Israel’s Palestinians

“Mr. Peleg and Mr. Waxman...provide the socioeconomic evidence to show just how badly the Palestinians fare compared with Jewish Israelis... To continue along present lines, the two authors conclude, would be to invite a collision. So they have come up with a set of proposals that they describe as a compromise between doing nothing (or tinkering with cosmetic change) and the binational state that many Palestinians, inside and outside Israel, advocate... They suggest policies that would enhance both the collective and individual rights of the country’s hefty minority, arguing that Israel’s Palestinians should not only be recognised as a fully fledged national group, but should exercise autonomy in certain cultural areas...And their overall economic conditions should be improved through long-term development plans and fairer financial allocations to Arab municipalities.”
– The Economist

“This is a superb overview of an understudied dilemma. Even those familiar with the issues will learn much that is new from this thorough and dispassionate analysis. Peleg and Waxman look at both the Palestinian and Israeli Jewish sides of the question fairly and impartially. The comparative dimension is also a great strength, adding needed depth and perspective. For both scholars and general readers looking for an up-to-date, reliable guide to the current situation of Palestinians in Israel, this is the book of choice.”
– Alan Dowty, University of Notre Dame, past president of the Association for Israel Studies

“Israel’s Palestinian problem stretches beyond the Occupied Territories, Peleg and Waxman argue in this outstanding work. It includes Palestinians in Israel – citizens who have drifted ever farther away from active citizenship in recent years, as they have faced unending discrimination and been absorbed into the larger Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The authors maintain that the only way to reverse the downward spiral in the relations between Jewish and Arab citizens is to accede to Arab demands for Israel to be reorganized as a state of all its citizens. But, the authors convincingly claim, a state with ‘equality now’ can still continue to serve as the Jewish homeland.”
– Joel Migdal, University of Washington

“This book is the most authoritative study to date on the increasingly crucial question of Israel’s Arab minority. The work represents a focused analysis of recent political and socio-economic changes, supported by a wealth of documentary evidence. It will undoubtedly serve all scholars and students seeking deeper insight into this timely topic.”
– Professor Elie Rekhess, Northwestern University

“Some Israelis say their country has the choice of being a Jewish state or a state of its citizens. Peleg and Waxman’s comprehensive, earnest book shows this is not true, that Israel must be the latter and can be, with intelligent reforms, the former. This is not a challenge for after a peace process succeeds. For what, the book shows, is democracy but a peace process without end?”
– Bernard Avishai, author of The Hebrew Republic