Some issues posting this (written at the time of post #21) Rami, that was a very refreshing post. Thanks. Likewise not all Jews view the Arab Israelis as a fifth column. (And I'm not talking about the far left. :P ) It is quite clear to me that politicians do not carry the voice of those that they represent. With minorities this problem can get to the point where it undermines your faith in Democracy. Terry, you are quite a conundrum. I have seen from a lot of your posts that you are quite educated in this subject, and you have a well-formed opinion. I wouldn't try to argue with you on most points, probably because I would agree on a lot of them. On this point however I vehemently disagree. Also, pay attention that your posts often come across as just random remarks, sometimes unsophisticated or racist even. Few readers could know that you have actual arguments for your ideas. Now, to the argument. I hold that alienating (or expelling) the Arab population is a very bad idea. Here is a perfect example: Rami. There is no rational reason for him to leave Israel. He does not pose any threat, he is a functioning member of society, he is simply Arab. In our society we hold sacred the rights of the individual. This is fundamental. Democracy could not function without this idea. So there is nothing you can say to justify exiling someone like Rami. Even if we put this issue aside, the diplomatic cost of such a move which would likely be higher than the cost of dealing with it as I propose. Furthermore, alienating the Arab population is in fact counter-productive to our end goals. Rami represents that portion of the population that, while not Jewish, has precisely the same interests as we do. To marginalise them because of their race only aggravates the problem by polarising the political field even further. Wouldn't it be wiser to give such Arabs warm welcome and support? I am sure that the majority of the Arabs that do not voice Rami's opinion could in fact be swayed by our actions. Trust me, I am just as annoyed as you are when I see Israelis, of any kind, speaking against the country. (I'm not talking about rational criticism.) There will always be those that won't be swayed. Just as there always will be fanatics of all kinds. But I think there are ways to make them insignificant besides simply removing them.

obviously u never had other source of info besides th ebiased israeli media... just keep in mind.. when ever few thousands of israeli arabs choose to demonstrate.. 1.2 million stayed home... also, demonstrating against killing of innocent civilians is not the same as support hamas.

Just wanted to say thanks for post #18. I've been trying to post since post #21 but having problems with ynet. You say you agree with most of post #19. What don't you agree with?