The things I wonder..

[Elin]

To be honest I don't know much about the social life of Israel and the relationship between Jewish and Arab Israelis. Apart from politics,for instance, is it possible to see Jewish and Arab kids playing together and become friends? Or is it possible to see Jewish and Arab couples kissing in the streets? Are they going to same schools? Do any of you have close Arab friends? Did you ever go to restaurant,night club,cinema,theatre,
concert, etc. with your Arab friends? Is there anything that boths Jews and Arabs celebrate together (like new year eve) in Israel? And such..

Today I bought Sandy Tolan's "The Lemon Tree",I just read the first few pages and found it quite interesting..I am also interested in movies, can someone recommend me any good movie about this subject?

I will appreciate so much if anyone would like to answer my questions.

[bararallu]

Apart from politics,for instance, is it possible to see Jewish and Arab kids playing together and become friends?

It can happen in Haifa and Acco up north. More often with Druse and Christians and Beduin Muslim Arabs rather than Palestinian self defined Israelis.

Or is it possible to see Jewish and Arab couples kissing in the street?

No. Mostly because if it's a daughter they will slaughter her in a heart beat. If its an Arab male it happens very rarely but it does. And not in the street.

Do Jewish and Arab kids go to the same school?

Yes. Public school has both. But both have private/religious schools.

Do any of you have close Arab friends?

Me, only Druse and Maronites.

Did you ever go to restaurant,night club,cinema,theatre,
concert, etc. with your Arab friends?

Some people do. More often up north like I said.

Is there anything that boths Jews and Arabs celebrate together (like new year eve) in Israel?

Depends on what you mean by Arabs. Some Bedouin and most Druse celebrate Independence day, and secular holidays generally. All Palestinians do not and will not integrate into our society.

[Elin]

Thanks bararallu..as far as I understand there is no much communication between Jewish and Arab youth of Israel.More like Kosova and Cyprus..

Is there a poll on how Jewish and Arab children view eachother?

[Yala]

To be honest I don't know much about the social life of Israel and the relationship between Jewish and Arab Israelis. Apart from politics,for instance, is it possible to see Jewish and Arab kids playing together and become friends?

Believe it or not, before the intifadeh of the 80's there were a lot of connections between Palestinians (I'm referring to actual Palestinians living in the territories, not "Israeli Arabs" who are also Palestinians) and Jews. Some Palestinians even lived in my cousin's house for a short time.

Now there is simply no trust, which is why I believe the majority of Israeli Arabs, who identify more with the Palestinians (because they are Palestinians and it's only natural) and their territories should be incorporated into the Palestinian state.

[Marc39]

Prior to the second intifada, Israel was the single largest emploer of Palestinians and the largest trading partner with Palestinian businesses. A few factors behind the distance between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs. Arabs are not required to serve in the military, few do. This alienates Arabs from Jews as they are viewed as less patriotic. The Arab community is also becoming increasingly radicalized, identifying more with the Palestinian cause rather than supporting the Israeli government. I'm told, although, I cannot confirm this, that during the Gaza war, Arabs were carrying protest signs reading, "Kill Jews" Whether or not this is true, what remains is that Arabs often do not want to be part of mainstream Israeli society. My response to them would be to leave Israel and move to Gaza, or, even better, Sudan, and see if they like it better there. There places in Israel could be taken by those who appreciate life in Israel.

[Golem of Prague]

To be honest I don't know much about the social life of Israel and the relationship between Jewish and Arab Israelis. Apart from politics,for instance, is it possible to see Jewish and Arab kids playing together and become friends? Or is it possible to see Jewish and Arab couples kissing in the streets? Are they going to same schools? Do any of you have close Arab friends? Did you ever go to restaurant,night club,cinema,theatre,
concert, etc. with your Arab friends? Is there anything that boths Jews and Arabs celebrate together (like new year eve) in Israel? And such..

It's a little complicated.

In most places, Arabs and Jews tend to live separately, for historical and cultural reasons. There are mixed cities, but even there there are "Jewish" and "Arab" parts of the city- not because someone so dictates, but because people generally prefer a familiar environment. Pre-school Arab kids rarely know Hebrew, and Jewish kids Arabic, so the kind of mingling you're talking about is actually rare with kids. Arab neighborhoods are generally considered risky for Jews because of high crime. Young adults in the universities and at work do mingle fairly often though. Many Arab restaurants are popular with Jewish customers, etc.

Speaking for myself, I've had Muslim Arab, Beduin and Druze co-workers. I remember working at a Holocaust day event with an Arab girl; during a Holocaust survivor's speech, she was reduced to tears and had to go home early because she couldn't calm down. A relative of mine is married to a very nice Arab guy she met in a night club; she had to formally convert to Islam to pacify his parents, although they are not observant and they still hit the dance floor every once in a while.

[Elin]

What was her family's reaction to her decision?

[Golem of Prague]

What was her family's reaction to her decision?

I have no idea, to be honest. I haven't been in contact with their family for a few years before I ran into Kira and her husband at my cousin sister's wedding.

[Mil]

My wife has a close friend. Her friends entire family is Jewish - very Jewish. One of her friend's sister lives a very alternative life-style somewhere in Eugene and has married a Palestinian. The mother still does not know.

[Yala]

I have a friend who married a Palestinian. I know of a few other cases like this, and usually the kids are raised as Muslim, and in one case Christian. That's their own business as far as I'm concerned.

[ThetaRay]

This is really interesting. I too have wondered about this. What about in malls- what's the situation like there?

[Rob]

Jews and Arabs live pretty much seperated. During day to day life though Jews and Arabs do mix quite a lot. At universities students mingle (altough I only experienced BGU and TAU). In Beersheva Bedouin and Jews got along pretty much OK, study groups and so on. In the Tel Aviv area it is not uncommon to see Ahmed and Yerucham smoking a siggie together and discuss daily life.
In Jerusalem I sense it is quite different, but I haven´t been there a lot.

You will NOT see an Arab guy and a Jewish girl holding hands or kiss.

[bararallu]

You will NOT see an Arab guy and a Jewish girl holding hands or kiss.

Reverse that situation- and think of the consequences.