Moment Magazine, where I am the senior editor, just launched the first in a multi-part series on Israel’s Arab citizens. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most covered conflicts in the world. But there is little media attention given to Israel’s one million Arab citizens, in spite of disturbing calls on the far Israeli right to have them subjected to “loyalty oaths” and even expulsion. Many believe that the future of the Israeli democracy depends on how the government will handle not only the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but the equal treatment of its Arab minority. In the first story for the series, Dina Kraft, who has covered Israel for The New York Times and the Associated Press, talks to three women–a grandmother, mother and daughter–about what it means to be both Arab and Israeli. It’s a truly fascinating story. Here’s a glimpse:
It’s been almost three years since Shams Kalboni renamed herself. She grew up with the modern Hebrew name Revital, which means “quenched thirst.” It was given to her by her Arab parents in the hope it would pave her way to an easier life in Israeli society.
And as Shams walks past blossoming purple bougainvillea plants, up the stairs and onto the veranda of her grandmother’s house in Jaffa, calls of “Revital” and “Revi” still greet her as she is embraced by aunts and cousins.
But to the outside world she is Shams, Arabic for “sun.” Her new name is her way of announcing to the world, and particularly Jewish Israelis, that she is not one of them. Instead she is, as she says, a “Palestinian Israeli.”
Read the rest of the story here as well as Moment’s introduction to the series. I would love to hear your feedback and suggestions for future stories in the series. You can e-mail me directly at [email protected]. Thanks!
