Apartheid: Majority of Israelis back discrimination against Arabs - Poll

A new poll has revealed shocking widespread discriminatory views held by Israeli Jews toward the country's Arab citizens and majority support for apartheid policies toward occupied Palestinians. The leading left-leaning Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz originally reported on the results of the survey, carried out by Israel's Dialog polling group, under the headline "Most Israelis Support an Apartheid Regime In Israel."


That headline proved too controversial, and so it was changed. But what's most shocking is not the headline but the findings of the Dialog poll. A third of those surveyed said that Israel's Arab citizens, who number about 20 percent of the nation's population, should be denied their voting rights. Nearly half-- 47 percent-- said they want Israeli Arabs stripped of their citizenship. Half said they believe Jews should be treated better than Arabs, and 59 percent said they want Jews to receive preferential treatment in public sector employment.

More than 40 percent of the 503 Israelis polled said they want segregated housing and classrooms for Jews and Arabs. Forty percent back annexation of the West Bank, part of Palestine which was invaded in 1967 and has been illegally occupied ever since. In the hypothetical event of annexation, fully 70 percent of the poll respondents said they want to deny the Palestinians living in the West Bank their voting rights. Three-quarters said they favor separate roads for Israelis and Palestinians. While annexation is a hypothetical scenario, Israeli-only roads are an everyday fact of life for Palestinians living under the cloud of occupation and apartheid. Source