Perceptions of Security and Civic Services among the Arab Minority Youth in Israel: Empirical Testing of Attraction and Repulsion Forces

Abstract

In this study, perceptions of security and civic services were measured among the Israeli-Arab minority youth. Three hundred participants completed a questionnaire assessing their propensity to enrol in security and civic services. Both types of national service were correlated with life satisfaction in Israel and three temporal attraction and repulsion factors that occurred in 2020–2021: the IDF assisting local municipalities during the COVID-19 pandemic, hostilities between Jews and Arabs in May 2021, and crime in Arab communities. A strong positive correlation was found between life satisfaction and willingness to engage in security and national service. The temporal factors did not mediate this correlation. Finally, the possibility of recruiting Arab minorities to security organizations is discussed.