Submitted by Arlene Kushner (Jerusalem), Nov 7, 2006 17:06

It should only be so easy. Says Halkin: Raise the standard of living of the Israeli Arabs, agree to treat them as fully equal citizens, and they will they will agree to owe Israel their "full allegiance."

We have a serious fifth column in Israel with regard to a portion of the Israeli Arab population; they have been recruited by Hamas and embued with notions of radical Palestinian ideology on behalf of which they are prepared to aid and abet terrorism. It is a situation far more complex than one that might be resolved as Halkin suggests. Ideology trumps standard of living any day. What about the Israeli Arab members of Knesset? Certainly not an underclass, and very much part of Israel society as sitting members of its Parliament., they are traitorous in their behavior, overtly supporting enemies of Israel.

I do not deny that there have been, and still are, inequities in the way the Arabs have been treated in Israel -- inequities that must be rectified. However, those inequities are not of such a caliber as to remotely justify the stance that some have assumed; this derives from outside influences. Nowhere in the Middle East are there Arabs who have it as good as those of Israel. They vote in democratic elections and are eligible for governmental benefits such as pensions. Their civil rights are zealously guarded by a liberal court and numerous NGOs. In our best hospitals Arabs in large numbers receive the same care as Jewish israelis; as well, there are Arab doctors in these hospitals working alongside Jewish counterparts. They are well-represented at institutions such as Hebrew University. They walk the streets with safety, patronize stores freely, and start their own businesses that are patronized by Israeli Jews.

It is a source of considerable outrage to me that some of these same Israeli Arabs cheer the enemies who are seeking to murder me.

While I am not a big fan of Avigdor Leiberman and his proposals, he is at least addressing realities that Halkin seems not to even recognize.

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