Arab leaders aren't learning the lesson

In the halcyon days before the outbreak of the Arab Spring and before chaos took hold of the Middle East, there was no Arab dictator, from Moammar Gadhafi in Libya to Bashar Assad in Syria, who was not honored with a fawning visit by leaders of Israel's Arab community. Even then, these visits were criticized by many Israeli Arabs. But the response was that the Arabs in Israel were part of the Arab region represented by those tyrants, and that a group photo with them was an appropriate way to promote the interests of Israel's Arab citizens.

Since then, the Middle East has seen plenty of upheavals, but the leaders of Israel's Arab sector are busy with their own matters. Last week, a number of them decided to boycott the funeral of late President Shimon Peres. What was good and possible for the Egyptians, the Jordanians, and even Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, turned out not to be good enough for a handful of Arab MKs. We can assume that if Syrian President Bashar Assad had taken a moment from the Syrian killing fields where he is busy slaughtering his people and decided to attend the funeral, these same MKs would have scurried to his side. Because it's not the moderate Arab leaders who attract their attention; it's always the extremists.

In deciding to boycott Peres' funeral, the Israeli Arab leaders did a disservice to the citizens they are supposed to be serving. It was an own goal in the Arab public's battle to be integrated into Israeli society and win full rights from the state. The boycott in effect strengthened the argument of those in Israel who claim that the Arab MKs' struggle against the Israeli government and state institutions is not a civilian struggle for rights and integration, rather a nationalist one in which they are facing off against the state itself, and all that implies.

But it looks like the Arab leaders in Israel missed the boat. The Israeli Arab sector might vote for them every four years, but on a daily basis, it believes in Israel, where it continues to become more fully integrated into the fabric of society. This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that most heads of Arab local authorities arrived at the Peres Center for Peace to pay condolence visits. They know the difference between high rhetoric and the daily efforts to improve the living conditions of the Arab public.

At the start of the week, the Arab sector marked the anniversary of the October 2000 riots [at the start of the Second Intifada]. Here, too, there was a notable absence of violence and extremism. There are a number of reasons for that quiet. First, the integration -- even if it's gradual and slow -- of the Arab population into the life of the country. We should mention the ambitious program the government recently adopted that allocates billions of shekels to address the needs of Israel's Arab population. Second, the determined struggled against actors that spread incitement and stir up violence, such as the Islamic Movement, whose venom was one of the causes of the October 2000 riots.

But in the end, and no less important, is the fact that Israel is seen as an oasis of sanity and stability in the storms that are raging throughout the region. The Arab citizens of Israel understand that, and we can hope that one day, their leaders will, too.

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