Who Are These “Palestinian Citizens of Israel”?

Israel is a Jewish state. We know that. It is also a multi-ethnic, multi-religious democracy. We know that, too.

It would seem, however, that parts of the international media could use a refresher.

Throughout coverage of Israel’s October 27 election, we’ve seen a familiar phrase popping up repeatedly: “Palestinian citizens of Israel.”

Reuters used it. So did the Washington Post. The Guardian. The Associated Press. All very preoccupied with what Israel’s election results would mean for “Israel’s Palestinians.”

Who?

Ahhhhh, yes. Israeli Arabs. That’s who they’re referring to.

And as a blanket description, what a misnomer it is.

Who gave the media the right to tell Israel’s Arabs who they are? Throughout Israel’s election coverage, we’ve seen a familiar description repeated by international news outlets: “Palestinian citizens of Israel.” And yet, just 13.5% of Arab Israelis actually identify as Palestinian. The majority identify as either Arab or simply Israeli. Israel’s Arab citizens are not a monolith. Their identities are complex and varied. Yet journalists routinely flatten that diversity into a single description, as though millions of people must share the same understanding of who they are. So why do the media do this? By presenting Arab Israelis primarily as Palestinians, they blur a fundamental distinction between Israeli citizens and Palestinians living in Gaza or the West Bank. And in doing so, they give oxygen to the apartheid libel: the false impression that Israel grants voting rights to some while denying them to others simply because of their ethnicity. But Israeli national elections, just like those in the United States, Canada, France, Germany and countless other democracies, are based on citizenship, not ethnicity. An Arab Israeli votes for exactly the same reason a Jewish Israeli does: because they’re an Israeli citizen. Israel’s Arab citizens are woven into the very fabric of Israeli democracy. They run for office, lead political parties, sit in parliament and help determine the country’s direction. This week’s election offered an extraordinary demonstration of that political power. Arab-led parties are set to secure a record 19 seats in Israel’s 120-member Knesset, potentially giving them a pivotal role in determining who governs the country. Think about what that represents. In a Jewish-majority state, Arab citizens are exercising the democratic power to influence the composition of its next government. Not as outsiders. Not as spectators. As Israelis. And that’s what makes the media’s blanket terminology so troubling. It reduces a diverse community of Israeli citizens to a political cudgel, rather than recognizing them as individuals with their own identities, political voices, priorities and aspirations. Israel’s Arab citizens don’t all think alike. They don’t all vote alike. And they certainly don’t all identify alike. But they share something fundamental: a stake in the future of the country they call home, and the democratic right to help shape it.

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) October 29, 2026

Israel’s Arab citizens, who comprise roughly a fifth of its population, are not a monolith. Yet journalists appear remarkably comfortable assigning a single national identity to an entire community.

There’s just one problem: the polling tells a rather different story.

A May 2026 survey by Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center asked Arab citizens which component of their personal identity was most important.

Just 13.5 percent chose Palestinian identity. By contrast, 33.3 percent selected Arab identity, 27.7 percent Israeli citizenship and 24.5 percent their religious identity.

Of course, that doesn’t mean only 13.5 percent identify as Palestinian in any sense. But it does mean Palestinian identity is the primary identity for a very small proportion of respondents.

For a media establishment usually so attentive to how people choose to identify, its apparent determination to make Israel’s Arabs the exception is rather curious.

So why the insistence?

We would hazard a guess that the framing serves a convenient political narrative.

By presenting Arab Israelis primarily as Palestinians, news outlets blur the fundamental distinction between Israeli citizens and Palestinians living in Gaza or the West Bank.

And that conflation gives oxygen to the apartheid libel: the misleading impression that Israel grants rights to some people while denying them to others on ethnic grounds.

Except Israeli elections, like national elections in the United States, Canada, France, Germany and countless other democracies are based on citizenship, not ethnicity.

An Arab Israeli votes for precisely the same reason a Jewish Israeli does: because they’re an Israeli citizen.

And while the international media have been busy assigning identities, Israel’s Arab citizens have been busy exercising their democratic rights.

This week’s election delivered a remarkable result: Arab-led parties won a record 19 seats in Israel’s 120-member Knesset, potentially giving them a pivotal role in determining the country’s next government.

Meanwhile, if journalists are so concerned about Palestinian voting rights, perhaps they could spare a little attention for Palestinians who actually haven’t had a national vote in two decades.

The last Palestinian legislative election was held in January 2006, when Hamas won the majority of seats. The last presidential election was in 2005.

And just this month, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas postponed another planned legislative election until September 2027.

But alas, no Jews, no news. So the media will carry on using a diverse community of Israeli citizens as a political cudgel, rather than recognizing them as people with their own identities, political voices, priorities and aspirations.

Israel’s Arab citizens don’t all think alike. They don’t all vote alike. And they certainly don’t all identify alike.

But they share something fundamental: a stake in the future of the country they call home, and the democratic right to help shape it.

Their identity is theirs to define. Their vote is theirs to cast.

Perhaps it’s time the media stopped telling Israel’s Arabs who they are and started listening to them instead.

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