Mada al-Carmel's Survey Research Unit
Palestinian Arabs in Israel comprise about one sixth of Israel's citizens, yet little survey research is available about this minority. In the past, Palestinians in Israel have not been adequately included in random representative samples of the Israeli public and their opinions have been underrepresented in surveys used by policy makers. Furthermore, the way in which questions were formulated or posed often reflected insensitivity to or misunderstanding of basic political and social issues of concern to the community. To fill this gap, Mada al-Carmel established its Survey Research Unit (SRU) in 2002. The SRU's purpose is to monitor the attitudes and opinions of the Palestinian Arab community in Israel regarding social and political issues. This is achieved by conducting public opinion surveys using both telephone and face-to-face interviews.
The SRU's work includes the formulation and preparation of research tools that benefit from its close familiarity with the social and political dynamics within Palestinian Arab society. The SRU maximizes the representativeness of its samples by selecting them from all Arab towns and villages, including small and 'unrecognized' villages, as well as mixed Arab-Jewish cities.
The SRU's aim is to present an accurate picture of the situation of the Palestinian Arab minority in Israel and to contribute to the process of designing policies that respond to this community's needs. By sharing its surveys and reports with researchers and academics in Israel and elsewhere, as well as with public institutions, NGOs, political parties, and media organizations, the SRU encourages public debate on survey results and their implications.