By Stan Goodenough
May 17, 2009
An increasing number of Israel's Arab citizens reject the country's right to exist as a Jewish state; and nearly half reject Israel's right to any indepEndence whatsoever.
This is according to a new poll conducted among the country's 1.5 million Arabs.
The findings indicate that only 41 percent recognize the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish and democratic state; down from 65.6 percent six years ago.
And whereas more than 81 percent of Israeli Arabs polled in 2003 recognized the right of Israel to exist as an independent state, that number has dropped to a little over 50 percent today.
Another trend is also clearly visible, that of Holocaust denial among Israeli Arabs.
As many as 40.5 percent believe that the Holocaust never happened. Three years ago the number of Arabs denying the Shoah stood at just 28 percent.