Kfar Saba

WaSPR Delegation Diary 7: Visiting Those Who Want Peace: Arab and Jewish Dialogue



The term “Israeli Arab” deserves some elaboration. These people are really Palestinian Arabs, and their descendants, who never left after Al-Nakba in 1948. They have relatives in the West Bank and Gaza, and also in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and throughout the Palestinian Diaspora. Israeli Arabs are citizens of Israel, and can vote in Israeli elections. They comprise about 20% of the current population of Israel. Although they generally have a better standard of living than their extended families in the Occupied Territories and the Palestinian Diaspora, they are still second class citizens, living as non-Jews in a Jewish State.