The Silent Arab Majority - Daniel Siryoti

The Silent Arab Majority - Daniel Siryoti

by Daniel Siryoti

In my job as a reporter for Israel Hayom, I travel to Arab communities in Israel and meet with public officials and local residents. Time and time again, I learn that most of them do not identify with Balad MK Hanin Zoabi's provocative statements. But there is more than just anger over Zoabi's words. The other Arab MKs are also not very popular among their public. It is not that Israeli Arabs have become Zionists, but the feeling among them is that those who are supposed to represent them are doing too much for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and too little for them.

However, the Arab public has shown almost no public signs of disaffection with Zoabi. The harsh feelings the Arab public has toward its elected representatives in the Knesset can be gleaned primarily through private conversations and small talk between Arabs and their Jewish neighbors in mixed cities.

More than once, an Arab official has told me that there is a silent majority in the Arab public. This majority considers itself loyal to the State of Israel, but also identifies with the Palestinians. It does not see a contradiction between identifying with Palestinian nationalism while also remaining law-abiding citizens of Israel.

"These people are afraid to express their opinions against Zoabi's provocations," I was told. "Those who have spoken out against the provocative behavior of Arab MKs have 'won' a harsh reaction, including death threats, from the Arab public in Israel."

There are plenty of examples of this. Recently, an Arab teen -- in fact, a relative of Zoabi -- had to move abroad due to threats on his life after he published a video online in which he appeared in front of an Israeli flag and condemned the kidnapping and murder of the three yeshiva students in Gush Etzion as well as Zoabi's assertion that the perpetrators were not terrorists.

A well-known Arab journalist was recently forced to shut down her Facebook page, due to the many insults and even death threats she received after she dared to criticize the lack of action by Arab MKs on behalf of their constituents. "All told, I published a post on my Facebook page in which I asked the Arab public to renounce hypocrisy, look in the mirror and to say in public what we all say quietly and softly -- that most Arab MKs, led by Zoabi, only cause damage to the Arab public in Israel, arouse tensions between peoples who want to live here in peace and do not lift a finger to eliminate the problems of poverty, discrimination, neglect, violence and rising crime," the journalist said. She explained that she decided to close her Facebook page after some of the angry reactions came from acquaintances who, in private conversations, actually agreed with her view. "At this point, I broke down completely, and I realized I was fighting against windmills and people who prefer to live a lie."

By the way, the Palestinian Authority is not enthusiastic, either, about Arab MKs meddling in internal Palestinian politics. For some time now, Zoabi has been a persona non grata at the PA headquarters in Ramallah. Tensions only increased after Zoabi called PA President Mahmoud Abbas a "traitor" due to the ongoing security coordination between Palestinian security forces in the West Bank and the IDF.

Daniel Siryoti

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=10293