IF I WERE A RICH MAN (via Barry Meislin):

Israeli Arab rights and wrongs (Andrea Levin, Feb. 3, 2003, Jerusalem Post)

As Israel went to the polls in January, a surge of news stories appeared about the lives, attitudes and voting patterns of its Arab citizens. All too many were boiler-plate recitations of charges that Israeli Arabs are understandably aggrieved and deeply alienated from their country because of its alleged discriminatory policies. [...]

Haifa University economist Professor Steven Plaut has recently surveyed income distribution in Israel, and finds the claims of income gaps between "ethnic" groups to be false. He identifies other factors applying to all of Israel's ethnic groups as key to income differences, concluding that "a person of a certain gender, education and age is in the same income bracket whether he is an Arab, Sephardi or Ashkenazi."

A major determinant of income is age. Older people in every group make more money than younger ones. The Arab sector has more children per capita and, accordingly, the average age of Israeli Arabs is 10 years younger than Israeli Jews. In this respect Israeli Arabs resemble haredi Jews, who also have large families and therefore lower per-capita incomes.

Plaut observes that while the individual choice to have large families may result in income disparities, this cannot be attributed to discrimination.

If there are inferior municipal services in the Arab sector, this can also be seen in the context of the Arabs' own choices and conduct. According to Plaut, "while in the Jewish sector the average percentage of residents who pay their property taxes per town approximates 80%, with property tax exemptions going mostly to the elderly and the poor," in the Arab city of Umm el-Fahm, for example, 72.9% do not pay property taxes. Even owners of the many large, luxury homes proliferating in Arab towns may pay negligible property taxes. [...]

Nor did Hale mention other information relevant to the status, views and interests of Israeli Arabs. A survey of residents of Umm el-Fahm published in the Israeli Arab weekly Kul Al-Arab in the summer of 2000 asked whether they would like to include their city in a potential Palestinian state.

The question elicited resounding opposition from 83% of respondents. Among those opposed, 54% cited as explanation for their position the desire to continue living under democratic rule, and the fact that they enjoy a good standard of living.

Years ago CBS did a story from the Golan Heights and they went around interviewing Arab residents about the prospect of being turned back over to Syria by Israel. Every person they talked to quailed at the idea. Posted by Orrin Judd at February 3, 2003 9:46 AM