Israel Counts the Cost of War

Israel is still counting the cost of last summer's war against Hizbullah in Lebanon, though the final balance may not be entirely disadvantageous. Regional analysts say internally challenged Arab regimes such as Egypt were privately pleased to see a threatening "sub-state" actor such as Iranian-backed Hizbullah knocked on the head. After all, they could be next.

Arab-Israeli relations have followed an upward curve ever since the war, culminating in prime minister Ehud Olmert's weekend offer of multilateral peace talks without preconditions. Unconfirmed reports abound of secret meetings between Israeli and Saudi officials.

Yet some of the most acute damage from the war is only now coming to light. A survey on patriotism by Herzliya university north of Tel Aviv, conducted primarily to assess the impact of the war on "the Israeli spirit", found that national pride (expressed by 83% of those interviewed) and willingness to fight for Israel (92%) remained high.

In contrast, it noted a "very strong decline in confidence in the government and in the Knesset [parliament]" and to a lesser degree, in the defence forces (whose "approval rating" fell by more than 20 points). Most damaging of all was the war's negative impact on Israel's ethnic Arab minority, comprising about 20% of the population.

"The Arab citizens identify themselves first and foremost as Arab patriots (85%), and then as Palestinian patriots (52%), and least of all as Israeli patriots (32%)," the survey said. "The war weakened the emotional attachment of the Arab public to the state."

Nadia Hilo, the only female Arab Knesset member, said the war was only one element in a growing disconnect. "There's a definite problem of racism, there's more and more divisions, more and more alienation ... The real danger for Israel is inside if it does not give its Arab citizens equality and integration."

Ms Hilo said overcrowded schools in Arab villages, higher than average unemployment, relatively few Arab women in the labour market, and separate security searches at airports were all aspects of an ingrained discrimination. She said "a national programme of positive discrimination with annual targets for employment of equally qualified Arabs" was urgently required.

Ms Hilo also said Israel was not trying hard enough to resolve the Palestinian conflict. "We can't just say Hamas is there so we can't do anything."

Israeli Jews have mixed feelings about such criticisms, to put it mildly. A typical response is that the Arab population prefers to stay in Israel rather than move elsewhere; and that illegal immigration from the Palestinian territories has brought uncounted thousands into the country.

A government official said the results of earlier, limited attempts at affirmative action, in public sector appointments, were not encouraging. "The truth is they don't want to be seen to be working for the Israeli state," he said.

Professor Amnon Rubinstein of Herzliya said the issue should be seen in a wider context. "Society is in a state of transition. The gap between Jews and Muslims is widening."

He said there was recognition that the majority's attitude had to change.

But mutual distrust persisted. Israeli Jews were increasingly spooked by rising Islamic fundamentalism and radicalisation in the Arab world. Despite governments' talk of regional peace, he said, many continued to look at Israel's Arabs and wonder whether "they are hoping to help bring about the day when Israel will disappear".