Israeli Arabs' deny Shoah

By TJ Reporter - Wednesday 21st March 2007

More than a quarter of Israeli Arabs believe the Holocaust did not take place, according to a new survey conducted by Haifa University.

Of the 721 Israeli Arabs interviewed, 67 percent also said that they believed Zionism is racist and 48 percent justified the launching of rockets at Israel by Lebanese group Hezbollah during last summer's war.

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Haifa University's Social Sciences professor Sammy Smooha, who conducted the poll, said he was surprised by the results.

"One would expect Israeli Arabs to be more pro-Israel due to the unique situation in the last war,” he said. “The war did not involve the Palestinians and the Hizbullah rockets endangered their lives and property too. The aggressor was a fundamentalist Islamic organization that most Israeli Arabs do not support.”

The findings of the survey are due to be presented at the first Haifa Conference for Social Responsibility later this month.

Despite the negative attitudes towards Israel, the poll also found that nearly 70 percent of respondants would want to remain in Israel even if there were a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. S

Some 700 Jewish Israelis were also asked about their attitudes to the Israeli Arabs, with results showing a widespread fear of terrorism. Some 63 percent of Israeli Jews said they avoid entering Arab towns.

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