Over half of Arab Israelis believe war created a shared sense of destiny with Jews - poll

Over half (57.8%) of Arab citizens in Israel, including Muslims, Druze, and Christians, believe the multi-front war has created a shared sense of destiny between Jews and Arabs, a survey by the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation at TAU's Moshe Dayan Center revealed Wednesday.

In June 2024, 51.6% of Arab Israelis believed that the war was creating a shared sense of destiny between Jewish and Arab Israelis, indicating an upward trend.

In contrast, in November 2023, nearly three-quarters (69.8%) of Arab Israelis said that the war had harmed solidarity between Arab and Jewish citizens. 

In terms of the relationship between Arab Israelis and the state in the December 2024 survey, over a third (39.4%) of respondents said that their sense of belonging to the state has weakened since October 7. Only 17.4% said their sense of belonging to Israel has strengthened due to the war. 

The survey additionally revealed that a third (33.9%) of Arab Israelis define their Israeli citizenship as the most important element in their personal identity, compared to the 9% who regard their Palestinian identity as the dominant component of their identity. Of those surveyed, 29.2% view their religious affiliation as the most important aspect of their identity, and 26.9% view their Arab identity as the most important. 

In comparison to earlier surveys, it is notable that the importance of Israeli citizenship to Arab Israelis has increased during the war.

The day after

In terms of the “day after” the war ends, when asked who should govern Gaza, less than half (43.2%) believe that Gaza should be placed in Palestinian hands, marking a decline since June 2024, when 58.5% of respondents supported Palestinian control of Gaza. One-fifth of those who support Palestinian control of Gaza support control of the Palestinian Authority, 15.8% support local Gazan entities in control, and 6.7% support Hamas maintaining power. 

In contrast, nearly half (45.1%) of Arab Israelis think an external non-Palestinian entity should govern Gaza. One-fifth support an international coalition, 17.9% support Israeli control, and 7.1% support Arab states taking leadership. 

Normalization with Saudi Arabia

Regarding a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia, half of the respondents (53.4%) believe it could signal a positive regional development. Concurrently, 49.2% believe that resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should not be a precondition to the agreement. 

Within Israeli politics, over 70% support the inclusion of an Arab party in the Israeli government after the next elections, and half of the Arab public supports joining any government, not solely a center-left coalition. 

Crime in Arab society

With respect to personal security, approximately two-thirds of Arab Israeli respondents reported a weak sense of personal security due to crime rates within Arab communities. A quarter of respondents also cited the ongoing war as contributing to their lack of personal security. In terms of economic security, two-thirds of the respondents said they are in a relatively good economic situation. 

"It appears, however, that under the dark shadow cast by the war over all citizens of Israel, both Arabs and Jews, meaningful bright spots are emerging that could redefine the rules of the game in the post-war era," Dr. Arik Rudnitzky, project manager of the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation at the Dayan Center remarked on the study. 

"The upheavals and turbulence in the Middle East in recent months...have boosted the Arab citizens' appreciation for their Israeli citizenship," Rudnitzky continued, explaining the new "sense of shared destiny" between Arabs and Jews in Israel.

"This does not mean that Arabs in Israel now ignore their Arab and Palestinian national identity," he added, "but it does form a clear statement from Arab citizens, signaling to both the authorities and the Jewish majority that they will willingly collaborate in the rebuilding of Israeli society and politics in the post-war era."

The survey, with a +/-4.38% margin of error, was conducted by telephone from December 1 through 8 in Arabic. Five hundred Arab Israelis over 18 were surveyed.