The recent uprisings and events taking place throughout the Middle East have shown the importance of public opinion. It is for this reason that the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs recently conducted a study on a bottom line issue – If Arab East Jerusalem residents had to choose between being a citizen of Israel or being a citizen of an independent Palestinian state where would they want to live?

The survey showed that more East Jerusalem residents would prefer to remain residents in Israel. More astonishingly however, the study also showed that if a unilateral Palestinian state was decided upon, many East Jerusalem residents would want to move into Israel.

Why do they feel this way? Why would Palestinians rather live in Israel than in their own independent state? The study concluded that many East Jerusalem residents were satisfied with their standards of living and were fearful that if they left Israel they would no longer receive the social benefits (education, travel, healthcare) that they were previously receiving in Israel.

Click here to hear more about this poll from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

Posted by IPA Staff