JERUSALEM, Nov. 26 (JTA) – More than 35 percent of Israeli youths said they hate Arabs, according to a survey by the Carmel Center for Social Research. Two-thirds of the young people surveyed said they do not believe that Arabs should be given equal rights in the Jewish state. The poll of about 3,700 Jewish and Arab high school students was conducted in 1994 on behalf of the Israeli Education Ministry. The wide-ranging survey also asked students about their conceptions of leadership as well as their motivation to serve in the army. About 50 percent of the Jewish youths polled said they were willing to serve in combat units in the army, compared with 63 percent in 1988. Particularly low motivation levels were found among secular Jewish youths; 59 percent of those from kibbutzim said they were willing to serve in combat units, a 20 percent drop from 1988. Meanwhile, in the religious camp, motivation levels were higher. Almost 90 percent of youths from religious kibbutzim, 85 percent from Jewish settlements and 68 percent from religious seminaries said they would serve in combat units. Fully 43 percent of the Jewish youths polled said Israeli Arabs should be allowed to serve in the Israel Defense Force. Some 75 percent of Israeli Arab youth polled said they were ready to serve in some kind of national service.
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