
A significant percentage of Israeli Arabs oppose intermarriage between Jews and Arabs, according to a new poll held by the Statnet research center which specializes in the Arab sector.
The poll also found that there is a difference of dozens of percentage points between the Arab perception of intermarriage between a Jewish male and an Arab female versus that between a Jewish female and an Arab male.
While 76% percent of Arabs oppose intermarriage between a Jewish man and Arab woman, 61% are opposed to intermarriage between a Jewish woman and Arab man - meaning they are more tolerant of Arab men marrying Jewish women.
Dividing the Arab population between Muslims, Christians, and Druze, 19 % more of the Muslims oppose marriage between a Jewish man and Arab woman than do the other Arab sectors.
According to the poll, Druze markedly tend to oppose intermarriage between Jews and Druze, with 83% of Druze opposing marriage between a Jewish woman and Druze man and 81% opposing marriage between a Jewish man and Druze woman.
Rabbi Shmuel Lipshitz of anti-assimilationist group Yad L’Achim said that the poll indicates in a clear way that opposition to intermarriage is something shared by Jews and Arabs. “We’re talking about a natural desire to preserve our history, values, and faith. We as Jews, who have maintained our identity for thousands of years can only praise the consensus against intermarriage, and deepen the connection with our eternal values.”