New survey reveals that 75% of Arab citizens are unwilling to support Israel during wartime, don’t feel loyal to the state.
By World Israel News Staff
Only 25 percent of Arabs with Israeli citizenship believe that Jews have a right to sovereignty in Israel, an alarming new survey revealed on Tuesday.
The survey of 1,068 Israelis was conducted by Israel Hayom and the Bithonistim (“Protectoris of Israel”) movement in an effort to gauge the public’s sense of personal and national security one year after widespread Arab rioting during May 2021’s Israel-Hamas clash.
Beyond the finding that 75 percent of Arab Israelis do not agree that Jews have a right to a sovereign state, a significant portion of them said they would not defend Israel should it be attacked by a neighboring Arab country.
Twenty-three percent of Arab-Israelis said that in such a scenario, they would support the country attacking Israel. Another 51 percent said they would not choose sides. Just 26 percent said they would support Israel.
Only 37 percent of Arabs said they would be willing to volunteer for a civil National Guard in the case of an emergency or disaster, whereas 54 percent of Jews said they would be willing to do so.
The findings are significant, as Arab-Israeli advocates have argued that accusations that they are a “fifth column” or disloyal to the state are false and discriminatory.
The majority of the Israeli public, Jews and Arabs alike, expressed distrust in the police. Overall, 66 percent of Israelis said they have little to no confidence in the police, with 73 percent of Arabs agreeing with that statement.
Notably, 71 percent of Arabs said they fear for their personal security, a statement with which only 44 percent of Jews agreed.
Arab-Israelis have long complained about violence in their communities, which they blame on police incompetence and state neglect. However, police have found that Arabs are uncooperative during investigations and oftentimes unwilling to testify in court, which makes prosecuting criminals almost impossible.