Background and Rationale
Israeli political thought and practice have witnessed a major shift in the last four years, particularly since the outbreak of the Palestinian Intifada in September of 2000 and the mass protests of October 2000 within Israel. The new trend is demonstrated in various political and social spheres and has apparent characteristics. One of the spheres in which this shift is most prominent is the relationship with the Palestinian citizens of Israel.
The Palestinian Intifada seems to have been the impetus that uncovered a trend that started a few years earlier. Yet, the dynamics that emerged after the failure of the Camp David Summit and the start of the Intifada brought to the forefront this stage of thinking. It is demonstrated not only in reversing the policies that culminated in the Oslo process and the liberalization approach toward the Palestinian minority in Israel, but also in reactivating dormant political thought that is leading to new forms of discrimination. The new stage is manifested in a dramatic change regarding the Arabs in Israel: legislative and constitutional changes; governmental policies; rapid radicalization of the Jewish public opinion; and public discourse.
There is an urgent need to monitor and document all public opinion, public statements and state attempts to exclude the Palestinian minority in order to develop a suitable plan of action to combat state sponsored discrimination. One important first step is to compile and analyze these data in order to raise the awareness of Palestinian, and, not less importantly, the Jewish citizens to these developments.
This activity is especially critical at a time when the state is attempting to define its own identity and when political developments necessitate constitutional and policy changes that often take place too quickly and without adequate public debate. The Political Monitoring Program (PMP) will keep an eye on these developments so that the Palestinian and Jewish publics remain informed and can act on specific circumstances as they arise.
Arab legislators, community leaders, and social and political activists need accurate data on the socio-economic conditions, political views, and collective visions of the Arab public to use in their political and advocacy work. It is especially important for Arab politicians (i.e., Members of Knesset) to have precise information about their constituencies. Jewish organizations can use our reports to work vis-a-vis government agencies and policy makers to combat discrimination. Academics, scholars, research centers, and writers can make use of our reports.