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Compare to [[Arabs and anti-Semitism]].

<b>[[Israel]]i racism against [[Palestinian]]s in the [[20th century|20th]] and [[21st century]]</b>

A small minority of Israeli extremists hold racist viewpoints about Palestinian Arabs. Many view this as an indication of the hostile intentions of Israel, and something that must be taken into account when analyzing the [[Arab-Israeli conflict]].

A handful of extremist Israeli rabbis have described Palestinians as subhuman. None of these people have any role in the major Jewish denominations. Every one of the statements below has been publicly condemned by rabbis and spokespeople from Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism.

"One million Arabs are not worth a Jewish fingernail." -- Rabbi Yaacov Perrin, Feb. 27, 1994 [Source: N.Y. Times, Feb. 28, 1994, p. 1]

"It is forbidden to be merciful to them, you must give them missiles, with relish — annihilate them. Evil ones, damnable ones," Said by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef about the Palestinian people [Source: The Times, UK - 4/10/01]  Rabbi Ovadia Yosef is rejected as a leader by the vast majority of the Jewish community. Modern Orthodox Jews consider him an extremist. Reform and Conservative Jews often view him as a fanatic. The vast majority of the Israeli public rejects all of his views, and Israeli newspapers often portary Yosef as mentally unstable. His views are not representative of the Israeli public.

Some Israeli politicians have made critical and rude statements about Palestinians that Palestinians consider to be very offensive.

"There is a huge gap between us (Jews) and our enemies not just in ability but in morality, culture, sanctity of life, and conscience. " Israeli president Moshe Katsav. The Jerusalem Post, May 10, 2001

"The Palestinians are like crocodiles, the more you give them meat, they want more".... Ehud Barak, Prime Minister of Israel at the time - August 28, 2000. Reported in the Jerusalem Post August 30, 2000

"[The Palestinians are] beasts walking on two legs." Menahim Begin, speech to the Knesset, quoted in Amnon Kapeliouk, "Begin and the Beasts". New Statesman, 25 June 1982.

"The Palestinians" would be crushed like grasshoppers ... heads smashed against the boulders and walls." " Isreali Prime Minister (at the time) in a speech to Jewish settlers New York Times April 1, 1988 

Israeli politicians hold that it would be demographic suicide for millions of Palestinian Arabs to move into pre-1967 Israel. Some Palestinians hold that such views are offensive. For instance, "We must do everything to ensure they [the Palestinian refugees] never do return" David Ben-Gurion, in his diary, 18 July 1948, quoted in Michael Bar Zohar's Ben-Gurion: the Armed Prophet, Prentice-Hall, 1967, p. 157. 

"There was no such thing as Palestinians, they never existed." Golda Maier Israeli Prime Minister June 15, 1969
David Ben Gurion (the first Israeli Prime Minister): "If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country." Quoted by Nahum Goldmann in Le Paraddoxe Juif (The Jewish Paradox), pp121.

"We must use terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation, and the cutting of all social services to rid the Galilee of its Arab population." Israel Koenig, "The Koenig Memorandum" 

'''Israeli Military Leaders'''

One Israeli once claimed that "We have to kill all the Palestinians unless they are resigned to live here as slaves." Chairman Heilbrun of the Committee for the Re-election of General Shlomo Lahat, the mayor of Tel Aviv, October 1983. This racist view was publicly repudiated by the Israeli public.

"When we have settled the land, all the Arabs will be able to do about it will be to scurry around like drugged cockroaches in a bottle." Raphael Eitan, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defence Forces, New York Times, 14 April 1983. 

"The thesis that the danger of genocide was hanging over us in June 1967 and that Israel was fighting for its physical existence is only bluff, which was born and developed after the war." Israeli General Matityahu Peled, Ha'aretz, 19 March 1972. 

"We declare openly that the Arabs have no right to settle on even one centimeter of Eretz Israel... Force is all they do or ever will understand. We shall use the ultimate force until the Palestinians come crawling to us on all fours." Rafael Eitan, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces - Gad Becker, Yediot Ahronot 13 April 1983, New York Times 14 April 1983. 

'''Other hate speech'''

Individual israelies, speaking on behalf on themselves alone and not as part of a religious denomination or political party, have engaged in hateful speech against Palestinians.

"Everybody has to move, run and grab as many hilltops as they can to enlarge the settlements because everything we take now will stay ours... Everything we don't grab will go to them." Ariel Sharon, Israeli Foreign Minister, addressing a meeting of militants from the extreme right-wing Tsomet Party, Agence France Presse, November 15, 1998. 

"It is the duty of Israeli leaders to explain to public opinion, clearly and courageously, a certain number of facts that are forgotten with time. The first of these is that there is no Zionism,colonialization or Jewish State without the eviction of the Arabs and the expropriation of their lands." Yoram Bar Porath, Yediot Aahronot, July 14, 1972. 

