Behind the Headlines ‘we Are All Arabs’

Israeli Arabs continue to go about their normal routine quietly, seemingly unconcerned about the rioting this week on the West Bank only a few miles away. But appearances are deceptive. Israel’s Arab population may be less vocal and less aggressive than their Palestinian brethren in Samaria but they are not indifferent to their fate.

Nor do they trouble to conceal their increasingly negative attitude toward the government of Israel, the country of which they are citizens. In the Arab village of Kfar Kanna, just north of Nazareth, this reporter asked a young shop-keeper if he was Moslem or Christian. “We are all Arabs,” was his reply.

Hostility toward Israel varies from place to place among Israeli Arabs. In Galilee, the main source of discontent is the expropriation of Arab lands by the government, an issue that touched off bloody riots in March, 1976 in which six Israeli Arabs were killed.

ISSUE OF EXPROPRIATIONS

The expropriations issue has some curious ramifications. The government announced from the start that the land taken over by the State would be used for the expansion and development of the Jewish suburbs of Upper Nazareth and Karmiel, but not without what is considered fair compensation to the Arab owners.

So far, compensation has been paid for only a third of the 1500 acres expropriated from Arabs last year. The vast majority of dispossessed Arabs refuse to file for compensation or have any dealings with the State that “robbed us of our land.” But there is more to this than meets the eye.

COMPENSATION SUGGESTED IS GENEROUS

The compensation suggested by the land assessor is generous. Moreover, it is linked to the cost-of-living index and carries an interest rate of four percent a year. Many Arab landowners prefer not to ask for compensation at this time, knowing that the monies will be held in deposit earning interest. At some future date they will file their claim and get the money plus interest and the c.o.l. increases that are bound to have accrued considering the high rate of inflation.

The Knesset moved two months ago to close that loophole. It passed a bill empowering the Israel Land Administration to deposit a compensation fund to the credit of the Arab landowners but the money no longer carries interest and is not linked to the c.o.l. index. This is expected to end the foot-dragging by some Arabs in negotiating with the Land Administration.

Touring several Arab villages this reporter asked village leaders if they knew of any Arab who had completed a deal for compensation. The standard reply was “There is no such person.” But that is not quite true. This reporter knows at least one Arab building contractor who is about to consummate a large-scale deal with the Land Administration.

He organized a group of Arab landowners who, between them, held about 700 acres of expropriated lands. In return for those lands, the Arabs will receive a large housing project in Nazareth. If the agreement seems to be stalled it is because the various government agencies involved have not been able to agree on its terms, not because the Arabs aren’t eager to collect their compensation.

AN EMOTIONAL ISSUE

It is also true that so far no development work has been done around Karmiel and Upper Nazareth so there is no concrete symbol yet toward which Arab resentment can be directed. Nevertheless, while some Arabs have learned to live with land expropriations objectively, for the vast majority it is an emotional issue. It is expected to manifest itself on election day, May 17.

Even the most optimistic Labor Alignment politicians expect the Communist Party to win at least two more Knesset seats, bringing their strength to six seats at the expense of the Labor-supported Arab list. Villagers in Galilee claim the Communists will double their strength and emerge from the election with eight seats.