Last weekend, a survey was published within the framework of a conference on the important issues facing the younger generation of Arabs in Israel. The findings were very surprising.
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The survey, conducted by the Haifa-based Baladna Association for Arab youth, which is affiliated with Balad political party, comprised 500 participants and 10 focus groups. The findings paint an interesting picture that needs to sound alarm bells for the entire Arab leadership in Israel and organizations that are active in the Arab sector, particularly with the young generation.
With respect to some of the categories, there were almost no surprises: 72% of the Arab youths questioned define themselves as Palestinians; 70% see the police as responsible for the crime and violence running rampant in Arab society; 77% responded that they support women's rights; and 94% said they support women's right to higher education. These results were more or less expected.
However, in regards to political issues the figures are very grim indeed, and obligate deep introspection for all the Arab political parties. Just 2% of the youths questioned are affiliated with or belong to one political party or another, indicating immense alienation and a lack of faith between younger Arabs and the Arab parties. This is perhaps the single most significant factor for the weakness of all Arab political parties in Israel, despite their many efforts to connect with the younger generations through initiatives on college campuses.
The survey also found that 74.2% of Arab youths in Israel view themselves devoid of any political or social affiliations, and just 11.3% said they belong to sports or art clubs, mostly run by private organizations.
Beyond the question of relations between Arabs and Jews, the question of the relationship between Arabs and themselves is an important one. The figures pertaining to internal ethnic affiliations indicate troubling trends: Some 39% of the Muslim Arab youths who were questioned said they prefer living in buildings that exclude Christian Arabs or Druze tenants. In other words: Even within Arab society, ethnic divisions are still very significant.
Accordingly, 52% said they would rather live in neighborhoods without Christians or Druze; 43% prefer studying in schools that are ethnically homogenous; and 36% would rather their place of work was ethnically homogenous as well.
In a nutshell: Between one-third and half of those questioned still perceive themselves through an ethnic-religious prism, rather than a nationalistic one. This perhaps explains their sense of disconnect with their national-political representatives. When it comes to establishing a comprehensive national identity, Arab society still has a long way to go.
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