Israel’s Palestinians: The Conflict Within

Arguing that a comprehensive and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict depends on a resolution of the Jewish-Palestinian conflict within Israel as much as it does on resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, this timely book explores the causes and consequences of the growing conflict between Israel's Jewish majority and its Palestinian-Arab minority. It warns that if Jewish-Arab relations in Israel continue to deteriorate, this will pose a serious threat to the stability of Israel, to the quality of Israeli democracy and to the potential for peace in the Middle East. The book examines the views and attitudes of both the Palestinian minority and the Jewish majority, as well as the Israeli state's historic approach to its Arab citizens. Drawing upon the experience of other states with national minorities, the authors put forward specific proposals for safeguarding and enhancing the rights of the Palestinian minority while maintaining the country's Jewish identity.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: the other Palestinian problem; Part I. The Conflict Within: 1. Palestinians in Israel: separate and unequal; 2. Palestinian politics in a Jewish state; 3. A radicalized minority?; 4. The Jewish majority and the Arab 'other'; Part II. Managing the Conflict: 5. The formation of the Jewish Republic; 6. Alternatives to ethnic hegemony; 7. Neither ethnocracy nor binationalism: seeking the middle ground; 8. Israel's challenge: moving from hegemony to equality; Conclusion: a comprehensive resolution of the Palestinian problem.

About the Author :
Ilan Peleg is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Government and Law at Lafayette College and serves as a scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC. He is the author or editor of eight previous books, including Democratizing the Hegemonic State (Cambridge University Press, 2007) and Human Rights in the West Bank and Gaza (1995), which was a winner of the Choice Award for Scholarly Excellence. Professor Peleg previously served as president of the Association for Israel Studies from 1995 to 1997 and was a founding editor of its scholarly journal, the Israel Studies Forum. Dov Waxman is Associate Professor of Political Science at Baruch College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York. He is the author of The Pursuit of Peace and the Crisis of Israeli Identity: Defending/Defining the Nation (2006), as well as numerous articles, reviews and book chapters. Professor Waxman serves on the Board of Directors of the Association for Israel Studies and was previously the associate editor of its journal, the Israel Studies Forum.

Review :
'This is a superb overview of an understudied dilemma. Even those familiar with the issues will learn much that is new from this thorough and dispassionate analysis. Peleg and Waxman look at both the Palestinian and Israeli Jewish sides of the question fairly and impartially. The comparative dimension is also a great strength, adding needed depth and perspective. For both scholars and general readers looking for an up-to-date, reliable guide to the current situation of Palestinians in Israel, this is the book of choice.' Alan Dowty, University of Notre Dame, and past President of the Association for Israel Studies 'Israel's Palestinian problem stretches beyond the Occupied Territories, Peleg and Waxman argue in this outstanding work. It includes Palestinians in Israel - citizens who have drifted ever farther away from active citizenship in recent years, as they have faced unending discrimination and been absorbed into the larger Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The authors maintain that the only way to reverse the downward spiral in the relations between Jewish and Arab citizens is to accede to Arab demands for Israel to be reorganized as a state of all its citizens. But, the authors convincingly claim, a state with 'equality now' can still continue to serve as the Jewish homeland.' Joel Migdal, University of Washington 'This book is the most authoritative study to date on the increasingly crucial question of Israel's Arab minority. The work represents a focused analysis of recent political and socio-economic changes, supported by a wealth of documentary evidence. It will undoubtedly serve all scholars and students seeking deeper insight into this timely topic.' Elie Rekhess, Northwestern University 'Some Israelis say their country has the choice of being a Jewish state or a state of its citizens. Peleg and Waxman's comprehensive, earnest book shows this is not true, that Israel must be the latter and can be, with intelligent reforms, the former. This is not a challenge for after a peace process succeeds. For what, the book shows, is democracy but a peace process without end?' Bernard Avishai, author of The Hebrew Republic 'Ilan Peleg and Dov Waxman are liberal Zionists who believe that Israel's Arabs have been treated shabbily and who see big trouble ahead if something significant isn't done to change the way Israel - the state and the society - relates to them. Their academic (though not overly so) book attempts to summarize the current state of affairs and how it came to be, but also looks to solutions, proposing a path toward greater autonomy and equality for the Arabs that wouldn't require Israel to relinquish its definition as the homeland of the Jews.' David B. Green, Haaretz