Sunday, July 23, 2023
Elder of Ziyon
Israel had a Minister of Minorities in 1948 whose job as to advocate for the Arab minority population.
This hardly fits in with the narrative of the Israeli leaders doing everything they could to expel Arabs.
The ministry only existed for a year, and its minister had conflicts with other government institutions, particularly the military government. But from all accounts, Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit was an able advocate of Arab rights, respected by the Arab community. A Sephardic Jew, born in Ottoman Palestine, Sheetrit spoke fluent Arabic.
Even during the heaviest fighting of the 1948 war, Sheetrit urged fair treatment of the Arab communities and protection of Muslim holy places.
He was mentioned in the previous Palestine Post as prioritizing the opening of Arab school in the upcoming 1948-49 school year.
I'm not saying there wasn't bias against Israel's Arab minority in 1948 and for years afterwards. But there were conflicting opinions on how to work with Israeli Arabs, and the desire to live up to giving Israel's minorities equal rights was a prominent feature in the early days of the State.
