In the modern Middle East, only one country – Israel – has scrupulously upheld protections for minority religious populations and consistently been a place of opportunity for citizens of minority faiths.

Arab Israelis have had a long history of service in the Knesset, with the current (24th) Knesset including 14 Arab Members out of 120 total (representing six different political parties). 

In addition, Israel’s Supreme Court recently appointed its first Muslim Justice, Khaled Kabub. 

Freedom House’s 2022 Israel country report found that “freedom of religion is largely respected. Christian, Muslim, Druze, and Baha’i communities have jurisdiction over their own members in matters of marriage, divorce, and burial.”

It takes two sides to create peace and to maintain it. Today, Israel is a beacon of freedom for all religious minorities, including Muslims. 

At the same time, the PA has maintained a campaign of ethnoreligious incitement against Jews and lost much of their Christian population due to the chauvinistic PA media and education culture – which is, of course, much worse in Hamas-controlled territories. As long as the Israelis keep writing songs about peace and the Palestinians keep writing songs about war, peace will remain an illusion. 

Palestinian leaders should instead adopt the ethical values of the shared Abrahamic traditions and embrace the humility, compassion, and forgiveness that will be needed for a lasting peace.

Bassem Eid (born 5 February 1958) is a Palestinian living in Israel who has an extensive career as a Palestinian human rights activist. His initial focus was on human rights violations committed by Israeli armed forces, but for many years has broadened his research to include human rights violations committed by the Palestinian Authority (PA), and the Palestinian armed forces on their own people. He founded the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group in 1996, although it ceased operations in 2011. He now works as a political analyst for Israeli TV and radio.