More than 40% of Israeli Jews support racial segregation in hospitals

A new poll issued on Friday by an Israeli radio station revealed that 41 per cent of Jews in the country support racial segregation between Arab and Jewish patients in Israel’s hospitals, Arab48.com has reported. The poll was conducted after “racist” remarks by the far-right Knesset member Betzalel Smotrich, who called for separating Arab and Jewish women in Israel’s maternity wards.

“It is natural that my wife would not want to lie next to someone whose baby son might want to murder my son,” wrote Smotrich on Twitter. His wife told Israeli Channel 10 television, “It is not pleasant for me to lie next to Arab women.”

According to the poll, 62 per cent objected to such separation, or had reservations about it. Of these, 23 per cent said that they do not support such separation very much, while only 39 per cent objected strongly.

With 41 per cent of Jewish respondents supporting racial segregation, just 3 per cent of the Arabs polled did. A full 97 per cent of Israeli Arabs said that they do not agree with such separation. The figure for supporters of racial segregation rises to 72 per cent among religiously-observant Jews, and 66 per cent for those on the far-right.

Read: Israeli hospitals separate Arab and Jewish patients