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Israeli Arabs Prefer to Stay
(Newsday) Erik N. Nelson - In a reversal of norms for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel recently has contemplated giving up slices of Arab-populated land, while the Palestinian Arabs living on them have demanded to stay under Israeli governance. Israeli Arabs feel more secure under Israel's democracy than under a Palestinian state they expect will be authoritarian and corrupt. Umm al-Fahm's people prefer to be called Palestinians, but for reasons of jobs and political freedoms, they insist on living in Israel. "The democracy and justice in Israel is better than the democracy and justice in Arab and Islamic countries," said Hashem Abdel Rahman, who is Umm al-Fahm's mayor and local head of the Islamic Movement. A poll of Arabs in towns near here last month found that 90% preferred to remain in Israel.