By: Lisa Fiorilli
In the last few days, an opinion poll was released that measured the political loyalties of the Arab residents of East Jerusalem. This poll has interesting ramifications for both the Palestinian Authority as well as the Israeli state. Extensive attention was given to the poll, designed and administered by Pechter Middle East Polls, within the major Israeli media.
Essentially, the poll results were that if a Palestinian state was created, only about 30% of the 1000 Arab respondents would choose to become a citizen of Palestine. This is compared to the 35% that would wish to become an Israeli citizen. However, this is tempered by the fact that about 40% of respondents did not answer. Even more shocking (for Palestinians and Israeli’s alike) is the fact that 40% said they would entertain the possibility of moving to an Israeli neighborhood (if a two-state solution was enacted), and another 54% said that they would not move to Palestine. The reasons for this are mainly tied to economic opportunities that are offered within East Jerusalem.
Essentially, the poll results were that if a Palestinian state was created, only about 30% of the 1000 Arab respondents would choose to become a citizen of Palestine. This is compared to the 35% that would wish to become an Israeli citizen. However, this is tempered by the fact that about 40% of respondents did not answer. Even more shocking (for Palestinians and Israeli’s alike) is the fact that 40% said they would entertain the possibility of moving to an Israeli neighborhood (if a two-state solution was enacted), and another 54% said that they would not move to Palestine. The reasons for this are mainly tied to economic opportunities that are offered within East Jerusalem. So why is this important? The reasons are two-fold. For the Israeli newspapers, this presents itself as both an implicit indictment of the arguments that are offered by Palestinians as well as an affirmation of the Zionist argument that Palestinians will come to accept the occupation because of the economic benefits received. This was picked up upon by Israeli newspapers, as exemplified by the fact that Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post focus on the economic reasons that reinforce the opportunities that Palestinians are afforded in East Jerusalem.
For obvious reasons, both the Jerusalem Post and Haaretz articles on this survey paint it simultaneously as a victory of the Israeli argument, while pondering the consequences for the Palestinian leadership. The tone of both articles places an emphasis squarely on the perceived disconnect between the rhetoric of Palestinians and the “real” desires of Palestinians living within Israel’s boundaries. However, only the Washington Post article emphasizes the differences between the citizens of say, Gaza or the West Bank, and the Arab citizens of East Jerusalem: mainly that they benefit from a greater degree of freedom of movement, and through their “blue card” have access to Israeli economic and social services. Both articles fail to mention that the realities of these citizens is entirely different than the average Palestinian. Leaving this out is a notable omission, because surely the results of a similar poll would be entirely different in the Gaza strip.
Interestingly, there was no mention of the survey on the website of both the BBC or Al-Jazeera. Is this simply an oversight or an expression of doubt on the importance and/or relevance of the results? Or instead is there a tactical reason for omission?
That remains to be seen.
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