I don't doubt the wariness about accepting citizenship in an Arab Palestinian state, but don't discount duplicity.

Submitted by Dante (United States), Jan 2, 2008 at 19:26

Of course, even as part of a minority population, one would have to be non compos mentis to prefer P.A. citizenship to Israeli citizenship. In general, the Israeli Arabs do not pay taxes, are exempt from the draft, do not perform any national service, feel unconstrained from demanding any and all welfare benefits available to other citizens, are free to express and display their disloyalty to the state, their support of Israel's enemies, and their hatred for the Jews and Judaism.

The present inept and conviction-less Israeli government and its predecssors have felt unable to demand much if anything of Israel's Arab population. So, despite the disadvantages that devolve upon them as a result of their abstention from Israeli society and the fact that they are connected culturally/ethnically/nationally/religiously to countries with which Israel has been at war for 60 years, Israel's Arabs are able to enjoy Israeli democracy, security that is not enjoyed by Israel's Jews, a large measure of autonomy, and relative prosperity.

At the same time, it would be a mistake to take at face value the stated desire of some Arabs to remain within Israel. Many of those who would choose to stay would do so to continue to subvert Israel. If there is another partition of the Land of Israel and Jews are expelled from parts of the ancient Jewish patrimony, Israel's Arabs who are unwilling to swear allegiance to the State should be compelled to leave Israel. Israel for the Jews, Palestine for the Arabs.

The only exceptions should be those Arabs who are willing to commit themselves to live in peace as loyal minority citizens of a Jewish State. There is, of course, no chance that Jews could continue to live under Arab sovereignty; it is not offered by the Arabs and, if it were, there is no democracy and any assurances of security would be worthless.

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