From Hegemony to Partnership

“You, the Israeli Arabs, do not have rights,” he said. “We, the Jews, have obligations towards you.” Such a worldview, I argue, is not an idiosyncratic one. Despite the recent "rights-for-duties" rhetoric, this worldview remains characteristic of how most Israeli Jews perceive and articulate their relationship towards the Palestinians in Israel. In fact, this worldview is fundamental to state policies and practices, which derive from the very definition of Israel as a Jewish state.