Arab-Israelis account for 20 percent of Israel’s population, yet they have endured state-sanctioned discrimination since the beginning. Now that the country is in a war against Lebanon, a pro-war sentiment has gripped the nation and illuminated new dimensions of prejudice towards Israel’s Arab population. Omaima, a teacher in Israel says, “All the racial tension and hatred that is always present beneath the surface here is now legitimate and out in the open.” In this irrational time, simply being anti-war is enough to be labelled a traitor. However, being anti-war and an Arab carries an additional burden.

The mainstream perception of “good Arabs” and “bad Arabs” in Israel is tied directly to those Arabs who are for the war and those who are against it. Director of the Sadaka-Reut co-existence project, Fadi Shbita says, “The message is that you can be Arab, talk Arabic and have an Arabic culture, but if you live in Israel you need to be on the side of the state.” Shbita believes that most Palestinian-Israelis are against the war, but their fear of being attacked for their position has kept them from vocalizing these beliefs. Echoing this sentiment, one Palestinian-Israeli said “I worry that if I open my mouth about it in public, the next thing I know there is a police or security service investigation on me.”

Jaffa, a city neighboring Tel Aviv, is under particular strain from racial tension, according to its predominantly Arab populace .One Arab resident said, “I have lived in the same apartment for 15 years, with Jewish neighbors who were always good neighbors. But now I feel they have changed and are making faces, as though they have a terrorist living in their apartment block.” Half of Jaffa’s Jewish residents claim they harbour no animosity towards their Arab neighbors, while the other half admits they are suspicious. One man in Jaffa said, “Deep inside, I think they feel good when there is a Hezbollah attack, they are happy about it.”

Earlier this week in Tel Aviv hundreds of Arab-Israelis, who were tired of being silent, and anti-war Jewish-Israelis held a demonstration outside of the American Embassy. Rallying against a war they believe to be motivated by American interests, the mixed crowd chanted: “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies”. The anti-war demonstrators were struck with eggs and verbal abuse by opponents who called them traitors. Ladkani Yanni, a Palestinian-Israeli at the protest said, “It is because I am for Israel that I am opposed to the criminals in this government leading the war. It hurts that so many people here can’t see the truth and are prepared to die for the sake of propaganda.”

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