According to preliminary data from the Jewish People Policy Institute's (JPPI) upcoming annual Pluralism Index for 2020, over the past year there has been a significant change in the way Israeli Arabs identify themselves.
According to the survey, conducted by Prof. Camille Fuchs of Tel Aviv University, about a quarter of Israeli minorities (23%) define themselves primarily as "Israeli" and half (51%) self-identify as "Israeli-Arab."The proportion of non-Jewish people who define themselves primarily as "Palestinian" now stands at around 7%, down from 18% this time last year.
Moreover, there was a sizable increase in the number of Arabs who define themselves as Israeli - that number rose from 5% last year to 23% this year.
According to Shmuel Rosner, one of the people who conducted the study for the Pluralism Index at the JPPI said that "these figures indicate a significant change in the self-determination of Israeli Arabs at the end of an election year, in which there was widespread discussion regarding the question of Israeli Arabs' participation in the political arena and social fabric of Israel."
Another question on the survey asked respondents to rate how much they agree with the phrase "I feel like a real Israeli."Most Arabs responded that they either agree completely (65%) or somewhat agree (33%) with the statement.Among Muslim Arabs, the vast majority who "feel" Israeli stands at 61%. Nearly one in five Arabs in Israel (18%) say otherwise.
The president of the Jewish People's Policy Institute, Avinoam Bar-Yosef, did not speak of the elections' impact, and instead estimated that the survey results were due to the "dedicated work of Israeli Arabs in the medical field, especially during the fight against the challenge posed by the COVID-19 crisis, which has deepened the sense of partnership between the two communities."