Riots shatter the veneer of coexistence in Israel’s mixed cities

[ad_1]

Mr. Sweetat is willing to compromise in a land where few are willing to do so. He believes that cooperation in the pursuit of shared prosperity, however difficult, is the only way forward. “If we don’t like it,” he said, “we can pack our bags and go to Switzerland.”

I asked him if he felt like an equal citizen of Israel.

“Of course, I don’t feel equal,” he said, “but I can achieve whatever I want.”

However, he said, “I don’t see new Arab villages being built. I don’t have enough space in my village. I wanted to buy a plot of land near Tarshiha, but I couldn’t. I want my two-year-old son to grow up here. Ask the country why I can’t find land here.”

“So, you can’t achieve everything you want?” I asked.

“There are things you cannot change, but we can improve. Change can start with people.”

Overcoming mutual understanding

When Tal Becker, legal adviser to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, drafted the preamble to the normalization treaty between Israel and the United Arab Emirates last year, he predicted a rollback of this provision:

“Recognizing that the Arab and Jewish peoples are descended from a common ancestor, Abraham, and inspired by this spirit to promote a reality in the Middle East in which Muslims, Jews, Christians and peoples of all religions, sects, beliefs and nationalities live in a spirit of coexistence and their commitment.”

There was no opposition, despite the fact that the wording made it clear that both Jews and Arabs belonged to the Middle East.

The prevailing view among Palestinians and throughout the Arab world has long been, on the contrary, that Israel and its Jewish population represent an illegal colonial projection in the Middle East that will one day end.

[ad_2]