May 21, 2013
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The week's top five must-sees,
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Description
Arab citizens of Israel are non-Jewish Israeli citizens whose cultural and linguistic heritage or ethnic identity is Palestinian. The traditional vernacular of Arab citizens, irrespective of religion, is the Arabic language, or more precisely, the Palestinian dialect of Arabic. Most Arab citizens of Israel are functionally bilingual, their second language being Modern Hebrew. By religious affiliation, most are Muslim, particularly of the Sunni branch of Islam. There is a significant Arab Christian minority from various denominations as well as Druze, among other religious communities. Israeli Mizrahi Jews are not considered to form part of this population.
According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, the Arab population in 2010 was estimated at 1,617,000, representing 20.5% of the country's population. The majority of these identify themselves as Arab or Palestinian by nationality and Israeli by citizenship. Many have family ties to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Negev Bedouins and Druze tend to identify more as Israelis than other Arab citizens of Israel.
Most of the Arabs living in East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed, were offered Israeli citizenship, but most have refused, not wanting to recognize Israeli sovereignty. They became permanent residents. They have the right to apply for citizenship, are entitled to municipal services, and have municipal voting rights.
(via Freebase)
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![Thousands march for October 2000 riot victims in Sakhnin [IBA, Israel]](/images/image_cache/base-11429000/11429518/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=e6344d639f0af5c57e6ac11bcba0ccb6)
![What will happen to Arab citizens if Israel is recognized as a Jewish state? [Al Jazeera, Qatar]](/images/image_cache/base-11380000/11380519/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=2a8705d016cfb390f3f2fbfb937b5bfe)
![Knesset speaker personally apologizes to Arab teenager for Jewish attack [IBA, Israel]](/images/image_cache/base-9182000/9182882/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=d6a99a2d964c36f4a9a7bea6bb930568)
![Palestinian youths in Israel reject new military draft law [Al Jazeera, Qatar]](/images/image_cache/base-7349000/7349199/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=9356863a72df7303954401fd72b1cbd5)
![Israeli Supreme Court denies Palestinians citizenship by marriage [Palestine TV, Ramallah]](/images/image_cache/base-313000/313696/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=68f7318984c2fb92d5d2c6d9e771d42e)
![Palestinians living in Israel join housing protest [IBA, Israel]](/images/image_cache/base-311000/311476/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=81291a21ee75be01fcdaac080c03bcc0)
![Palestinians inside Israel politicize country's housing protest [BBC Arabic, UK]](/images/image_cache/base-311000/311439/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=35ff2500cd8005e2e28081ac292538f9)