Years ago, my mother and I met a boy at the Pater Noster Church. He was an Arab Christian. That was the first time I came to know there were Arabs of Christian faith in this Jewish State of Israel.
But during our chat, he told us.
You are so lucky to be here. As an Arab I cannot leave Israel, or not even Jerusalem!
We were surprised by what he said. And then he said the Israeli government doesn’t give them any documentation, such as ID or passport. He said he could go to school but there’s no freedom of movement, and that he’d like to see other relatives.
I was saddened to hear this. So I prayed for this for many years. Then I was confused… why can’t Arabs leave Jerusalem if there are other Arabs in Israel? I didn’t think he would lie to tourists, but was there any misunderstanding? Finally, years later I found something.
Citizenship, Green Card and Blue Card
From an article, I finally understood what the Arab boy meant.
After the Sixth Day War in 1967, Israel took back East Jerusalem, which included Temple Mount, Western Wall (Kotel), and Jewish quarter. The power shifted, but what about the residents?
Options were given to local Arabs. If they’d stay in the same place, then Blue Card the permanent resident would be given. If they wouldn’t accept being ruled by Israel, then they would relocate to West Bank, and then they would receive Green Card.
Blue Card is a permanent resident card. Rights to social welfare, healthcare, and local election are given. Most Arabs and Armenians in East Jerusalem hold such card. They are not citizens and they don’t have an Israeli passport.
Green Card is the status for Arabs in West Bank. They need to receive a permit from Israeli government if they wish to enter Israeli territory. But they can go to Jordan directly.
Permanent Residency is NOT Permanent
But the Blue Card (permanent residence permit) is not really “permanent”. For example, if an Arab with a Blue Card marries an Arab with Green Card, the Israeli government will not issue another Blue Card for the other spouse. So what happens is they will move move to the West Bank or somewhere else. And the Blue Card can be revoked. If someone is linked to terrorist activities, then the status can be revoked. (Which is reasonable for any country)
In these 50 years, 14,000 Blue Cards have been revoked. In many cases, a terrorist commits an attack and then the entire family will be “exiled” to the West Bank.
I think I understand why after the separation wall was built in 2003, yet we still see terrorist activities in Israel. It makes sense now because these Arabs are not the Arabs of 1948, these are Arabs from East Jerusalem!
There are other circumstances in which the status can be revoked. If someone with Blue Card lives outside Jerusalem or leaves Israel for too long for work or study, the status can be evoked. The Ministry of the Interior has responded that the definition of “too long” is “7 years”. So I finally understood this is probably what the boy meant by why he couldn’t leave Jerusalem. He doesn’t know if he leaves Jerusalem, will he have a chance to return? No one wants to lose the right to live in Jerusalem, so he said he couldn’t leave.
Why Don’t They Become Citizens of Israel?
But isn’t it unfair that Arabs in East Jerusalem cannot become Israeli citizens? In fact, they are all eligible to apply for citizenship…. if they are willing. But that means giving up on their political ideologies. Most of them believe that sooner or later Palestine will take Jerusalem back, and they still despise the Jews.
20% of the Israeli population are Arabs, so that’s about 1.6 million people. On Israeli ID card, there is a column for indicating your race, for example, Jew, Arab, Druze etc. Arabs citizens have the same rights and obligations as Jewish citizens. There are 16 (or 17) Arab representatives out of 120 in the Knesset.
Although the war of 1948 and the Sixth Day War in 1967 are only 20 years apart, the second generation of Arabs in East Jerusalem still don’t recognize Israel. Politically they deny Israel, and many of them hold Jordanian passports. Although it is more convenient to travel with Israeli passports, only a few of the would “betray” the tribe. By accepting citizenship, it means recognizing the legitimacy of Israel’s ‘occupation’ to East Jerusalem.
To be a citizen of Israel, one needs to vow to be loyal to the Jewish state and pass basic Hebrew test. This is a standard immigration process, but it is hard because you have different political beliefs.
And by the way, Arabs in Jerusalem forbid each other selling property to Jews.
There are 300,000 Arabs in Jerusalem, only 12% of them hold Israeli citizenship. 
Are they happy with Blue Card?
Ironically, Arabs in East Jerusalem don’t mind Israeli government. In a survey on 1039 Arabs in 19 neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, over a third of them admit they would rather be citizens of Israel than to a ‘new founded state of Palestine’, if they’re is ever one. And if the place they live becomes a part of that new state, would they move to a new city in order to become a citizen of Israel? Shockingly 40% of them say yes.
So life isn’t bad under Israel’s rule.
In fact, over 44% Arabs in East Jerusalem have monthly income over $1400. This amount is similar to Arabs in other areas in Israel, and far better than Arabs in West Bank of Gaza. Half of these Arabs don’t want to lose freedom of speech.
So they are hoping that they can have dual nationality- losing nothing in between. Economics, quality of life, perks, health care, education, and safety etc. If they have to choose, perhaps a passport of Palestine isn’t as important.
Why don’t Christians in East Jerusalem become citizens of Israel?
I have no idea. I think most Chrisitans would jump for the oppurtunities though. But maybe I’ll find out one day.
