page_title: Arab citizens of Israel
hierarchical_section_title: Arab citizens of Israel
caption_attribution_description: English: This is a map of all the Arabic speaking localities in the State of Israel (including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights). Striped represent officially mixed cities (by law, at least 2% Arabs in a Jewish majority city). Note: Jerusalem is officially a mixed city but the map shows the boundries of Arab and Jewish neighborhoods.
context_page_description: Arab citizens of Israel, or Arab Israelis, are Israeli citizens who are Arab. Many Arab citizens of Israel self-identify as Palestinian and commonly self-designate themselves as Palestinian citizens of Israel or Israeli Palestinians. According to a 2017 survey by University of Haifa professor Sammy Smooha, 16% of the Arab population prefers the term "Israeli Arab", while the largest and fastest growing proportion prefers "Palestinian in Israel", and 17% prefer "Palestinian Arab", rejecting entirely the identity of "Israeli".
  The traditional vernacular of most Arab citizens, irrespective of religion, is Levantine Arabic, including Lebanese Arabic in northern Israel, Palestinian dialect of Arabic in central Israel and Bedouin dialects across the Negev desert; having absorbed many Hebrew loanwords and phrases, the modern dialect of Arab citizens of Israel is defined by some as the Israeli Arabic dialect. Most Arab citizens of Israel are functionally bilingual, their second language being Modern Hebrew. By religious affiliation, most are Muslim, particularly of the Sunni branch of Islam.
context_section_description: Arab citizens of Israel, or Arab Israelis, are Israeli citizens who are Arab. Many Arab citizens of Israel self-identify as Palestinian and commonly self-designate themselves as Palestinian citizens of Israel or Israeli Palestinians. According to a 2017 survey by University of Haifa professor Sammy Smooha, 16% of the Arab population prefers the term "Israeli Arab", while the largest and fastest growing proportion prefers "Palestinian in Israel", and 17% prefer "Palestinian Arab", rejecting entirely the identity of "Israeli".
  The traditional vernacular of most Arab citizens, irrespective of religion, is Levantine Arabic, including Lebanese Arabic in northern Israel, Palestinian dialect of Arabic in central Israel and Bedouin dialects across the Negev desert; having absorbed many Hebrew loanwords and phrases, the modern dialect of Arab citizens of Israel is defined by some as the Israeli Arabic dialect. Most Arab citizens of Israel are functionally bilingual, their second language being Modern Hebrew. By religious affiliation, most are Muslim, particularly of the Sunni branch of Islam. There is a significant Arab Christian minority from various denominations as well as the Druze, among other religious communities.
  According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, the Arab population in 2019 was estimated at 1,890,000, representing 20.95% of the country's population. The majority of these identify themselves as Arab or Palestinian by nationality and Israeli by citizenship. Arab citizens of Israel mostly live in Arab-majority towns and cities; eight of Israel's ten poorest cities are Arab. The vast majority attend separate schools to Jewish Israelis, and Arab political parties have never joined a government coalition. Many have family ties to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Galilee Bedouins, Negev Bedouins and the Druze tend to identify more as Israelis than other Arab citizens of Israel.
  The Arabs living in East Jerusalem and the Druze in the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed, were offered Israeli citizenship, but most have refused, not wanting to recognize Israel's claim to sovereignty. They became permanent residents instead. They have the right to apply for citizenship, are entitled to municipal services and have municipal voting rights.
caption: Map of Arabic speakers by locality, 2015
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