Israel’s Palestinian Minority in the Two-State Solution (original) (raw)

We are here, they are there: between peace and exclusion in Israel/Palestine

Citizenship Studies, 2008

The purpose of this work is to offer a critique of partition, not on the basis of its impact on the relations between the sides to the dispute, but on its implications for majorityminority relations inside the (non-homogeneous) state. Using the Israeli-Palestinian example, the paper argues that the dynamics of partition idealize the notion of a homogeneous nation-state and, consequently, marginalize minorities and accentuate internal political divisions. Specifically, Israeli policymakers' 'demographic trade-off' between territorial compromise and a 'Jewish state' underscores some of the recent national tensions within Israel over the citizenship status of the minority Palestinians.

The Arab Minority in Israel: Reconsidering the “1948 Paradigm”

Israel Studies, 2014

The article demonstrates how, in the years since the Oslo Accords of 1993, the Arab Palestinian elites in Israel have begun to focus on reconsidering, and in fact, reconstructing the "1948 Paradigm", the policy guidelines adopted in 1948 by the State of Israel toward the Arabs who remained within the newly established state. It surveys the historical background and the causes for the political and ideological shift, particularly following the 1993 Oslo Accords. The article examines the reconceptualization of the Arabs' status in Israel, highlighting the emphasis on the claim to be acknowledged as a national minority and as an indigenous people. It discusses the newly introduced Nakba discourse, the call for the return of the "internal refugees", and the demand for autonomous Arab representation. It also addresses the alternative models suggested by Palestinian Arab intellectuals and political figures to resolve the apparent contradiction between democracy and Israel's nature as a Jewish state.

Jewish-Palestinian Relations in Israel: From Hegemony to Equality?

International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, 2000

This article focuses on the relationships between the Jewish majority and the Palestinian minority in Israel. Opening with a historical perspective that emphasizes the marginality of the minority, the article proceeds to describe empirically that minority's inferior and subservient condition. The third section proposes an elaborate conceptual framework for analyzing politics in deeply divided societies and then applies it to the Israeli case. The final part addresses the possibility of transforming Israel's political system from one that is ethnically hegemonic and democratically flawed into a polity that is open, inclusive, and genuinely democratic. The article identifies ways for effecting such a systemic transformation through individual-based approaches (especially liberal democracy) and group-based designs (consociationalism, multinationalism, federalism, cantonization, and autonomy).