Majority of Israelis Want Gov’t to Encourage Arabs to Leave (IsraelNationalNews.com)

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Majority of Israelis Want Gov’t to Encourage Arabs to Leave
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Tuesday, May 9, 2006 / 11 Iyar 5766

Almost two-thirds of Israelis want the government to encourage Arabs to leave the country, according to a study by the Israel Democracy Institute.

According to the preliminary summary of the 2006 Democracy Index, 62% of Israelis would like to see the government actively encourage Arabs to leave Israel. Last year, only 50% supported such a policy. During the Netanyahu administration of 1996-99, when terror casualties dropped drastically, the lowest percentage of Israelis supporting Arab population transfer was recorded: 48%. At the outbreak of the Arab Intifada in December 1987, support for population transfer of Arabs was at its height: 69%.

The full report by the left-leaning Israel Democracy Institute will be released Wednesday.

National Union Chairman MK Rabbi Benny Elon, whose Moledet Party advocates offering incentives for Arabs to emigrate, said the results were not surprising. "It is illustrative of a desire on both the right and the left - and sometimes more of the left than the right," he told Arutz-7’s Hebrew radio. "The Disengagement was even based on this desire to separate from the Arabs."

"What is more," added Elon, "offering the Arabs assistance in leaving willingly is much more humanitarian than the incessant killing of the Arabs of the Land of Israel."

Other results of the study:
* 29% say a Jewish majority is required for decisions of national significance.
* 58% object to the refusal of orders in the IDF, a steep decline from the 70% that felt that way before the Disengagement.
* 26% believe relations are good between religious and secular Jews.
* Israelis trust the IDF more than any other institution and trust the Knesset the least.
* 86% said they were proud to be Israeli.
* 90% said they wish to continue living in Israel for the long-term.
* 10% said that those who run the country are concerned about the public.
* 27% believe they can have an influence on government policy.

On the overall global democracy index, which uses various factors to rank countries based on corruption and actual voice given to the public, Israel continued to drop, ranking 20th out of 36 countries, between Estonia and Taiwan. Israel was number 14 in 2003 and 17 in 2004. Finland and New Zealand are in first place, and Argentina and India rank last.

Speaking with Arutz-7’s Hebrew newsmagazine, Professor Asher Arian, who conducted the survey, said he was not surprised by the support expressed for transfer. "This has been a stable sentiment in the Israeli Jewish public for many years," he said. "The public is both cynical and very Zionist." He added that if the question was asked in the days following a terror attack, the numbers would have been even higher in support of encouraging Arabs to leave.

Proffessor Arian explained that the low confidence the public expressed in the Knesset and their ability to effect change explains the low voter turnout in the past elections.

The institute surveyed 1,200 people for the survey, representing a cross-section of Israeli society. The results will be presented to President Moshe Katzav on Wednesday at a special ceremony to be attended by Chief Justice Aharon Barak and politicians.