The Palestinian Arabs of East Jerusalem

Submitted by Renee Bouvier (United States), Jan 7, 2009 at 12:30

Many, if not most, Palestinian Arabs of East Jerusalem want Israeli citizenship, because they have long ago given up on the "Tunisian Boys" of the Palestinian Authority. Most Palestinian Arabs of East Jerusalem want nothing to do with the Islamic fanaticism of Hamas or other similar belligerent groups, espousing death and destruction.

Recently, it was determined that over 80% of these Palestinian Arabs of Jerusalem want Israeli citizenship. Many already possess Israeli citizenship, receiving healthcare benefits and social services from the Israeli government. Many of these Palestinian Arabs have not been assimilated into the western norms of Israeli culture and society, so that the Israeli taxpayer is now being forced to care for the sick children, suffering from rare genetic diseases, emanating from consanguineous marriages, which are so prevalent in traditional Arab society.

If Israeli and American Jews successfully hold onto East Jerusalem, they must inculcate and fully assimilate these Arabs without exception. It is very possible to fully indoctrinate these Arabs of East Jerusalem to make them a very successful, integral part of the fabric of Israeli society, but one has to make a very strong effort to do so. True, there will be cases were nothing will work, but at least make the effort to avoid a column ready to take arms against the Jewish people. If we can be assimilated into western society and culture as Jews, so too can these Arabs of East Jerusalem, if the effort is made.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".