=== Jewish and Israeli attempts to fight prejudice ===

Many Jewish groups have committed themselves to rejecting Anti-Arab prejudice. The website of the Central Conference of American Rabbis ([[Reform Judaism]]) states that "Our commitment to the State {of Israel} also implies a commitment to helping it realize values which we as liberal Jews hold dear–peace with her neighbors and full civil, human and religious rights for all citizens, Jews, Muslims, Christians and others. Whether or not we or those dear to us are living there, our commitment to the State should impel us to work with those in and outside the Land to achieve the vision of a society in which Reform Jewish values and practices can help create a better life for all. Peace, of course, does not merely mean the signing of peace treaties, as much as we have longed for that, but for the establishment of political, economic and cultural relations with Israel’s neighbors which can create a peace which will enhance the lives of all the citizens of the region."

[http://ccarnet.org/platforms/commentary.html Commentary to the Pittsburgh Principles of Reform Judaism]

The [[Anti-Defamation League]], dedicated to combating anti-Semitism, gave this response shortly after the terrorist attacks on 9-11. "We are disturbed that a number of Arab Americans and Islamic institutions have been targets of anger and hatred in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. At this time of profound anger and anxiety, no group in this country should be singled out for hatred, prejudice or blame based on their ethnicity or religion. Threats, harassment or acts of hate-motivated violence against members of a group are un-American and must be forcefully condemned. In laying blame on an entire people, we undermine our nation's core values of equality and respect for the individual."

:[http://www.adl.org/PresRele/dirab_41/3919_41.asp ADL statement against Anti-Arab prejudice]

Similarly, the The American Jewish Committee issued similar responses.

:[http://www.ajc.org/Terrorism/StatementsDetail.asp?did=223&pid=757 AJC statement on avoiding stereotyping or scapegoating]

:[http://www.ajc.org/InTheMedia/PressReleases.asp?did=76 AJC deplores slander against Palestinian Arabs]

There are many organizations working to end Anti-Arab bias among Israelies, as well as to end [[Anti-Zionist]] and [[Anti-Semitism|Anti-Semitic]] bias among Arabs. In recent years there has been a proliferation of groups working on promoting reconciliation and peace between both Arabs and Israelis. A discussion of these groups can be found in the [[Arab-Israeli conflict]] article.==== Neve Shalom Humanitarian Aid Project ====
The Israeli Jewish-Arab Village of ''Neve Shalom-Wahat al Salam'' provides a remarkable model of coexistence. They organize humanitarian projects, including providing medical assistance for Palestinians in need of help.

==== Hamidrasha Jewish-Arab Beit Midrash ====
''Hamidrasha'', a center for study and fellowship, works to address  alienation, estrangement, and mutual ignorance between [[Jew]]s and [[Arab]]s. Hamidrasha is establishing an inter-cultural ''Beit Midrash'' ([[Hebrew]], "House of study"), which will serve as a basis for mutual personal and communal encounters, and for the study of cultural narratives and modern texts of both peoples. Jewish, Muslim and Christian men and women will engage in a true inter-cultural learning experience, with the goal of making a significant contribution to the ongoing dialogue between Jews and Arabs, and strengthening their reciprocal ties.

==== Ir Shalem co-existence program ====
In many ways the city of [[Jerusalem]] has been at the center of the conflict. The Israeli political movement [[Peace Now]] in [1994]] has created an initiative called ''Ir Shalem'', the goal of which is to build a peaceful equitable and inspiring future for this city, with Jewish and Arab citizens working together to find solutions based on equity and justice. This program brings together volunteer architects, planners, lawyers and other professionals to analyze problems, and offer solutions.  Among other efforst, ''Ir Shalem'' is developing the first-ever planning model for East Jerusalem that will equitably meet the needs of the Palestinian community.

:[http://www.peacenow.org/programs/irshalem.html Ir Shalem]

==== Seeds of Peace ====
''Seeds of Peace'' was founded in 1993 by [[John Wallach]] after the first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. He created the ''Seeds of Peace International Camp'' in Otisfield, [[Maine]], USA, and brought togther several dozen Israelis, Palestinian and Egyptian teens. The goal of his organization was to create a new generation of leadership in the middle-east, one in which both Arabs and Israelies would no longer accept outdated and harmful sterotypes about each other; this would occur by bringing together people to literally put a human face on those who were previously perceived as an enemy. Since that time Arab children from Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia have joined. Seeds of Peace camps now operate programs in the Middle East as well. Seeds of Peace has also branched out into bringing teenagers together to help solve the Balkans conflict, the Greek and Turkish dispute over Cyprus, and the Indian-Pakistani dispute.

[http://www.seedsofpeace.org/ Seeds of Peace]

Many Jewish groups have committed themselves to rejecting Anti-Arab prejudice. The website of the Central Conference of American Rabbis ([[Reform Judaism]]) states that "Our commitment to the State {of Israel} also implies a commitment to helping it realize values which we as liberal Jews hold dear–peace with her neighbors and full civil, human and religious rights for all citizens, Jews, Muslims, Christians and others. Whether or not we or those dear to us are living there, our commitment to the State should impel us to work with those in and outside the Land to achieve the vision of a society in which Reform Jewish values and practices can help create a better life for all. Peace, of course, does not merely mean the signing of peace treaties, as much as we have longed for that, but for the establishment of political, economic and cultural relations with Israel’s neighbors which can create a peace which will enhance the lives of all the citizens of the region."

:[http://ccarnet.org/platforms/commentary.html Commentary to the Pittsburgh Principles of Reform Judaism]
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Also see: [[Anti-Arab]], [[Arabs and anti-Semitism]], [[Anti-Semitism]]