Dr. Thabet Abu-Ras talks about the contrast between the acceptance and the legitimization of Arab parties being part of a coalition in Israel, to the ongoing ethnic violence which turned into mutual lynch attempts in Lod and Acre.
Abu-Ras also talks about the background which led to the current tensions – the violence in Jerusalem’s Old City and the al-Aqsa mosque, and the confrontations that took place in mixed areas such as Jaffa.
He also discusses the dual identity conflict within Israeli Arabs – the first, the civil identity, in which Israeli Arabs want to be assimilated in the general public and want to be part of the economy and politics, and the second, the national identity, in which they feel part of the Palestinian people, and the Arab nation.