Results of a poll conducted by Stat Net released by Channel 10 revealed some interesting insights into how Israeli Arabs view the ongoing wave of terrorist violence by Arab terrorists.
According to the poll, when asked what their response to the deadly campaign of terror was, 68% of Arab Israeli citizens said they were opposed, while 29% said that Israel "is to blame" for the attacks, and attributed them to the "frustration" felt by Arab residents of Jerusalem - an answer signalling tacit approval for the violence. 3% refused to respond to the question.
The results, while encouraging insofar as they prove that a majority of Israeli Arabs oppose terrorism, do however illustrate how that majority is far from overwhelming. In all, nearly one in three Israeli Arabs did not condemn terrorism against Israelis - a far cry from the optimistic estimate offered late last week by by Economics Minister Naftali Bennett, who asserted that 99.9% of Arab Israelis are "loyal" to the country.
Interestingly, however, a full 84% of Israeli Arabs polled supported the condemnation of terrorism in Jerusalem by Arab Members of Knesset, while just 16% said they opposed such expressions of condemnation.
The poll also revealed several other interesting statistics.
On the question of the Temple Mount, where Jewish campaigners have been pressing for an end to the draconian ban on Jewish worship at Judaism's holiest site, 81% of Israeli Arabs asked said they did not believe guarantees by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that the current "status quo" would remain as it is, and believe that Israel is indeed attempting to change it.
42% of respondents felt that racism exists "to a great extent" within Israel's Jewish population, while 44% felt it existed "moderately" and 14% felt it existed only minimally.
Those feelings were also reflected in the next question, in which just 9% said they felt that authorities treat Arab Israelis equally to their Jewish counterparts. 52% said they felt Arabs receive "partially" equal treatment, while 39% said they weren't treated equally at all.
Tellingly, however, despite all of the above, when asked whether they would prefer to live under Israeli sovereignty or that of the Palestinian Authority, 77% of Israeli Arabs said they would prefer to live under Israeli rule and just 23% preferred to live under the PA.