The Ultimate Contradiction

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b“The majority of the people living in a Jewish state must be bJewish [sic]. We must prevent a situation of an insufficient bJewish majority and we dare not have a Jewish minority. . . .

b“There is room for a non-Jewish minority on condition that bit accept the destiny of the state vis-à-vis the Jewish people, bculture, tradition, and belief. The minority is entitled to equal rights bas individuals with respect for their distinct religion and culture but not bmore than that.”

bRabin did not elaborate on how one prevented an Arab bminority from becoming too large or becoming a majority. Nor bdid he analyze what positive impact his words might have on the bhappy Arabs of Israel.

bOn May 24, 1976, Rabin met with the heads of the Arab bvillage and town councils to learn what was troubling them. An- bgry Arabs left the meeting after Rabin had again limited them to bthe sphere of a religious and cultural group. And then, on June b6, the same group—widely regarded as the “moderate” leader- bship of the Arabs in Israel—drafted a memorandum in which bthey challenged Rabin’s definition of Israel as a “Jewish-Zionist bstate in which lives an Arab minority with distinctive culture band religion.”

bNot at all, said the moderate Arab leaders: “The State of bIsrael is a binational state [Dawle Thunaiya Kawmiya] with a Jewish bmajority and Arab minority.” The implication was clear. Tomor- brow, it could be an Arab majority and a Jewish minority. The Arabs bwere openly resenting the Jewish-Zionist foundation of Israel, to bthe “shock” of such as the pathetic Jerusalem Post. One gets a bstunning insight into the confused minds of the Jewish liberal, breading the June 9 editorial of a paper that prides itself on its bprogressive struggle on behalf of Israel’s Arabs. It is a mix of bclassic southern-plantation paternalism and confusion: “In re- bsponse to grievances harbored by the Arab community the gov- bernment has opted for a policy which would encourage far-going bArab integration into Israel and close the gaps between the two bcommunities. This is an enlightened minorities policy [sic]. . . .

b“Israel was established in accordance with the 1947 UN bpartition decision as a Jewish state. . . . It may therefore be es- bsential to reiterate to Israel’s Arab citizens that while they have bthe inalienable right to fight for greater equality and more op- bportunities—a fight in which many Jews will enlist on their side b