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Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-oew-dayan-20100527,0,4680781.story
Yes, Israel's a Democracy
(Los Angeles Times) Jacob Dayan - The Jewish state of Israel is a diverse nation that has absorbed people from more than 140 countries. Among its population are about 1.5 million Arabs, including Israeli Knesset member Ahmad Tibi, who in a May 23 Times interview lashed out at Israel, using inflammatory words like "racist" and "fascist." As is his style, Tibi failed to back up his white-hot rhetoric with hard facts. In 1947, Arab leaders rejected a UN resolution to form an Arab state alongside a Jewish one. This caused the displacement of some 600,000 Palestinian refugees. From that point forward, Arab nations have denied these Palestinians and their descendants citizenship and basic civil rights, including the right to own property, get an education or take out loans - rights held by Israeli Arabs. Arab Israelis, who make up about 20% of the nation's population, enjoy equal rights, government representation and protection in Israel. They live freely in all parts of Israel, can use all public facilities, attend Israel's top universities and are contributing members of society. By no means is Israel the epitome of perfection, but we do aspire for equality for all our citizens. According to the Abraham Fund Initiative, since Israel's establishment in 1948, the number of schools in the Arab Israeli school system increased by more than fifteenfold; Hebrew schools grew by only five times. The number of classes offered in the Arab Israeli system increased more than seventeenfold, and since 1961 the literacy rate of Arab Israelis jumped from 49.6% to 90%, a clear indication of the educational opportunities offered to all our citizens. Arabic is an official language in Israel (alongside Hebrew). Arab Israelis are citizens with full voting rights and can serve as elected members of the Knesset, as lawmaker Tibi does. Tibi served as Yasser Arafat's adviser on Israeli affairs while simultaneously serving as a member of the Knesset. Tibi knows that no Arab country would afford him the freedoms that the Jewish state does. The writer is the consul general of Israel in Los Angeles.