Are Israeli Arabs Loyal to the Jewish State?

I recently argued (here and here) that the State of Israel is first and foremost a Jewish State, and as such, it need not apologize for investing greater funding in areas that will strengthen Israel as a Jewish State and placing the needs of the Jewish People before those of anyone else. Furthermore, I argued that absolute equality is not possible in a Jewish State, and ultimately, one will need to choose whether to place a greater value in the State of Israel's democratic character, or it's Jewish one.

As can be expected, not everyone agrees with this outlook, in particular, my blogging buddy Don, from On the Contrary, who argues about the importance of (absolute?) equality between Jews and non-Jews in the State of Israel in his posts on the subject (here and here).

To Don, and others who share his outlook on this issue, consider this: Poll: Israeli Arabs happy with Hamas win

Two-thirds of Israeli Arabs were pleased with Hamas's win but even more believe the State of Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, according to a survey presented at a conference Thursday about the trends of the Arab voters at the University of Haifa.

Seems like a point for Don and his followers, as the bottom line shows that regardless of their personal political beliefs, the majority of Israeli Arabs recognize the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, and what more can Israel really ask / expect from the Israeli Arabs?

But, before I concede the debate to Don, let's see what else the poll found:

But despite their claims of support for a Jewish state, "What they don't agree to is a Zionist state, meaning a state which has the right to preserve its Jewish majority," Prof. Sammy Smooha, one of three sociologists who made the poll, told The Jerusalem Post. "They accept there is a Jewish majority but not that the state has a policy and law of return to preserve and increase the majority."

In essence, the Israeli Arabs are saying that they accept the fact that today the State of Israel is a Jewish State, but they do not accept that the State of Israel must be a Jewish State tomorrow, and they oppose any actions or policies that work to ensure that the State of Israel remains a Jewish State (such as the Law of Return, or efforts to "Judaize" the Galil, the Negev and Jerusalem).

So, I ask Don, and those who share his outlook the following question:

Are Israeli Arabs who share the above sentiments loyal citizens of the State of Israel?

Can a citizen who seeks to undermine Israel as a Jewish State (even through entirely peaceful means) be considered a loyal citizen of the State of Israel?

I say no, and I imagine that Don would say yes - in the name of maintaining the democratic character of the State of Israel.

Personally, I believe that the State of Israel has an obligation to ensure the rights of all those who live within her borders, however, I do not believe that one of those rights is the right to change the State of Israel from a Jewish State into a State of its Citizens or into a Palestine.

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Press, Freedom of Religion, Women's Rights... I'm all in favor.

Nationalistic rights (the right to democratically destroy the Jewish State from within) - I absolutely oppose. If there are non-Jews living in the Jewish State of Israel who have nationalistic aspirations, there are 22 Arab / Muslim countries where they can express them (and there's always the EU, of course).

Does this make me a racist?

I think not.

I believe that those who think that the Israeli Arabs nationalist aspirations can be bought off by providing them with a more money and opportunites are the racists; those who believe that the Israeli Arabs love their imagined Homeland - Palestine - less than the Jews do are the racists.

I respect the Israeli Arabs. I recognize that they will never feel equal in a country whose national anthem is the Hatikva, whose flag is the Star of David, whose national holidays are Jewish holidays, and where there is a Law of Return that grants automatic citizenship to any Jew in the world who wants to move to Israel - but not for Arabs.

The State of Israel is a Jewish State, any non-Jew who wants to live here in spite of that should have all their rights protected and ensured by the State - but that will not change the fact that the State of Israel was, is and will always be a Jewish State, and the sooner everyone realizes that, the sooner we can begin working towards achieving true peace, understanding and co-existence.

Israel
Zionism
Judaism