Mixed cities

 ( Arab Localities In Israel ) 

In Israel, the mixed cities (, ) or mixed towns are the eight cities with a significant number of both Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs. The eight mixed Jewish-Arab cities, defined by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics as those with more than 10% of the population registered as "Arabs" and more than 10% of the population registered as "Jews", include the following seven Israeli cities: Haifa, Lod, Ramle, Jaffa (now a part of Tel Aviv), Acre, Nof HaGalil (formerly Nazareth Illit), and Ma'alot Tarshiha. Approximately 10% of the Arab citizens of Israel live in these seven cities. The eighth city is Jerusalem, in which the Arab part of the city, East Jerusalem, has been annexed by Israel but is not recognized as such under international law.

The term "mixed cities" should not be confused with multiculturalism, nor understood to necessarily imply social integration. The eight mixed cities are the main places in which Jews and Arabs encounter each other, and very limited population mixing exists in Israel outside of these eight cities. As a result the topic has attracted significant scholarly focus over many years, and since the Second Intifada (2000–2005) it became the crux of social science scholarship in Israel.

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History In the early 19th century, only Jerusalem, Safed and Tiberias had small yet significant minority Jewish populations living alongside the majority Arabs. These populations grew to become about half the cities' populations by the start of the British Mandate. Immigration and settlement also took place on the outskirts of the cities of Jaffa (these outskirts later became known as Tel Aviv) and Haifa during the same period. As a result of the Palestinian expulsions and fleeing of violence during 1948, Safed and Tiberias were depopulated of all Palestinian Arabs and became exclusively Jewish, whilst Jerusalem was split into Jewish West Jerusalem and Palestinian Arab East Jerusalem. Of those "original" mixed cities, only Haifa remained mixed after the war. However, after 1948 only about 3,000 of its 70,000 Palestinian Arab residents remained in Haifa; these remaining Palestinian Arabs were then moved into small areas of the city by the new Israeli authorities. Today, about 12% of Haifa's residents are Palestinian Arab.

Ramla, Lod, Jaffa and Acre became mixed as a result of the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight. These cities had almost 100% Palestinian Arab populations prior to 1948, but after the war only about 1,000 Palestinian Arabs remained in Ramla and Lod, and 13,000 in Acre, mostly in the poorest segments of society and initially restricted to segregated compounds under Israeli martial law. Internally displaced Palestinians from other areas moved to the cities in subsequent decades; today Palestinian Arabs account for 30% of Lod's population, 25% of Ramle's, 30% of Acre's, and 5% of Tel Aviv-Jaffa.

The unique cities of Nof Hagalil and Ma'alot-Tarshiha became mixed through Israeli Arab influx and a municipal merger, respectively. In Nof Hagalil, the population is almost 30% Arab, but the municipality has refused to allow the building of any churches, mosques or Arabic-speaking schools.

(2025). 9781108245609, Cambridge University Press. . ISBN 9781108245609

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Integration The term "mixed cities" should not be confused with Multiculturalism, nor understood to necessarily imply social integration.: "Israeli mixed cities, particularly after 1948, cannot be perceived as multi-cultural cities, a point poignantly reflected in the absence of this term in the indexes of the reviewed books. Although localities were divided between the culturally distinctive Jews and Arabs, the cities still did not bear the potential to become multi-cultural. This absence of a multi-cultural vision in Israeli mixed cities impinges on the concept of "right to the city." For example, Yacobi maintains that the Arab community in Lod does not enjoy freedom in the city—it lacks the legitimacy to maintain individual and collective identities and lifestyles, to take part in decision-making, and not to be excluded." Yara Hawari describes significant geographical segregation and social exclusion within each of the eight cities, which contradicts "Israel's self-image as a pluralist and democratic society" and the "narrative of continuous historical coexistence".

Yara Hawari (2025). 9781317231189, Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781317231189

Most Arabs in mixed cities live in predominantly Arab neighborhoods, and studies have shown significant inequality in municipal resource allocation, and wide socio-economic gaps in welfare, housing and education between the two communities. According to the New York Times, even towns "portrayed as models of peaceful coexistence fester with resentments born of double standards."

