in order to achieve true equality in israel, the system must be changed from within. and i don’t see that happening anytime soon.

I completely agree on both pts. But one of the reasons I write this blog is to lobby for precisely these changes. As to flags and other national symbols, I agree that Israel needs to have symbols that are inclusive of all its citizens. But lots more needs to change including laws, a need for a constitution guaranteeing equal rights for majority & minority (whether they be Jewish or Muslim/Christian).

I don’t think Israel should expect its minority population to serve in the IDF until the army and society itself reflect this diversity and equality for all. But at that point, I would expect Arab citizens to participate in society’s institutions & I think they would want to do so.

I also don’t think you should paint the Israeli brush with a broad negative brush. I believe I read the poll in either Haaretz or Yediot, which are generally (though not always) reliable & independent papers. Believe me, I have my antennae up whenever I read material that is this contentious. I was frankly surprised by these findings. But fr. what I can tell they generally reflect opinion within the Palestinian Israeli population. I’m not saying these views are unanimous because clearly there are many nationalists who side w. yr perspective & that is certainly a legitimate one within that community. I’m just making the pt that there is not unanimity on this subject.

richard, perhaps i should have first asked where this poll came from. but an israeli nespaper doesn’t really write in the favour of palestinians, does it? equality doesn’t means they wish they could live without the israeli influences imposed on them. can you imagine what it feels like to walk through the streets of haifa with all the israeli flags waving around all over the place? in the OT they’re used to mark settlements and checkpoints, in israel they are a reminder of the nakba.
i didn’t misunderstand your point of view, i think you misunderstood me as claiming that you promote apartheid. i didn’t say that. what i meant is that the current situation is an apartheid situation. in the west bank and gaza it has been administered physically with the wall, in israel it is a mental form of apartheid.
when azmi bishara he speaks of integration he means both ways. why do you think he got so much flack from the government? i don’t think that he would ask any palestinian to start waving the israeli flag or to join the military (even though some have) or to practice all the rights that israelis enjoy (as shirin just described) because many of them were implemented when this so-called democracy was created exclusively for jews. therefore, in order to achieve true equality in israel, the system must be changed from within. and i don’t see that happening anytime soon.

This poll was probably funded by the Israeli government

That’s not fair. I would NEVER quote a poll funded by the Israeli government, nor do I believe the government conducts polls that it makes public. This was a legitimate independent poll published in an Israeli newspaper. And it’s not the only one either. I’m afraid I’m with Azmi Bishara on this: Israel must become a state of all its citizens, meaning Palestinian Israeli citizens must receive full, equal rights. This does NOT mean losing their heritage or historical experience. In order to do that they must be integrated within Israel itself. I’m sorry you see such equality (strangely, I might add) as apartheid. Or did you misunderstand my pt of view?

I think one of the reasons most Palestinian citizens of Israel do not appreciate being called Israeli is precisely that it identifies them with a country and a first-tier “fellow citizenry” tat rejects them both symbolically and practically. Therefore, calling them Israeli seems like a lie, and a patronizing, insulting one at that.

I think also that we should not conflate wishing to be treated as equal citizens with equal rights, equal privileges, equal treatment, and equal recognition and respect for their ethnic, linguistic, cultural, and religious identity with wishing to identify and be identified as Israeli. They are two rather different things.