Not in Our Lifetime

Israel has just witnessed a bit of history. For the first time in its history, a Muslim has been elevated to a position in the Israeli Cabinet. Muslims have been involved in Israeli politics for some time now - they hold a number of seats in the Israeli Knesset, but Raleb Majadele is the first Muslim to hold a ministerial portfolio.

It's an amazing thing. Majadele is a back bencher in the Labor party, which is one of Israel's oldest parties - going back to the very founding of the State of Israel.

The Israeli government overwhelmingly approved the appointment of the country's first Muslim Cabinet minister Sunday, billing it as an important step for a long-suffering minority.

But the appointment of Raleb Majadele, mired for weeks in political infighting and charges of racism, drew renewed criticism from hard-liners who said the move was little more than political expediency. Even Arab lawmakers dismissed the development, saying the government has little real interest in improving the lot of Israel's Arabs.

Mr. Majadele told AP Television News that his goals as a Cabinet minister would be "promoting coexistence between the two peoples inside the state, and promoting dialogue between the Palestinians and the Israelis toward negotiations and political agreement."

Mr. Majadele, a parliamentary backbencher from the Labor party, says his appointment is meant to give representation to Israel's Arabs, who make up about 20 percent of the country's 7 million citizens. He has predicted that in the future, every Israeli government will be obliged to include an Arab minister.

"The present government is proud to be the first government to give executive representation to the Arab Muslim minority," said Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Olmert keeps fishing about for something to take attention away from the failings of his government, but this is still an achievement that deserves recognition as a first. Majadele does represent the interests of his constituents.

There's something else to keep in mind, despite the rhetoric, Israeli Arabs can and do participate in Israeli politics. They do have an outlet. They do participate and vote and engage in the Israeli political process. Israeli Arabs are free to move about the country and can even serve in the Israeli military and vote in the Israeli elections.

The problem isn't that Majadele was elevated to the ministerial post, but that I doubt we'd ever see the Palestinians undertake a similar act occur within our lifetimes.

Now, imagine the Palestinian Authority and whether they'd ever tolerate a Jewish minister. If you can't, there's good reason. The virulent anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel would mean a very short lifespan of any such experiment. Hamas makes it extremely clear that they would not tolerate anyone who strays from their line - the establishment of an Islamic state. Jews would not fit in with their worldview, except as subservient to the Islamists - second class citizens. Fatah would similarly not go for that experiment.

UPDATE:
Fixed error above. Israeli Arabs do not serve in the IDF, but Israeli Druze can and do.