WhatsappWell, let’s analyze the situation of the Arabs who live in the State of Israel. Do they indeed have it “good,” as this video creator posits or are there indeed Arabs who live in squalor and inhumane conditions? The truth – as usual – is a bit more complex than both sides will have you think.
Rich Arabs, Poor Arabs
The Middle East is filled with rich Arabs and poor Arabs. The main problem is the lack of a large middle class population of Arabs – that is outside of the State of Israel. Inside the small pre-1967 State of Israel, there are many Arabs who live normal middle class lives, vote in the Knesset, Israel’s legislative body, and send their children to state-sponsored schools, and educate their children as they see fit. These Arabs receive state-sponsored top-of-the-line medical care. They basically live a Western lifestyle with some compassionate state involvement that acts as a safety net for the disadvantaged and poor – Jew and Arab alike. These are the Arabs that have it best – the ones that are full citizens of the State of Israel.
The issue is the Arabs who from 1949 till 1967 were occupied by Egypt and Jordan. They were left during those 19 years in a state of squalor – on purpose – by their Arab occupiers. This was done intentionally in order to build up a problematic problem for the State of Israel right next to their small borders. But in 1967, Israel won a war in lightning fashion and liberated these areas that have always historically been the heartland of the Jewish people. But now, Israel had a major refugee issue on it’s hands that was created by the Arab countries who tried to annihilate the State of Israel. This was a 1.5-2 million strong refugee problem. To this day, this problem has not yet been solved. But, the main reason the problem continues is due to the fact that nearly all of the millions of dollars of aid that flows into the hands of the Arab leadership of the refugees stays in the hands of the Arab leadership. The only place the money seems to trickle down into is the hands of their children and closest relatives.
So what is the solution? It is really not clear. But it seems that the best directions include a combination of Israel encouraging Arab immigration on the one hand and normalization on the other hand for the mass of Arabs who are unhappy with their lot. But any argument that claims that the Arabs deserve to fulfill their dreams of national determination within the borders of the State of Israel are a non-starter. First, Israel must keep it’s borders and towns secure from Arab terrorist threats. Then, they can focus on the thorny and complicated issues of normalizing the problematic Arab population in its midst.
