פוליטיקה של הרחקה או פוליטיקה של הסדרה? ישראל ואזרחיה הערבים
אליעזר דון-יחיא
"טיפול דחוף בשאלות הקשורות במצבם ובמעמדם של הערבים אזרחי ישראל במגמה להביא לשינויים מבניים על בסיס מוסכם בתחום זה חשוב אפוא גם לשם שמירת השלום הפנימי והיציבות הפוליטית של מדינת ישראל" (2003 עמ' 9).

A Politics of Distancing or a Politics of Resolution? Israel and its Arab Citizens/ Eliezer Don-Yehya
"Urgent attention to questions relating to the situation and status of the Arab citizens of Israel in the process of establishing agreed upon changes in this area are important also for the maintenance of internal peace and political stability of the state of Israel" [Loosely translated from Hebrew] (Don-Yehya 2003: 9).

Recent statistical research indicates that the Arab-Palestinian population of Israel currently stands at about 20% (1.2 million) of the total population. In contrast to this, the same research indicates that only around 6% (3,577) of people working in the different government offices identify themselves as Arab-Palestinian (Lis 2010). It does not take a mathematics student (which I definitely am not!) to figure out that the percentages don't match up.

Ever since beginning my studies at Clark University of International Development & Social Change (IDSC) and Political Science, my interests in both fields have grown tremendously. I have discovered the beauty but also the many faults in both of them. My specialization in Political Economy has brought me to focus in even more depth on issues relating to politics. Combined with this, as a native of Israel, ever since beginning to study these topics one of my natural inclinations has been towards looking at Israel and its politics through these lenses.

The process that led me to conducting the research I will be doing this summer began last April (2009) when I went for an advising session with my faculty adviser, Prof. David Bell in IDSC. I brought up the idea for the topic of the political representation of Arab Israelis in decision making bodies as a possible topic for my Honors Thesis, which I will be writing in the upcoming academic year. Prof. Bell then suggested that I might want to think of combining this idea with conducting field research on the topic, as part of my IDSC requirements. This idea appealed to me a lot and I immediately began in a process towards making this happen. With a suggestion by my dad, who is a professor at Haifa University, I got in touch with Dr. Yousef Jabareen, who is also a lecturer at Haifa University of Law and the Arab Minority, as well as the director of the Dirasat Arab center for Law and policy, centered in Nazareth. To my delight, Dr. Jabareen was happy to assist me with my research and thus my journey began.

It has been over a year since this idea came about. After spending the past year reading as much as I can on the topic and topics relating to it, and getting in contact with different scholars and political figures, I am now four days away from arriving in Israel, and eight days away from finally meeting Dr. Jabareen in person and beginning my field research on the status of the Arab citizens of Israel in relation to their position in the decision making process and all that it entails.

Recent unfortunate events in Israel (the Flotilla incident on May 31, 2010) have caused for renewed tension among the people of Israel and between Israel and several members of the international community. How this will effect my work this summer is something I will just have to wait and see.

Some (especially avid Jewish Zionists, in Israel and abroad- and don't get me wrong, I would be considered one too) may ask- why are you, a Jew, born and raised in Israel, who has been one of many recipients of all the rights and privileges given to Israeli citizens, looking at the issue of fair representation of Israeli Arab citizens in decision-making bodies? can't I just be happy to be a proud Jewish Israeli citizens with said rights and privileges? To all those who may ask this and other similar questions, I reply: read the quote I put at the top of this entry. It may begin to give you an idea of where I am coming from. If things are still not clear, feel free to ask; I am ready, willing and happy to answer any such questions.

At this point, I would like to thank a few people who helped make this long process reach where it has. First, I would like to thank Prof. Bell for coming up with the idea to combine my Honors Thesis topic with doing field research, and supporting me throughout the process. Second, I would like to thank Prof. Sharon Krefetz for agreeing to be my Honors Thesis adviser and helping me so much through this process. Third, I would like to thank Dr. Yousef Jabareen for agreeing to work with me through e-mails throughout this entire year, and mostly for agreeing to take me on this summer as I conduct my research in Israel. I would also like to thank all the other scholars and people involved in the Israeli political system who gave me advice, shared ideas, invited me to attend a conference in Jerusalem in July, and sent me important reading materials throughout this past year, namely- Dr. Fred Lazin, Dr. Eran Razin, and Ms. Anna Hazan. I would also like to thank my dad, Prof. Abraham Melamed, for getting me in touch with Dr. Jabareen and supporting me throughout this process; my mom, Paula Silberstein-Melamed, for continuously sending articles and correspondences that she thought would be of interest to me, and the rest of my family for their on-going support. Last, but definitely not least, I would like to thank the Steinbrecher family and selection committee for believing in this project and financially assisting me in making its execution possible.

To all who have been mentioned above- THANK YOU! I hope you enjoy following my research this summer as much as I plan to enjoy conducting it.

Works Cited
Don-Yehya, Eliezer. "Politics of Distancing or Politics of Resolution? Israel and Its Arab Citizens." The Israel Democracy Institute (2003): 1-9. [Published in Hebrew]

Lis, Jonathan. "Knesset Panel Criticizes Lack of Arab Employees in Government Agencies." Ha'aretz 5 May 2010. [Published in Hebrew and English]