They did that, and more. From a group that faced un- br

employment in the cities, and famine and no source of credit in br

the villages, they evolved—with the help of the Israeli govern- br

ment—into the comfortable and self-assured Israeli Arab com- br

munity of today (nearly 700,000 strong). But this took time, and br

for many years the Arab of Israel assumed a low profile. He was br

ignorant—he wished only to make a living. Not that he loved the br

Jews or their state. Hardly. It was rather that he was br

traumatized by defeat, a simple person without leadership, liv- br

ing (until 1966) under military rule that prevented him from br

freely moving about. Most importantly, he was part of the rural, br

feudal family structure known as the hamulla.

Until recently—and it is still a powerful factor in many vil- br

lages—the Arab knew little individualism. Essentially rural, he br

belonged to a basic social village unit, known as ahal or dar, that br

can best be explained as “the extended family.” This included br

the father, mother, all unmarried daughters, and all the sons br

with their wives and children. They all lived in the same village, br

in adjacent houses and sometimes under the same roof. Since br

the father owned the land that his children cultivated, he had br

complete control over them. They would hand over their earn- br

ings, and he supplied their wants.

The second factor that went into the de-individualizing of br

the Israeli Arab was the fact that even beyond the immediate br

“extended family,” the Arab village was part of a structure br

based on kinship ties. Related families often lived in the same br

neighborhood and shared common economic and social prob- br

lems. The heads of the hamullas were its oldest members, their br

authority determined by their wealth and immediate family size. br

These elderly hamulla heads held well-nigh dictatorial powers br

over the members of their clans. They determined who would br

receive land and who would progress up the socioeconomic lad- br

der. And because, in the first years of the state, these patriarchs br

ruled the lives of their people, there reigned an illusory accep- br

tance of Israel by its Arab citizens.

The truth is that the Jewish government understood from br

the first the venality and corruption of the old hamulla patriarchs. br

They were conservative, suspicious people, interested only in br

their own welfare and position. For money and a promise of br

local power they were prepared to give the Jews what they br