In October 2021, following the May 2021 racial riots centered in the mixed cities, the Israeli government approved a new five-year plan aimed at reducing years of state neglect of the inequalities between Jewish and Arab citizens, with an emphasis on addressing Israel's mixed city problems.

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Education Religious affiliation is a significant determinator in school designation. Christians, Arabs, and Jews are the main populations integrated in mixed cities. This religious segregation makes it hard for teachers to create multicultural experiences in schools. Religiously mixed educational institutions face similar challenges to integration in mixed cities. Teachers in mixed schools create ceremonies that emphasize multiple cultures. These ceremonies fail to address essential narratives about religious and racially diverse identities. Mixed schools teach Arabic as well as Hebrew, however Jewish students do not always acquire Arabic speaking skills. Recent data show that Arab kindergarten teachers in Jewish schools have a positive impace on the student's multicultural acceptance. The same goes for Jewish teachers in Arab schools. In most mixed cities, Arabs and Jews are not geographically segregated. Most schools in mixed cities are segregated. Jewish students go to Jewish schools, Arab students go to Arab schools. These schools have different curriculums. Schools are divided by language (Hebrew or Arabic), race, religion, and nationality.

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Demographics

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Mixed cities

Jerusalem (including occupied East Jerusalem)	26%	74%		55%	45%	62%	38%	n.a.	n.a.	72%	951,149	96%
Jaffa	0%	100%		42%	58%	30%	70%	98%	2%	96%	37%	46,000	82% (Tel Aviv-Yafo)
Acre	1%	99%		3%	97%	0.4%	99.6%	73%	27%	77%	33%	49,502	2%
Nof HaGalil (formerly Nazareth Illit)	n.a.	n.a.		n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.		41,939	25%
Lod	0%	100%		0.1%	99.9%	0.1%	99.9%	93%	7%	79%	30%	80,931	73%
Ramla	0%	100%		0.5%	99.5%	0%	100%	89%	11%	83%	24%	76,986	71%
Ma'alot-Tarshiha	0%	100%		0%	100%	0%	100%	0%	100%		22,121	79%
Haifa	2%	98%		26%	74%	55%	45%	95%	5%	91%	12%	283,736	74%
Safed	48%	52%		34%	66%	20%	80%	100%	0%			98%	2%	36,692	781	37,473	n.a.
Tiberias	64%	36%		64%	36%	54%	46%	100%	0%			98%	2%	45,981	717	46,698	n.a.

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Other mixed areas

According to publicist Afif Abu Much, the eight mixed cities are the main places in Israel in which Jews and Arabs encounter each other, and very limited population mixing exists outside of these eight cities.

According to Ha'aretz in 2015, only 16,000 Arabs are thought to be living in the 16 localities not officially defined as mixed cities, or in Jewish neighborhoods of Haifa, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.: "Some 16,000 Arabs are estimated to be living in 16 cities not officially defined as mixed, or in predominantly Jewish neighborhoods of big cities such as Haifa, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv." According to the 2020 population statistics the vast majority of other Jewish- or Arab-majority localities in Israel have between 0% and 1% of the other population group. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, the only sizeable exceptions are the Jewish majority cities of Eilat (5% Arab), Karmiel (4%), Kiryat Shmona (3%), Arad (3%), Beersheba (3%), Nahariya (2%), Safed (2%) and Tiberias (2%), and the Arab-majority cities of Mi'elya (3% Jewish) and Jaljulia (2%).Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, "Settlements".

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See also

• Arab localities in Israel

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Bibliography

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General

• H. Yacobi (2025). 9781134065844, Taylor & Francis. . ISBN 9781134065844
• (2025). 9780199396269, Hurst. . ISBN 9780199396269
• (2025). 9781317095316, Taylor & Francis. . ISBN 9781317095316
• (2025). 9781847692979, Multilingual Matters. ISBN 9781847692979
• (2025). 9781136726057, Taylor & Francis. . ISBN 9781136726057

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Specific locations

• D. Monterescu (2025). 9780253016836, Indiana University Press. . ISBN 9780253016836
• Himmat Zubi (2025). 9781786993519, Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781786993519

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Population data

• Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, "Settlements"

Categories: Arab Localities In Israel, Arab Citizens Of Israel, Lists Of Populated Places In Israel, Phrases Related To The Israeli-palestinian Conflict

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