|
bArab population rapidly growing—in quantity, in quality, and bin boldness. The alienation from and hatred of the Jewish state bis so palpable as to be clear to all but those who will not see. And bevery so often voices are raised—voices of warning. bEli Reches is director of Tel Aviv University’s Shiloah In- bstitute for Middle Eastern Studies. On February 23, 1978, he bspoke at a “day of study” of the Arab-Israeli question and is- bsued the following warning: “Too little attention is being paid to bthe growing radicalization of Israeli Arabs, with the elite strata bbecoming increasingly ultranationalist.” He added that even os- btensible “moderates,” like the Committee of Local Council bChairmen, have swung close to “extremist” lines. Reches is bwhat is termed an “Arabist”—to wit, an official expert on Arab baffairs. Israel, of course, abounds in such experts, all of whom braise fascinating questions, issue solemn warnings, and have not bthe slightest solution to offer. bWorse, the majority of Israelis, including those in govern- bment, simply refuse to think seriously about the awesome prob- blem. Like all governments that face excruciating questions, the bIsraeli government simply pushes the Arab problem out of sight band mind, hoping that it will somehow go away or that if the bdam finally does burst, it will be after the present government bhas gone. bBut the hate and the danger grow and will not go away. bA Hasidic Jew, Meir Yuskuvitz, went to the Western Wall bto pray on the night of September 15, 1979. It was the eve of the bJewish Days of Penitence. His automobile broke down in the bheart of the all-Arab area, and his son-in-law went for help. bWhen he returned, he found Yuskuvitz shot dead. Terrorists btook credit for the murder. bNot a week goes by that Jews are not beaten and women bmolested in the Old City of Jerusalem. Arab boldness grows in brelation to the police response that they simply “cannot handle bthe situation.” The pity, of course, is that more than half of the bOld City police are Arab. . . . bBut Arab boldness and brazenness are hardly limited to bJerusalem. When the settlers of Mei Ami complained to the lo- bcal police about attacks by Arabs of the Triangle, Aaron Dolov bof Maariv wrote (August 17, 1979): “To the great surprise of the bsettlers, they heard from the officers that ‘we cannot cope with bthe problems. . . . The Arabs of the Triangle hide their weapons b
|
|