Jerusalem Arabs seek Israeli citizenship

Many want to see an
independent Palestinian state but not be a part of it.

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

JERUSALEM — Like hundreds of thousands of other Jerusalem residents, Salim Shabane considers himself a Palestinian. But his life and work are intertwined with Israel, where he runs an auto shop.

So, despite his tacit support for a Palestinian state, Shabane is part of a new surge of Jerusalem Arabs applying for Israeli citizenship.

“I live in Israel,” said Shabane, “why shouldn’t I be an Israeli citizen?”

Shabane has plenty of company. After decades of living under Israeli rule and years watching the Palestinian Authority struggling to govern, more Arabs in Jerusalem are casting their lot with Israel.

Last year, as peace talks revived the possibility of handing over parts of Jerusalem to a new Palestinian nation, the number of Arab residents applying for Israeli citizenship more than doubled.

In 2007, according to the Israeli Interior Ministry, Shabane and 500 other residents of East Jerusalem requested Israeli passports, up from 200 in each of the previous three years.

Shabane’s decision to seek full Israeli citizenship reflects the awkward reality for Arabs in Jerusalem: Though many want to see an independent Palestinian state, they don’t want to be part of it.

“My work and my life are inside Israel,” Shabane said. “I am very proud to be an Arab and Palestinian, but for practical reasons I’m not able to be part of the Palestinian Authority.”

Though the number of Arabs seeking passports is relatively small, there’s an uncomfortable acknowledgment, especially among the Arab middle class in Jerusalem, that their lives could get substantially worse under Palestinian rule.

Jerusalem Arabs have long held a unique position in Middle East politics.

After Arab countries attacked the new Israeli nation in 1948, Jerusalem was cut in half. Residents in the western part of the city controlled by Israel became citizens of the new nation. Those living in the east were given passports by their new Jordanian rulers.

When Israel gained full control of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War, the Arabs in East Jerusalem were given special identification cards and offered a chance to become full Israeli citizens. Most refused. Still, the blue IDs give Jerusalem Arabs substantially more freedom than West Bank residents.