Why Israel’s Arab-Jewish Coexistence Is Stronger Than Its Racists

At Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center, a Jewish patient was cared for by an Arab doctor, Arab nurses and Arab orderlies. For the writer, the scene offered a powerful reminder that Arab-Jewish coexistence can function naturally when saving lives is the priority.

The patient was a close friend undergoing another operation, and the writer had joined the rotation of relatives and friends watching over him. Hebrew, English and sign language filled the gaps as medical staff worked to ease the patient’s suffering. Later, on Jerusalem’s light rail, Jewish and Arab residents shared the ride from Hadassah toward the city.

That sense of coexistence was tested later the same night. Four young men wearing black kippot boarded the train. They joked in American English mixed with Hebrew and gathered around a young Arab woman wearing a hijab, jeans and lipstick.

The men initially appeared to ignore her, but the writer heard them say “Arab” and laugh. One of them, a teenager with braces, then said “F***ing Arab” and repeated it. The writer began weighing whether to intervene, considering humor, a smile and their shared American background before deciding that something had to be done.

The two encounters left a sharp contrast: a hospital where Arab and Jewish staff worked together without hesitation, and a train where casual hatred intruded into an ordinary journey. Together, they show the coexistence the writer sees as both real and vulnerable.

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F***ing Arab