ABSTRACT
The identity of Israeli Arabs is a matter of current academic dispute. One group of scholars (including Ganem and Ostazki-Lazar 1990; Ginat 1989; Lehman-Wiltzig 1991; Smooha 1989, 1992; and to a lesser extent, Al-Haj 1989 and Rouhana 1989, 1990) claims that the Arab minority is undergoing a process of Israelization. Israeli Arabs, they argue, are moving towards integration into Israeli society, and perceive themselves as citizens of Israel. Their struggle is for a state of normal coexistence with civil rights and full equality. The fact that Israeli Arabs limited themselves to moral and financial support of the Intifada is considered to support this view. The opposing group (such as Landau, 1989; Lustick 1980; Regev 1989; Cohen, 1989; Rekhes 1989; Soffer 1986, 1989) argue that Israeli Arabs identify with the Palestinians in the occupied territories not only in politics, but also in culture. In this view, the reunification of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with Palestinians in Israel since 1967 has accelerated the Palestinization process and the alienation of Israeli Arabs.
