Are Israeli Jews the most racist people on Earth?

[JCSkinner]

A poll of attitudes among Israel's Jews towards their country's Arab citizens has exposed widespread racism, with large numbers favouring segregation and policies to encourage Arabs to leave the country.
The poll found that more than two-thirds of Jews would refuse to live in the same building as an Arab. Nearly half would not allow an Arab in their home and 41% want segregation of entertainment facilities.

The survey also found 40% of Israel's Jews believe "the state needs to support the emigration of Arab citizens", a policy advocated by some far-right parties in the run-up to next week's general election.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/ ... 08,00.html


Lovely people, no?

[zakalwe]

really!!!!

and arabs are the paragon of tolerance?

at least jews stop at not wanting to live with an arab, arabs on the other hand...

I think the idea that all people of different cultures can live together in an atmosphere of mutual respect and tolerance is idealistic claptrap. Some cultures are just too different to get along.

If I know somebody whom I loathe, and the feeling is mutual, we ignore and avoid each other.

Can the above (admittedly simplistic) analogy be applied to a larger situation, ie Jews and Muslims (or anyone and Muslims for that matter)?

[JCSkinner]

If one were to replace the word Jew with white person, the word Arab with black person and relocate this argument to Britain or America, would you even be attempting to debate whether this was racist or not?
Or do you consider Israeli Jews to be some form of special case, and if so why?

[Carrier]

really!!!!

and arabs are the paragon of tolerance?

at least jews stop at not wanting to live with an arab, arabs on the other hand...

Go on. You were about to tell us what Arabs do...

[JCSkinner]

Here's a few more gems from the survey -

Among the poll's other findings was that 63% of Jewish Israelis consider their country's Arab citizens a "security and demographic threat to the state". Some 18% said they felt hatred when they heard someone speaking Arabic, and 34% agreed with the statement that "Arab culture is inferior to Israeli culture".
An Arab-Israeli member of parliament, Taleb el-Sana, said he was not surprised by the findings.
"This shows we're not talking about a few people, but rather, a worrying phenomenon that places question marks over the Zionist movement," he said.
Mr Sana said polls that show anti-Semitism in other countries are greeted in Israel with a frenzy of denunciations.
"Yet when it happens at their home, they're quiet, and that's why this is a two-fold failure - they are racist, and they're also not attempting to address their own racism," he said.

To be fair Mr Skinner, I don't think substituting those words I used with 'white' and 'black' is applicable.

This isn't a racial issue. It is a cultural one, and hence, a religious one. White people, black people, yellow people, red people and brown people can all be Muslim, after all. When the poll said 'Arab' it's my hunch that what it was interpreted as was 'Muslim'. I might be wrong, but I doubt it.

[JCSkinner]

The word used was Arab, not Muslim. Feel free to read the article to check if you like.

I doubt there are many atheist/Jewish/Christian/Buddhist/Hindu/secular humanist 'Arabs' though...

[JCSkinner]

I've met quite a few Christian Arabs actually.
Anyhow, the survey conducted used the term Arab and polled Israeli Jews on their opinions of them. Do you not consider the opinions as expressed in the poll to be racist?