Do Arab Israelis consider themselves to belong to the Arab People or to Israel?

Answer 1

Almost every type of Arab Israeli considers himself to be a part of the Arab People in the same way that German Americans still consider themselves to be ethnically German even though they do not live inside of a German State (such as Germany, Austria, or Switzerland). The more pertinent question is whether they see Israel as their State of Citizenship in a positive light or a more positive light than they would see having the citizenship of an extant Arab State or Palestine.

The majority of Israeli Arabs consider themselves ethnically Palestinian. (Note that a minority of Arab Israelis do NOT consider themselves Palestinians and do not identify with that society, but all Palestinians at this point in history are Arabs.) They hold Israeli citizenship but are forbidden from serving in the Israeli Army. (This is as opposed to Jewish Israelis and some other Arab Israelis who are required to serve in the Israeli Army.) Within Israel, they often talk of how disgruntled (to put it mildly) they are with the current political structure and the treatment of the non-Israeli citizen Palestinians.

Regardless of any disagreement that ethnically Palestinian Arab Israelis may have with the State of Israel, the vast majority, if pushed to answer, would not give up their Israeli citizenship for the citizenship of any other Arab State. This sentiment, combined with the fact that they pay Israeli taxes, work at Israeli companies, and carry Israeli passports makes Arabs outside of Israel see these Arab Israelis as Israelis first and Arab second. Concurrently, since Israel is by law a Jewish State, the ethnically Palestinian Arab Israelis are seen by most Jewish Israelis as Arabs first and Israelis second. Caught in the middle, most ethnically Palestinian Arab Israelis feel that although they are Israeli citizens, they are truly Arabs in a foreign state.

As concerns Arab Israelis who are not ethnically Palestinian, such as the Druze and Bedouins and other minorities which are called Arab Israelis by laymen even though they are not Arab such as Circassians and Armenians, the situation is markedly different. These Arab Israelis (which cumulatively form less than 5% of the Arab Israeli population) have declared sole loyalty to the State of Israel and consider themselves Israeli non-Jewish citizens. The Druze and Circassians put their men in the mandatory Israeli Army draft pool and a number of Bedouin voluntarily join the Israeli Army as trackers. They have little to no interest in joining with other Arab Nations.

Note: There are certainly exceptions, but this is the general answer.