led to a strengthening of the Islamic movement. The movement has an excellent organizational framework, ongoing activities, and a strong ideological framework which provides an attractive alternative to the divisive secular Arab political system on the one hand, and the deficiency of the government with regard to the development of the Arab population, on the other.

Despite the Arab public's strong desire for equality, integration, and partnership in decision-making, "most of the Jewish public does not view favorably the Arab aspiration for equal status and legitimization at the political as well as the national ideological levels," says Rekhess. "Therefore the Arab minority finds itself trapped. It finds it difficult to discover an effective manner in which to influence Israeli politics in general, and the elections in particular."

The survey indicates that 45% of the Arab population would prefer an Arab prime ministerial candidate over either Ehud Barak (30%) or Benjamin Netanyahu (3%), says Rekhess. "This should be perceived as a warning to the Jewish public rather than a realistic aspiration - the call of an Arab electorate striving to bring its hidden potential into being and to achieve the coveted position of being the element which tips the scales in Israeli politics, similar to the Orthodox Jewish entity," he says.

Scientific consultant to the survey was Prof. Ephraim Yuchtmann-Yaar, Head of TAU's Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research.