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Interesting piece on Israeli Arabs - who they are, what are (some of them) like, discrimination, what are they looking for in the "peace process", do they want a Palestinian state? He even talks about how ridiculous it is to call Israel an apartheid state.
As long as you aren't dealing with Hezbollah psychopaths, Semtex-strapped "martyrs," or Al Qaeda head-choppers, Arabs really are the most pleasant people you can find anywhere. There's nothing quite like going to a place where you can regularly and reliably pull up a chair (or a space on a carpet) with total strangers and share coffee, tea, cigarettes, and conversation while basking in the glow of instant warm friendship. Arab hospitality alone is reason enough to visit the Middle East instead of Europe on your next holiday.
I sort of understand why Israelis fear Arabs. Yasser Arafat, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, etcetera ad nauseum, are murderous maniacs. And they get all the attention. At the same time I'm completely baffled. You are not going to run into those types while hanging out with regular folks in the Jerusalem market.
Note: I remember in that in the beginning of the current "intifada" many people in Israel were sure that Israel-Arabs were loyal citizens who would have nothing to do with anti-Israel terrorism. Until some Israeli-Arabs decided to take very active roles in terrorist attacks (i.e.: blowing themselves up, driving the killers to their targets, etc). The portrayal of Israeli Arabs in this article implies that the actions that I described apply to a very very small minority. I personally have no way of knowing what to believe with any degree of certainty, nor do I have any way of knowing how many Israeli Arabs want to see Israel gone. I do know that a majority of Arabs in Jerusalem voted for Hamas in the last elections, and that there are still terrorist incidents that include the active participation of Israeli Arabs. While that is the case, friendly or not, I am staying as far away as possible. Sorry.
