The Arab Minority in Israel, 1967-1991: Political Aspects

Landau published The Arabs in Israel: A Political Study in 1969; as the similar but distinct title of the 1993 book suggests, he has now written an entirely new but closely related report. Once again, Landau's judicious tone and rich substance add up to a cool, informative account on a hot subject. As with the earlier work, this one will immediately become authoritative.

Much has happened to Israel's Arabs since 1967, including spectacular population growth, resumed cultural connections to the outside world, and political radicalization. The docile, leaderless community of 1948-67 found its voice and now confidently asserts itself. While moderates (who seek equality within Israel) and radicals (who reject Israel's existence as a Jewish state) coexist, "the radical camp, even if disunited, is growing."

Landau calls their alienation "a time-bomb," and in his last two pages suggests ways to improve Arab-Jewish relations in Israel. He calls on Arabs to recognize Israel as a state with a Jewish majority and on Jews to increase the Arabs' share of the country's resources so that they attain equal conditions. Sounds good, until one recalls Landau's observation, much earlier in the book, on the expectations of Jewish political leaders that "economic prosperity would strengthen the Arabs' identification with the state remain doubtful, to say the least." This contradiction points to the unhappy fact that, like the larger Palestinian-Israeli conflict, relations between Arabs and Jews in Israel may simply have no solution.

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