A Revealing Protest By an Israeli Arab

It seems that some in Israel have proposed a land swap, putting some of Galillee's Arab towns into a new Palestinian state in exchange for Jewish settlements near Jerusalem.

This proposal does not sit well with Israeli Arabs, even if they are in some ways second-class citizens (although exempt from the draft):

MK Ahmed Tibi (Hadash-Tal) slammed the plan. "We reject this proposal outright and find it repulsive," he said.

"Is Israel going in the direction of making its Arab population feel like a rejected enemy or attempting to create an atmosphere of co-existence and equality?" Tibi said.

Tibi called on Israel to declare its Arab population a "national minority" and to adopt the Canadian model in which the relations between the minority and majority populations are clearly defined in a constitution.

MK Tibi would rather be a minority in Israel than part of the majority in Palestine. Tibi and his constituents know a failed state in the making when they see one.

I'm no particular fan of Israel, but this news item reveals how much worse an independent Palestine, alas, is likely to be.