ABSTRACT
Intergroup relations are usually strained by open or tacit disagreements that may be referred to as "issues." Issues concern those problem areas that are potentially disruptive to minority-majority relations and can be either dormant or operative. In societies where there is a strong dominant group, this group defines the public issues. It must be emphasized that some of the Arab-Jewish issues are not even perceived as such by the dominant Jewish majority and others are not pressed as public concerns by the nondominant Arab minority. In any event, the selected matters are judged to be significant enough to divide Jews and Arabs. Thirteen key issues are identified and the opinions of the public of both sides on each issue are ascertained. They are: ethnic stratification, cultural diversity, legitimacy of coexistence, Israeli-Arab conflict, collective identity, institutional separation, national autonomy, group goals, leadership credibility, educational goals, strategies for change, ethnocentrism, and deprivation and alienation.
