40 Percent of Israel's Arab Citizens Deny Shoah by Gil Ronen
(IsraelNN.com) Two out of every five Arab citizens of Israel, or 40.5 percent, say that the Shoah, or Holocaust, never happened. This figure is up from 28 percent who denied the Holocaust in a similar survey three years ago.
Only 41 percent of the Arab citizens of Israel recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, down from 65.6 percent who did so in 2003. A mere 53.7 percent recognize Israel's right to exist as an independent state at all, compared with 81.1 percent in 2003.
The statistics appear in the annual "Jewish Arab Relations Meter" published by Prof. Sami Samocha of Haifa University. The full content of the survey will be released Monday. The survey encompasses numbering 700 Arab men and women, who are a representative sample of Israel's Arab population, including Bedouin and Druze.
According to Samocha, Holocaust denial is common, not just among the less educated Arabs. A full 37 percent of Arabs who possess an education level above high school deny that the Holocaust happened.
Fifty-six percent of Arabs think that the "Right of Return" of Arab "refugees" should not include an influx into Israel's pre-1967 territory, as opposed to 72.2 percent who thought so six years ago.
12.6 percent support armed struggle
41.4 percent said that they had participated in "protest actions" over the course of the last year, compared with 28.7 percent who said so in 2003. 12.6 percent support using "all means, including weapons" in the struggle to "improve their situation." This figure is up from 5.4 percent in 2003.
53.8 percent said that it is okay for Arab children to study in a Jewish school – down from 70.5 percent in 2003. 47.3 percent do not want a Jew as their neighbor – up from 27.2 percent six years ago.
Despite the statistics, Prof. Samocha claims that Arabs' positions have not undergone serious radicalization in the past three decades and that they seek equality and peace.
Poster Comment:
But, but, but doesn't Israel have Hate laws? Surly they must, and if so, why aren't these Arabs cowered like so many Americans, Brits, Aussies, etc? Because they're MEN and unafraid of UNJUST law. It's time to take a lesson from abroad and man up.