Anti-Israel activists will often try to frame the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as being a racial conflict, and draw false comparisons to racial inequality in the U.S.
In reality, Israel is a home to Jews, Muslims and Christians of many ethnicities. In particular (as of September 2023):
Jews make up 73.3% of Israel’s population. 21.1% are Arabs.
The other ~5% are non-Jewish family members of Jewish immigrants, Christian non-Arabs, Muslim non-Arabs, Druze and residents without a distinct ethnic or religious categorization.
About half of the Jews in Israel are “Mizrahi Jews” - Jews who are originally from the Arab and Muslim world, including Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Turkey.
About 2.5% of the Jewish population in Israel have Ethiopian roots.
All these groups enjoy equal rights and play central roles in Israel’s society, contributing to its cultural diversity and economic development.
Similar to other countries, There are challenges related to social integration and equal opportunities among these groups. Efforts are being made to address these issues through policy initiatives and community outreach, aiming to foster inclusivity and bridge societal gaps.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict primarily revolves around competing national identities, historical disputes, and territorial claims rather than inherent racial differences.
It's essential to understand the multifaceted nature of the conflict and avoid reducing it to a single dimension.
Casting Israel as a “white” oppressor distorts the reality of a multicultural country that guarantees civil rights for all its citizens, regardless of background or origin.
