Original sentence: " In 2005 Reporters Without Borders ranked it 47th out of 167 countries in freedom of the press (just behind the United States at 44th), the highest of any country in the Middle East.Conversely, according to Minorities at Risk (MAR), Israel is an "ethnic democracy" and "the nationalism inherent in Israel’s foundation as a "Jewish state" is at odds with its political basis of democratic governance vis-à-vis the Arab minority
Edited sentence: In 2005 Reporters Without Borders ranked it 47th out of 167 countries in freedom of the press (just behind the United States at 44th), the highest of any country in the Middle East