ABSTRACT
The best sign of communal rift in plural societies is the disavowal Df permanent coexistence between the constituent segments. The plural structure of Cypress, Lebanon, and Northern Ireland is noticeable in the virulent struggles over matters of legitimacy. Both the Arab minority and Jewish majority present Israel with fundamental questions about legitimacy. The degree of outright rejection of Israel's right to exist is very small and varies among population cross sections. The most accepting groups include Druzes and Northern Bedouin, Arabs not affected by land expropriations, Arabs who are on visiting terms with Jews, and those with political ties to the Zionist establishment. A majority of Arabs frown on Israel's Jewish-Zionist "constitution." While 59% of the Arabs accept Israel's right to exist, 57% flatly deny Israel's right to be a Jewish-Zionist state. Israel's plural structure is best manifested in the communal dissension over a variety of features that combine to make Israel Jewish and Zionist.
