A majority of Arab-Israelis prefer to live in Israel over any other country in the world, according to an index of Arab-Jewish Relations for 2011, conducted by Professor Sammy Smooha of the University of Haifa. The survey found that 68.3 percent of Arab-Israelis prefer to live in Israel more than in any other country in the world, while 58% of Arab-Israelis accept that Israel, as a country, is defined as having a Jewish majority. Additionally, 56.6% accept that the country's main language is Hebrew. "Despite the deep divide, there is agreement among most Jews and most Arabs about living together in Israel," noted Smooha, who will present his findings during a conference on Thursday at the Jewish Arab Center at the University of Haifa. However, 80% of Arab-Israelis blame the Jewish majority for the Palestinian "Nakba" (the "catastrophe" they believe befell their families when Israel was created in 1948), and 76% feel that legislation such as the "Nakba Law," which forbids any institutions that receive state funding from commemorating the Nakba, weakens their trust in regard to coexistence with the Jews. In addition, 73% said that the government treats Arabs as second-class citizens. The sample pool for the survey included 702 Jews and 715 Arab-Israelis.
